Computer Games : The Negative Effects Of Video Games

possibilities for movement in this space?" Video games contribute to the stimulation of the mind

Have you ever wondered why people enjoy playing video games? Players often find video games to be fun and exciting. But there’s a downside. Many adults assume that video games are harmful to the player, but that’s not necessarily true. Most people don’t understand that playing video games also comes with many benefits. We need to change how the world targets video games as always being “harmful”. Although, many people think video games are harmful, video games have positive effects on people in terms of perceptual tasks, having great educational potential, and improving problem-solving skills.

o Improved ability to rapidly and accurately recognize visual information - A study from Beth Israel Medical Center NY, found a direct link between skill at video

Dead Space 2, Mortal Kombat, Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Naughty Bear and Kane and Lynch 2: dog days: these are just some of the violent video games that are out in the market right now. You can buy these games for multiple devices and counsels, and many of the main characters are either a psychopath, a criminal, a army officer, a lone survivor in a zombie apocalypse, or a medieval knight fighting their way to save the princess. People never thought about the effects that videogames have on a child or a teenager. No one focused

Video games are played by children of all ages, but recently the question has come up of whether or not they are negatively affecting children. There is a simple answer to that question and it is no. Children who play video games show better performance in perception, attention and cognition. Playing video games helps children emotionally. Video games also better promote social interactions among children.

Evidence shows that a video game was started following at the end of World War II, when companies turned the military technology into games. The first video game, OXO, was invented in Cambridge University in 1952, and was not available to the public. In the United States, William A. Higinbotham developed a video game in a laboratory in 1958, which was open for the public. With the development of computer, the first computer game, Spacewar! was invented in Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1961. Following the growing computer technologies and video

If you read or watch the news, it is not hard to find shocking and dramatic examples of people who harmed themselves or others after playing video games. The American teenagers who committed the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings all played video games. In South Korea, where online gaming is very popular, a 15-year-old boy strangled his mother to death and then hanged himself after “a fight about internet games” (Plunkett), and a Taiwanese man died of heart failure in an internet café after playing video games for three days straight (Elise). There is also the more mundane concern that people will become addicted to video games, neglecting their studies and personal lives as a result. Indeed, many mobile app games advertise themselves as being “addictive,” as if this is a benefit. However, it is unclear whether these concerns are warranted. Does playing video games cause otherwise healthy people to become violent and neglect their well-being, or is it merely a symptom of other underlying problems?

Let’s be honest, we all play video games at one point or another. Whether it’s on your phone, tablet, computer, or console, you’ve played video games. What’s that? You’ve never played a video game in your life? Well, have you ever been on an app on your phone such as Snapchat, Color Switch, or Pokemon GO? Well, those all count as video games. Social media? That counts too. Think about it. Take Instagram for example. You take a photo, and then you wait to see how many likes/followers you can get. Does that not sound like the same system that some games use? You build or create something, and you get points from other people on how great that thing is.

A major development in mass media over the last 25 years has been the advent and rapid growth of the video game industry. From the earliest arcade- based console games, video games have been immediately and immensely popular, particularly among young people. According to Gentile, “Additionally, the introduction of video games to the home market only served to further elevate their prevalence” [Gentile, 2009]. Because of their widespread popularity, social scientists, parents, and politicians have been concerned with the potential effects of video games, focusing particularly on games with violent content and their harmful effects on children. Although there is an extensive base of scientific literature on the negative effects of violent video games, research on prosocial games is much more limited. Few empirical studies have tested the effect of prosocial video game content on helpful and hurtful behaviors and results from these studies suggest that prosocial content in games can in fact increase prosocial behavior in the short and long terms. Additionally, recent studies have started to explore the causal mechanisms responsible for the effects of prosocial video games on helpful and hurtful behaviors. Results from some studies suggest that these effects may be due to changes in cognitive beliefs, whereas other studies suggest these effects are due to changes in affect. Overall, both types of effects are consistent with social-cognitive models of social behavior, including

Ninety-seven percent of US children play a minimum of one hour of video games a day (Granic et al. ¶7). Children play video games for a variety of reasons; a survey conducted by Cheryl Olson, an internationally known researcher on the effects of video games, of 1,254 middle schoolers found teens play video games ¨for emotional regulation: as an antidote to boredom and loneliness, to relax, and to vent angry feelings¨(Olson ¶7). Despite the popularity of video games and the emotional benefits they provide, they are believed to be detrimental to teenage development. This is due to studies like the one conducted by Jay Hull, an associate dean of psychology at Dartmouth University, which claim certain video games can cause an increase in ¨alcohol consumption, smoking, aggression, delinquency, and risky sex¨ (¶102). However, those problems can easily be reduced or negated, and playing video games is actually beneficial to teenager´s development when played in moderation.

Since video games first emerged in the 1970s, they have evolved significantly in terms of context. Instead of classic, light-hearted games like 'Pac-Man' or 'Tetris', the newest trend in gaming is violence. Graphic games have become increasingly popular, causing a plethora of controversy to erupt in regards to how they may affect today's adolescent gamers and their mental well-being.

Video games are a huge part of everyday life, most likely you have heard of or played at least one nintendo game, or tetris, or gameboy, or something on the xbox. Children of all ages play video games, but recently the question has come up about whether or not they are negatively affecting children. There is a simple answer to that question and it is no. Children who play video games show better performance in perception, attention and cognition. Playing video games helps children emotionally. Video games also better promote social interactions among children.

While this may be true it is clearly evident that there are many glorious benefits from playing video games and this just goes to show that games do not effect children or teens in a bad way. There are many benefits that I may list on this paper explaining to you what each of them can do for a child or teen. These benefits are not only strictly for children and teens but can also be applied to adults as well because video games can help everybody out. “Problem solving and logic When a child plays a game such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, he trains his brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts

Playing video games has always been a hot topic amongst parents and researchers alike since they were first invented. As such there have been many statistical analyses of video game use worldwide. There have also been many stereotypes that were concocted because of the controversy surrounding video game use; such as playing video games led to students going on murderous rampages at their schools. Studies were then conducted as to determine both the true benefits and detriments of video game use. The benefits range from social skills to making the player’s overall intelligence increase in multiple aspects. The negative effects range from isolation of the player in society, to making the player’s overall health much worse. This data has created many experts in the field of video game use who’s opinions range from banning video games completely, to more practical approaches such as limiting use per day, or to use for real life learning experiences without the “real life.”

Video games have changed drastically since the beginning of their popularity in the 1970’s. Due to advancements in technology video games have changed from arcade style games such as Brick Buster and Pac Man to Grand Theft Auto and Call Of Duty. The games have transformed from mindless entertainment to virtual reality violence. In the United States now about 91% of children between the ages of 2 and 17 play video games (NPD Group, 2011). These video games have many positive and negative effects on children’s behavior and social skills; however, do the risks outweigh the benefits?