I grew up hearing all the talking heads (media), religious groups and parents strongly criticizing video games. You've, probably, heard some of this. For example, video games involving any type of violence causing people to become more violent, etc. As far as I know, the academic community has failed to produce any negative relationship between video games and real life.
At the age of 8 my son began playing Elden Ring with me. We were both new to Souls-like games. I, quickly, became disheartened by the difficulty of Elden Ring and stopped playing altogether. On the other hand, my son continued to play Elden Ring. He had several meltdowns, over the next two years, trying so desperately to advance in this game. One of his most recent meltdowns was so traumatic for him, that he smashed the PS5 controller into our brand new TV screen which caused a square inch of it to be irreparably damaged. He was punished severely for doing this.
Two weeks later, he continued his quest to overcome Elden Ring. I remember hearing him say to himself, his mother and brother "I am not going to give up until I beat this game".
Three weeks, and many more meltdowns later, my 10 year old son beat Elden Ring. I remember hearing him scream "YES! YES! FINALLY!".
I ran into the room and found him sobbing with tears of joy. I hugged and congratulated him. I ran outside to tell his older brother and he ran in to congratulate him. His mother was overjoyed with his accomplishment.
For someone so young to persevere, spending over 300 hours, trying to overcome a tough game like Elden Ring is a huge accomplishment.
I am so proud of my son to have learned such a valuable lesson, on his own, at such a young age.
Interesting back story incoming. My brother and I worked at one of the best restaurants (at the time) in Greensboro NC USA. My brother's roommate (Mike), for several years (1989 - 1992 I believe), had only a high school education. After working a shift at the restaurant, he'd return home and shut himself in his room for hours (this was almost every day). My brother inquired out of curiosity and Mike showed my brother his computer set-up and the types of digital graphics he had been working on. Mike sent a 3 dimensional application to a digital graphics arts school (I believe in Raleigh NC) and was immediately accepted. After easily completing this program of study (Mike was highly gifted and driven), he was snatched up by the company that developed Myst. He went from barely scraping by to making a substantial amount of money in the field he dreamed to work in.