The Effects Of Video Games On Children

Video games were created to provide a unique, interactive experience for the user. This “experience” is something we can define as being fun, engaging, and interesting. This was the mindset of Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; he was extremely engaged and interested in his work regarding the monster. However, MMORPG’s represent the bad side to video games; in the same way that Frankenstein’s monster was the hellish subject that interested him, MMORPG’s still interest some users despite their lack of true video game “experience”. In fact, MMORPG’s cause addiction, separate families, lead to depression, and separate the user from real life, indicating that they are virtual “animals” that need to be tamed.

From the past till now, video game never loses its popularity, from Gameboy to Wii, and from NDS to LOL, millions and billions of people are obsessed with this imaginary world. Some of the video games are created for educational purpose, however, most are created for the people who wants to escape from reality. “In a national Harris Poll survey of 1,178 American youths (ages 8-18), ISU Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile found nearly one in 10 of the gamers (8.5 percent) to be pathological players.” ("Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) ") Not only the statistic shows the high rate of addiction towards video games, terrible consequences of the addictions are more than enough to be served. For example, an extreme case of an Chinese kid called Xioyi suicide because he lose in one of his game on December 27, 2004; where he left a note that said he wanted “to join the heroes of the game he worshiped.” Video game has the potential to ruin a person’s life, as well as their family, or even the

According to Document C, “5 percent to 10 percent of...teens are gaming addicts.” This addiction has become a serious problem in recent years. With more games online, creators want to keep players online. “The games are designed to keep you at your computer as long as possible because you can’t win,” according to Liz Woolley from Online Gamers Anonymous. The games are diminishing the players motivation to do anything but play (Document C). This can also be said about internet addiction the constant flood of information and artificial communication to some people can be intoxicating. With the added risks of serious mental and social health problems gaming and extensive internet use may bring with it a new generation of antisocial

Video gaming has explosively risen in popularity since their creation in the 70s. In Mark Griffiths’ 2010 essay, “Online Video Gaming: What Should Educational Psychologists Know,” the concept of addiction is explored in the relatively new context of video gaming. Griffiths, a well-known researcher in the area of the psychological effects of video gaming, attempts to establish his credentials by highlighting his “two decades of research… examining offline video games…[and] more recent research examining online video games,” which should reinforce his expertise in his field of study. With his research findings, Griffiths, wishes to address concerned parents of online gamers. He uses an ethical appeal to character to calm the hysteria around

An epidemic is beginning to sweep this nation. In this modern society, a majority of children, teens, and some adults are showing signs of what some experts refer to as video game addiction. Many professionals have differing opinions on the addictive nature of video games, but it does not take an expert to see that children are no longer playing outside, toddlers have learned how to operate pieces of technology that are challenging to some adults and cry when they are taken away from them, and some adults jeopardize their health every year by risking malnutrition and heart disease all in the attempts to play video games.

Online games has become the popular outlet for young adults to play and socialise with other people online. However, it has also become a problem. One type of videogame that has become a problem to young adults is the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs). “A MMORPG can be defined as a game in which numerous players around the globe inhabit a single virtual realm simultaneously, adopt alternative personas, and interact with one another in multiple ways, and thus these games provide a variety of incentives for play” ( Kuss et al. 2012). MMORPG are quite popular to the numbers of gamers that play over the world. It

Many participants also suggested that the games caused the children to have strong imaginations, while a few disagreed. 61.0% said that electronic games did not cause the children to lack good behavior. The survey also showed that electronic games do not cause the children to be skilled in terms of their self expression, and do not cause them visual stress. On the issue concerning obesity, the percentage of the respondents who said that electronic games caused children to be obese was equal to the fraction that disagreed.

Video games are a more interesting form of entertainment for the simple reason that players may become part of the game’s plot. Video games were invented for many years now. However, the current variety of games raised concerns about how they affect the children 's behavior due to the fact that the games are becoming more sophisticated. Children spend most of their free time playing video games. Sometimes children refrain from completing important duties and dedicate all of their time playing video games. PlayStation and Xbox are some of the most popular video game consoles and for the past 30 years video games took part of many people’s daily activities especially the children. The video games, graphics and capabilities have increased tremendously particularly in the last decade. The first generation of video games thirty years ago was just simple geometric shapes controlled by the game player. However, the latest generation of games has graphics and capabilities that mimic real life scenarios. Hence, the games became even more popular among children, more worryingly the games have characters that the children’s view as heroes and role models.

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?

Video game addiction takes place all over the United States, there is an estimated 72 percent of American households who play video games (Scientist Douglas A. Gentile, Ph. D) and an estimated nine percent of the youth in the United States are addicted to video games (Douglas A. Gentile, Ph. D). Researchers are developing ways were video game addicts can become less involved with video games, they are doing this because of all the problems associated with video games (Addiction Expert Bakker). Video game addiction can relate to other addictions in this world people do things to change the way they feel, people play video games to change the way they feel. There is harm associated with being a game addict also. Children who play four to five hours per day have no time for socializing (Addiction Expert Bakker) and that can affect them in their future. In older addicts, continuous gaming can ruin relationships and, also affect their social behavior as well. After being a video game addict for so long you can start showing signs of addiction which include, playing for an increasing amount of time, gaming to escape real-life problems, anxiety, or depression, and, also feeling irritable when trying to cut down on gaming (Addiction Expert Bakker). Being an addict can be a serious situation because, computer games have negative impacts on children’s health and behavior. The computer games that include violence can lead to the mental disorders, poor health, sleep, loss of awareness

Video games have always been the subject of some type of controversy. Debates exist over whether or not playing them for too long is detrimental to your health, or if they have any positive aspects at all. Research indicates that gaming for long periods of time is not healthy, whereas light or occasional gaming yields benefits to reactions and skills when working under pressure. However, one aspect of video games always rears its head whenever some empathy-depraved soul commits an atrocity upon innocent people using guns. Namely, whether or not violent video games cause people to commit acts of violence. Despite the continuing controversy, evidence has proven that the people negatively affected by video game violence are those who learn from mimicking others; children and, to a lesser degree, adolescents; specifically, boys. However, violent video games do not warp children’s minds due to their content. Video games with crude content are not to blame for public massacres because they do not increase personal hostility, instead harmlessly releasing aggression akin to sports, and even if violent video games did raise hostility, they are marked on an age-dictated scale to inform those who may be concerned. The average human being has a moral compass strong enough to understand that violence for the sake of violence is wrong. If a human being has the capacity to kill innocent people or animals without any remorse, then video games will not likely make them much worse.

Kids today are growing up in a different world than the kids that grew up fifteen years ago. They have a huge desire for playing video games and their social skills on the inside and outside of the classroom lack immensely. Parents start to become concerned because schools focus on technology instead of the basics like map reading, mental math, and most importantly social skills and communication. Students are too focused on the screen instead of communicating with the people around them. When these kids are older, many will have a harder time in their job interviews compared to the adults that did not grow up with technology. If socializing is unimportant their future will not contain good conversations. Despite the fact that the next generation will lack in communication, technology teaches good focus and concentration which can help one in a certain career when that skill is needed.

But as with all addictions they have their effects one of the common effects of video game addiction is isolation and withdrawal from social events or experiences. Gamers often stay in their house or somewhere with internet for large amounts of time only leaving for the important tasks and/ or necessities like eating, using the restroom, school, etc. As usual the effects of this isolation are a breakdown in communication skills and a loss in socialization. Granted while many games, especially massive multiplayer online games aka MMOs, involve a very real form of communication and coordination with others, and these interactions often result in communities that can be “healthy” for

Game addiction is mentally and physically unhealthy because of the game. Game addiction appears to be a lot of teenagers, and they are unhappy with the reality. They tend to realize their desire to fulfill their needs through games. To adolescents who are unable to achieve their studies or friendships, Symptoms of game addiction are common. Symptoms of adolescent gaming addiction vary widely. For example, playing games are very long, and it takes a short time to play games, spending too much time on the video game, so teenagers do not study the necessary work or work, and they do not enjoy their hobby. And they can become impatient and impulsive and they will be depressed and nervous when he does not play games, lie to play games, spend less time contacting close friends, in ordinary times, annoyance increases and becomes irritable (Teens and Video Game Addictions. 2012). The most serious addiction to adolescent games may lead to confusion in the case of reality and cyber virtual worlds if the addiction is serious. However, Their parents refuse to think why their children become addicted to games, and they just try to punish their children unconditionally. Is it a good solution for teenagers who are addicted to game addiction? And can you say that games have a good influence on teenagers?

Douglas Gentile, an Iowa State University associate professor of psychology conducted research to identify gaming addiction among youth ages 8 to 18. Gentile summarized his research, stating, “We’re starting to see a number of studies from different cultures—in Europe, the U.S. and Asia—and they’re all showing that somewhere around 7 to 11 percent of players seem to be having real problems to the point that they’re considered pathological gamers” (qtd. in “Risks”). As a result, gaming addiction is attracting attention; however, more action must be taken to raise awareness.