Answer for exercise 6

1. Yes = after particularly traumatic staff meetings, I’ve even been known to get disturbingly engrossed in first-person shooters! (unwind = relax)
2. Yes = surely only the most evangelical would claim that gaming comes with no strings attached. (You could also argue that the answer is no. He / She doesn’t state this opinion, rather he / she sets it out as a challenge and expresses his / her opinion with ‘surely only the most evangelical would claim ...’ – so not quite the same thing. We don’t actually know from this what he / she thinks.)
3. No = the blog says girls read more, spend less time gaming, and do better at school, but that’s not the same as saying they mature earlier.
4. Yes = I’ve heard the arguments in support of collaborative gaming. I’ve read research claiming linguistic and social skills develop on account of the hours spent online – and that’s all fine so long as it’s done in moderation.
5. Yes = It’s the effect it seems to be having on the lives of half my students that worries me most – and frankly, I mean the male half! ... Many of the lads I teach are addicts, pure and simple. The roleplay games they’re into are a chronic suck on their time: whether or not they start out with the intention of studying, before too long their evenings are lost to the virtual realm. Time flies by and they game till they drop where they sit – and subsequently drag themselves into class in the morning half-asleep at best. (You could also argue that the answer is no. He / She only says that it is the main reason in his / her class, not in the wider world. He / She does not make such a big claim, he / she’s just really talking about personal experience.)
6. Yes = whether or not they start out with the intention of studying, before too long their evenings are lost to the virtual realm. Time flies by and they game till they drop
7. No = because the (potential) benefits are mentioned. Also, the blog is talking about computer games, not computers per se.
8. No = these are issues that senior management are aware of. The best solution they’ve come up with so far, though? Gamification of the syllabus! I despair sometimes, I really do.

Opinion 5 is probably closest to the main argument of the blog.