The Effects Of Video Games On Children And Young Adults

“Video games are bad for you, that’s what they said about rock-n-roll” (Shigeru Miyamoto). Video gaming is regarded as a ubiquitous part of children and adolescents’ life. Children who are daily involved in this activity in the US account for 97% of their total. Additionally, for those at an average of 8-13 years old, approximately, 8.5% of them are addicted to playing video games. Moreover, children at the age of 13-18 spend 16 hours per week playing. Video games are so prominent in this current world that we cannot prevent them from being involved entirely. While others believe that video games should not be made available to

“Violent video games increase aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, and aggressive behaviors and decrease empathic feelings and prosocial behaviors” (Gregory Ferenstein). Gaming devices not only desensitize us, but it heightens our chances of going out and committing acts of violence. Such as, James Holmes because of the games that he played (Call of Duty, Advanced Warfare and etc.) he believed that for every person he killed; he would receive a point for doing so. “There are definitely games kids shouldn't be playing, she said, for example those where hunting down and killing people is the goal)” (Anne Harding, CNN). After playing these games, many kids feel as if the real world is like a game and killing people to earn points is rewarded. Video games have changed our America to believing that death and violence should be rewarded, but with a twist and that includes handcuffs and a prison

First off, the type of video game does not matter in causing violence as much as the amount of time spent playing does. As stated in a study by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, ”Those children who spend more time playing games might be slightly likelier to be hyperactive and to get into fights. But violent video games seem to have no effect on behavior, according to British researchers”. So videogames, both violent and non-violent, when played for too long, can lead to more aggression.In the same study, it’s stated that “The researchers found that the 22 kids who played video games the most each day were the likeliest to have behavioral problems, exhibit hyperactivity and have trouble academically, although the effects were "quite small in magnitude,” So, even though there were behavioral changes in

First of all, playing video games puts violence into the minds of the players and the players begin to get used to the terrorism in these electronic games. If this continues, adolescents may begin to think that online killing is okay which could eventually lead to violence in the real worlds being ok. And its possible that they could act rashly and hurt others by all the exposure to videogames. In the article “shooting in the dark” by benedict Carrie, the text says, “It was as if that exposure to computerized violence gave them an idea to go on a rampage- or at least fuel their urges.” (1) By playing violent video games, you are receiving these violent things into your mind that may be potentially dangerous to you and the people around you.

Video games can lead to aggression, addiction, and bad behavior. Spending too much time playing violent video games can provoke teens to act in a violent manner. Teens can learn to act in an aggressive manner in our society when killing a large number of enemies in certain video games. Brutal killings in video games tend to train the mind of teens to become violent. “A study found that 66 percent of researchers, 67 percent of parents and 90 percent of pediatricians agree or strongly agree that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children.” (Work Cited #2). Those are pretty high numbers and they’re all correct. For example, when kids have an opportunity to shoot someone with a gun, or slash someone with a blade, they’ll do it for the benefit to win the game. Doing this can have a violent affect for them in the

There has been quite a bit of controversy between what the real effect video games are having on teenagers. Although everybody swings one way or another, most can agree that albeit video games may or may not be bad, the overuse of these games, can be and is a major problem in the world. Many believe that video games have an exponentially negative effect on teenagers. Many believe that video games desensitize players. In a 2005 study, violent video game exposure has been linked to reduced P300 amplitudes in the brain, which is associated with desensitization to violence and increases in aggressive behavior. Furthermore, these types of games often times reward players for killing, defacing public property, and stimulating violence. Games such as Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto, seem to cause players to feel happiness and joy in creating pain and havoc. However, there is another side to this story. Others believe that video games are contributing to an increasingly safe and more friendly atmosphere in the United States. In fact, sales of video games had more than quadrupled in 1995-2008, while the arrest rate for juvenile murders fell 71.9%, and the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes declined 49.3% in this same period. Even more, is the thought that, playing violent video games provides a safe outlet for aggressive and heated feelings. A study from 2007 reported that 45% of boys played video games because "it helps me get my anger out". Not only that, but another

In 2007, Shigeru Miyamoto stated in an interview that “Up until now, the biggest question in society about video games has been what to do about violent games. But it 's almost like society in general considers video games to be something of a nuisance, that they want to toss into the garbage can”. Many critics believe that first person shooters (FPS) video games have an adverse affect on a child’s mental growth and capabilities. However, the same critics have failed to recognize the beneficial uses of the games on adolescents and adults alike. The argument of good versus evil has become such a prominent debate among the video game community and beyond, it is often times forgotten that not all video games promote, or even contain violence in them. Many video games teach adolescents positive and prosocial behavior. Video games have a positive influence on children as they serve as an outlet for teens to relieve stress and anger, help exercise children’s fundamental skills such as mathematics and comprehension, as well as allows players to collaborate in order to reach a common objective.

Video games have been one of the most popular sources of entertainment for quite some time. Video games have changed the entertainment industry and is now a billion-dollar industry. The industry has also effected society. Of course, there are some benefits of using video games, but there are also many negative effects of the use of video games, especially on today’s youth. According to NPD, ninety-one percent of children from the age of two to seventeen play video games (Camp, 2011). In terms of the population of the youth, that is nearly sixty-four-million children (Camp, 2011). According to Dino Grandoni, children play from one to three hours of video games per day (Grandoni, 2014). With these facts, it is obvious that the use of video games will have some physical, mental, and social effects on the child, especially if the child becomes addicted to playing video games. The consequences of playing these games in an addictive manner includes physical issues, psychological issues, as well as issues connecting with people in the real world.

According to the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 2010, sixty percent of households play video games (Video Game Ind.). It is not surprising that in the technical age we live in, people are playing video games more than ever. Inevitably, this brings into question the violent nature of some popular video games and their potentially dangerous and harmful impact on young children. “Video game addiction is without a doubt, becoming this century’s most increasingly worrisome epidemic comparable even to drug and alcohol abuse” (MAVAV). Many believe violent games are a main contributing cause to criminal and/or aggressive behavior in children. They want to go as far as banning the games that have violence in them. In my opinion, parents must take responsibility of their children’s education, as well as playtime activities, and pay attention to the degree of violence and aggressiveness in the specific games they purchase. “…there’s no evidence that this leads to violent behavior in real life. F.B.I. data shows that youth violence continues to decline; it is now at its lowest in years…” (Olson, Perverse). I believe video games can be beneficial to the mind, body, and soul.

The process of animation can be defined as a series of drawings, photographs, or images constructed in a computer program in order to form a scene or action, usually in a cartoon, movie, or video game. For many of us, Disney is where we refer back to early forms of animation with the idea of using thousands of consecutive drawings; through Disney, we can now see how far this idea of breathing life into static objects has advanced. Today, animation is becoming more and more realistic. With highly advanced technology and computer programs, it has become easier for simple cartoons to develop into what children see as real life. These animated cartoons and movies are surrounding our youth every where and it is important to observe the effects of increasingly realistic animation on children and their perspective on life brought on by advancing technology and computer programs, for some of these effects pose a negative threat. Through exposing and observing these possible threats, the people involved in a child’s life can perform what is necessary to avoid them.

New media is communicating using digital technologies like the internet, and it has become a central part of our daily lives. Individuals use the media for many different reasons and daily. Whether it be for dating, video games, or even politics, people are still impacted by new media in numerous ways. Being that the new media are digital, it’s very easy for people to stay connected with society through their smart phones. You can access pretty much whatever you want right from the palm of your hand in a matter of seconds.

Controversy about video games continue to escalate between parents and gamers, regarding the psychological effect of simulated, realistic, and 3D violence on the minds of young children and growing teenagers. Yet, research shows that video games contribute very little to today’s everyday violence, despite complaints and concerns that games influence a child’s normal behavior. Technology is a way of life in today’s world, computers are used by toddlers, adolescents, and adults alike. No matter what career path a person chooses, the computer plays an essential role in the job. The more our technology progresses and as our industry grows stronger, computers and electronic entertainment will grow to be found everywhere around the world. This includes videogames.

Many people claim that violent video games are desensitizing children to violence, and making them more hostile and aggressive in social situations. Many video games nowadays have some sort of violence. These games can range from mild to extremely brutal. When children are exposed to these games, they very well could affect how children think. These games, when exposed to children, will, in fact, make them desensitized to violence, and even become violent themselves.

In the past, when a child was bored they went outside to play, they created new games, or they played with friends. But, for the past three decades, video games and other digital media have been persuading many adolescents and children to spend the majority of their time playing them. Video games seem to satisfy children’s natural need to interact socially, however more often than not, they lead to social isolation. Overexposure to digital media, such as video games is detrimental to the health and function of a child’s brain in the areas of empathy, impulse control, and social interaction.

It is still being debated whether or not video games can lead to one being more aggressive than usual. Constantly playing a violent video game that has characters showing acts of violence can lead to one learning and practicing these acts of violence. Many researchers have talked about the effects of viewing violence in the media and how it affects children. Videogames takes this to another level, where the children are actually participating in being violent in the video games. There are many games out there that allow the children to play gun bearing characters who can kill anyone that they want, steal cars, and commit all sorts of heinous activities. These games can have negative implications on the children as