New technologies do more than just make life easier, hang out or have fun. Some video games are used to test future dog owners, to teach children to understand certain abstract concepts and even help them to have more human behaviors.
This is the case of the video game Nintendogs + cats . The Nintendo title for the Nintendo 3DS portable game console allows you to realistically simulate not only the shapes of the dogs and cats that appear, but also their habits, routines and behaviors. This realism allows institutions such as the Comprehensive Animal Shelter Center of the Community of Madrid to be using it as a tool to evaluate applicants to adopt an animal.
But that is not all. In addition, the video game, by recreating practically real behaviors and needs, allows children to interact with their pets, learning in a practical way how to treat them. As the child psychologist Rocío Ramos-Paul explains, ” If a child forgot to feed his puppy, the father would take care of it. The animal would never go hungry, and the minor would not see for himself the consequences of his carelessness . However, with a virtual puppy the child will be able to observe what happens if he does not feed him or does not take proper care of him “. And all this without the risk that the animals suffer possible neglect.
Video games have gone from being demonized by some researchers a few years ago to being an authentic instrument of education and civics for both children and adults.
