The Positive and Negative Aspects of Video Games in Society

Video games have become as pervasive an aspect of our society as television, with many people spending more time playing video games than watching television. There are many perspectives with which to gauge videos games’ effect on society, from a functionalist, conflict or interactionist perspective. (Schaefer, 2011) Each of these sociological theories can provide a different view of video games, how they affect society and the subcultures that develop around them.

Video games have become very prevalent in modern society, being regarded as a major form of entertainment. The video game industry is indeed one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. While the video game industry have become more socially acceptable since its inception in the 1970's, it had received much controversy and debate, especially in regards to video games considered too violent and/or sexist. Many people believe the influences in these sorts of videogames can affect the views and behaviors of the people who play these games (i.e. gamers). As a result of this link, gamers, for the most time of recent history, had been subjected to ridicule and condemnation. Gamers had been considered deviants.

Video games are the wave of the future. Video games have been apart of american culture just as long as tv or computuers have; and just like everything else in life video games have adapted and changed with the times.

It is widely known that the media reflects and has an effect on human behaviour. Books, newspapers, music, and more lately movies and videogames show us where we are as a society, but also help shape our development. For this reason, it is important that they are analyzed and critizised, so that they do not perpetuate outdated ideas that could be harmful to the public. While videogames are a relatively recent form of media, they have become extremely popular, especially amongst young people, whom they greatly influence and towards whom they are normally marketed. According to Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Pajares Tosca (2013), "For the younger generations, especially, games are crucial to the way they express themselves artistically

As the quality of video games changed along time, so did the gender roles of the characters in them. Video games have been known to be a male-dominated media in the terms of its marketing

During the advent of video games, the world was taken by storm, as this new type of entertainment caught the attention and imagination of the populace; but as this attention grew, concern and scrutiny weren’t far behind. Controversy finally got its chance in the 1990s, when games finally upgraded to 16-bit, giving them the ability to depict realistic blood and gore in games like Moral Kombat; which was criticized for excessive violence, a reason Congress used to create the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) (Porter & Starcevic 2007). At the same time, First-person shooters (FPS) began to rise in the gaming world, but received a lot of opposition when Doom (a FPS) became infamous for its association with the 1999

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

Video games have now been in existence for a few decades, and in such a short time have evolved greatly. The first video game was created to be a military artillery calculator, then others played with the idea and pong was created, packman would become one of the most wildly known game in arcades, and now we have games such as call of duty or battlefield that can be played on a device that would use to require an entire room just for the computing power. Games have made a large leap in technology from two white rectangles rebounding a ball between one another, to the ability of virtual reality that visually has few faults that can be noticed by the human eye thanks to the high frames per second displayed to the user’s eyes. Along with the

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used a video game to study how a disease could spread and how people would react. In addition, doctors who play video games have better results in surgery. Video games can be beneficial in many different ways that is usually not considered. With moderate use, video games can even be beneficial to one’s health. It is something that a wide age range group of people can enjoy and benefit from its use. There are also many different genres to satisfy different types of enjoyment. Scientists have conducted many studies about video games to determine whether or not they are healthy. Video games have their positives and negatives similar to most things. Gaming can help with mental problems, recovery of injuries, and help with being physically active.

Since their conception in the late 1950s and their subsequent rise to popularity and the mainstream in the 1970’s, video games in America have been controversial. Currently around 97% of America 's children play video games in some form; from home consoles such as Xbox, to personal computers and mobile games on smartphones, even in an educational form, video games are nearly everywhere and bringing in big money. Around $21 billion is being funneled into a domestic video game industry. But what are these kids viewing when playing video games and how does that affect their role in society? A common theme in the top 50 best selling video games has been violence.

In recent times, video games have quietly risen as the premier form of entertainment worldwide. Global revenues for the video game industry totaled $83.6 billion in 2014, outpacing both the film and music industry which rang in $36.4 billion and 15.06 billion respectively in the same year. (Foote, 2016). In the U.S., video games have a wide influence on the American society with “more than 40% of Americans reported playing video games regularly, (Green and Seitz, 2015), and of the 40%, children are a major part. Issues arise on the topic of how beneficial video games are to its users and even more so the niche for children. As with all forms of media, their effects on its consumers are always called into question, especially when it

Mario Kart, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto, are all wildly popular video games. Whether you are killing monsters or trying to amass as much gold as possible, people play video games as an escape into a virtual world from the reality we live in. Over the years, video games have acquired a tainted reputation for the violence often found in many popular titles. Although people view video games to be destructive to children and society, studies have shown numerous medical, social, as well as psychological benefits that strongly outweigh the potential harm.

Video games are an important element of today’s students’ identity, character, culture. Even adults play video games. A survey conducted by Pew research shows the percentage of American adults aged between 18 and 29 who have ever played video games on computer, TV, or other electronic devices such as cell

Timon of Athens admonished Apemantus once and said: “In general riot; melted down thy youth. / In different beds of lust; and never learn'd. / The icy precepts of respect, but follow'd. / The sugar'd game before thee” (Shakespeare, trans. 1995, 4.3.255-258). This idea of games as being a distraction from more serious tasks is not unique to Timon of Athens but also many cultures, especially American culture. This is manifested in the metaphors we live by such as “He is playing games!” or “She is gaming the system.” I remember my father said to me once: “Don’t waste your time on this!” He was referring to Pong, the first retro tennis video game, which I played a lot during my childhood. There is a negative atmosphere still surrounding video games as containing inappropriate language and content. I always thought this negative categorization of video games as unfair and inaccurate. As I grew up and began playing more advanced video games on PlayStation and Xbox, I became more interested in their potentials. I became particularly absorbed in the online collaborative environment, the critical thinking skills needed to solve problems and overcome challenges, and the virtual environment. Gee’s (2003) What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, kindled my passion in conducting research on this topic.

Since the creation of Spacewar in spring of 1962, video games have dramatically improved along with technology. It has become the most popular way of entertainment in modern civilization, but it also has become a subject of public concern regarding to its negative effects on peoples psychological and physical problems, especially in children and teens. Video games are now recognized by a study as an addiction according to the journal Psychological Science: “Researchers used data on 1,200 children and teens taken from a survey. About 8.5% were addicted to video games and showed at least 6 of 11 signs of addictive behavior. For example, skipped schoolwork to play games or ‘escape’ bad feeling” (“Video Games Addiction Is Real”). Studies made in South Korea have concluded that video games are indeed a real problem for society and their government took action on the matter by passing a law known as “Gaming Shutdown Law” as reported by Sun Carolyn: “ Two big surveys--one by Seoul 's National Information Society Agency, the other by Korea 's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family--found that more than one in 10 Korean adolescents are at high risk for Internet addiction and that one in 20 are already seriously addicted.” Even though, the compulsive use of video games has caused adverse effects on people, being children and teens the more exposed to, there are some solutions that can help overcome this type of addiction.