The growth and expansion of the video games market in the United States highlight the importance of digital entertainment in the society. According to Lenhart, almost 72% of teens play video games on cellphones, tabs, computers, and game consoles. However, there are various concerns on the impact of video games on the high rate of violence in the society. Some studies argue that video games have positive effects on children as they boost creativity, improve cognitive and emotional development. Nevertheless, opponents of video games argue that they are highly addictive and promote social isolation which undermines social development among children. Therefore, overdependence and addiction to video games are the main factors that contribute to negative effects including violent and aggressive behavior, poor eating habits, and poor mental development.
Recent advancements in technology contribute to the growth and expansion of video game players in the society. Studies by the Pew Research Center reveal that 80% of teens play over five games while 40% play eight or more games daily (Lenhart). In particular, most of the video games in the market are played by males who use them as an avenue for entertainment and building friendships. According to Lenhart out of the 74% of gamers aged 13 and 14 years, almost 84% are teen boys who account for the largest number. Video games use various technologies that encourage teen players to interact with different people through online
(White, 2009, p. 2) Video games also cause children to develop social problems. Their empathy decreases and they are less willing to help others. Children become antisocial spending less and less time interacting with family members, friends, and playing. They are controlled by what is occurring on the screen in front of them, locking themselves up in their rooms, or away from others just to play endless hours of video games. Video games have progressed over recent years becoming far more violent, sophisticated, and addictive. Studies have shown that the effects of video games and aggressive behavior follow almost the same pattern as that of studies with violent media such as cartoons.
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.
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
Abstract – Video Gaming has it negatives and its positives. You may look at video games and the first thing you see is the violence that it insures. Most video games have that real effect of blood and can allow the player to kill someone in a fantasy world. Some has said the violence shown in video games are part of the reason for violence in today society. Many has also said that our children that play these violent games tend to reenact what they play in the game into their actual real life. When studies have shown for that to be both correct and incorrect. There is no real proof that video game violence lead to the outside world violence. Some studies have shown that people that play video games heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen
The violence that children execute in today’s modern time could have a new factor that parents could not even imagine. Many children today spend most of their time playing video games and this could reflect a negative role in a child’s bad behaviors. Nearly all children, especially in the United States, have or have had a video game console or some type of electronic device that contain video games. Video games in general are not to be blamed but a certain category that majority of the gamers play is called violent video games. Adolescents and children are revealed to violent games could have a bad influence which should be controlled in today’s society. Video games are violent and they affect young teens because they are exposed to
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.
Video Games have been around since the early 1960’s, increasing in popularity in the early 1970’s and 80’s and are now more popular and common than before. It forever changed the entertainment world. The phrase Video Game is defined as a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen. Gaming is defined as the action or practice of playing video games. Video games can refer to games played on game consoles such as the PlayStation, Wii and Xbox, or on computers. With its increasing reputation, its sales have continued to grow, as of 2015 total revenues for the video game industry in the U.S. hit $23.5 billion. Current research has shown that, “97 % of American adolescents aged 12–17 years play computer, web, portable or console video games” (Adachi p.1041). However, along with this increase of gaming has come increased controversy on its effects on society. The main reason for this controversy, is whether the content of video games changes the behavior and attitudes of a player negatively, which then effects society negatively. Before focusing on this controversial topic, the history behind what video games are, how they evolved and the efforts that go into making them, should be addressed.
As a teenager people tend to make stereotypes about you. One is that most teens are lazy and do not like to do anything, the other is that a lot of male teens play video games and waste their time on that. Imagine staying up till three am in the morning just playing video games, people will say that is bad right? As it turns out it is and it is very unhealthy but at the same time doing anything at three am in the morning is unhealthy and bad for you. If you are doing homework, working on something, or even just being on your phone up until that time of day it can never benefit you. This is where people tend to generalize and make unrealistic assumptions on people who spend their time playing video games. They start saying how playing video games is bad and playing mature games is making young people dangerous, not only to themselves but to others as well. In reality video games are not bad for anybody, they are only bad when an individual allows it to take control of their life, but this goes for anything in life. Games are actually very beneficial, they can have a good effect on people who play them and can enhance certain traits that the human body has. In researching this topic the conclusion was that not all video games have the same effect on everyone, meaning that video games do not effect young people and the way others perceive them to. One statement that remains true in my research is that video games can improve on many skills and for the most part it is all up to
Playing video games is a pastime that many children enjoy. It has been found that “National surveys of American youth ages 8 to 18 by the Kaiser Family Foundation … found that in 2005, 49% of children had a game console in their bedroom” (Olson et al. 55). From this information, it can be assumed that after school about half of the children come home and start playing video games. The duration of time that children play these video games varies. In recent times it is estimated that, “…adolescent girls played video games for an average of 5 h a week whereas boys averaged 13 h a week.” (Gentile et al. 5). Gaming, therefore, has become more than just a fun activity, it has become an addiction. Addiction can be defined as “… with an uncontrollable urge, often accompanied by a loss of control, a preoccupation with use, and a desire to continue with the activity even though it creates problems” (Skoric et al. 568). These children feel the need to play video games, and it is taking over their lives. This addiction to video games impacts many aspects of a child’s life. As a result of this addiction, video games cause difficulties at school, detrimental impact to relationships and teenage development.
Firstly, there are negative effects of the violent video games to youths. Studies have shown that the violent video games have affected to youths. Consequently, the video games with violent content can lead youths to aggressive behaviour. Moreover, in studies, young people showed more aggressive idea in a post-test than those who played a nonviolent game. In addition, studies have found that young people who had played a violent virtual reality game showed symptoms of a higher heart rate, dizziness and nausea (Hughes, 2014). Likewise, the video games with violent content can also make them insensitive to violence. Studies have shown that young people who like playing first-person shooter style games are potentially to have a disconnect view from the society. Equally important, aggression is another specific sign of young people’s addiction to video games. Youths may show aggression when they lose their games (ARSHI, 2017).
Video games do not help with education at all because they harm children. Video games can be connected to problems such as lost of human connection, and violence in children. The violence can be seen when it comes to comparing gun problems with the amount of games kids play these days. According to Cunningham, Scott, Benjamin Engelstatter, and Michael R. Ward, they found the connection between crimes and video games sales. They believe “Laboratory experiments have found evidence suggesting that violent video games increase aggression”. They show many examples of different games and crimes. This showing that video games do cause some aggression in people, thus making it a bad choice to use them in school. Another study was done connecting the relations between guns and games. This study
Of course not all side effects of playing video games are positive, many studies have also found that there can be extremely negative side effects to playing video games. Some studies reported by (Daphne Bavelier) and (C. Shawn green) have found that playing violent video games can have an increase in aggressive thoughts, although this is something that seems rather troubling and one could assume that this would lead to the manifestation of aggression through prolonged exposure, the studies conducted conclude that the increase is of an insignificant amount and that the tests are often lacking in their treatment of the topic. I Believe this is a topic that requires further study in the future to
“Video games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives, with 97% playing for at least one hour per day in the United States” (Granic, Lobel and Engels 66). Video games are a big part of life in America and around the world. Technological advances allow for many different devices where video games can be played, so it is not hard for children to get their hands on video games. There is also a wide variety of games, from building games to board games to war games. There is a game out there for everyone. Video games have become a very common activity for children, but at a price. Playing video games is harmful because it can create addiction, desensitize players to violence, and cause depression.
What is the first thing to pop into one’s head when they think about video games? Most people think of fun they have while playing. Or it could be the cost of the new game or the device to go with it. It could also be the violence a game offers or the rating given to the game. Many people play and enjoy video games today, people don’t necessarily have to play video games at home anymore either. Games can be downloaded to devices such as cell phones or tablets that can be taken on the go. When taking a step back to look at the games that are played more often one is shocked at the content some games have and the language and violence involved in the games played. This paper will be outlining the different effects of video games whether good