Video Games, Which Have Been Around For Quite A While Now

It is debated around the world that videogames have a great influence on violence in the youth, more specifically in adolescents. It is a controversial topic because of the fact that in the past five years there have been many severe acts of violence with an adolescent in the middle of it. Although this true, I disagree with this statement. There may be a correlation between the two, but I do not think that video games make kids violent. In this essay I will voice my opinion on the worldwide debate of whether or not video games are the direct cause of violence in young adults.

Prolonged scenes of massive violence, graphic sexual content, and animated blood are examples of statements that the Entertainment Software Rating Board uses to depict the content in over fifty- five percent of the video games rated yearly. The debate of whether the aggressive nature of these video games influences youth violence in our country has been heatedly battled for decades. Since the mid 1980’s, it has been suggested that high profile cases of violence are due to an aggressor’s excessive video game use. However, much like a cold case the type of connection between video game use and youth violence remains without a definite answer. Most believe that video game use negatively influences child aggression acts in our country. Others firmly declare that video games provide a realm of opportunity for child development. Ultimately, it is impossible to say that video game use affects every child the same way. New studies suggest that video games do not affect every child that plays a game. Although violent video games are innocuous for the majority of adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen, the effects of these games are aggravated in those with pre- existing antisocial or depressive traits.

Technology is an important aspect of change in our world. As time goes on, we are introduced to more and more technology every year, which includes media such as video games. The increase of technology has also increased and improved the world including ways of communicating and distribution of information. More often used outlets of media are those used for entertainment purposes, like television, internet and video games. The ones who are most likely to engage in these media outlets are millennials and the most recent generation Z, because they have been introduced to these outlets from a young age. In fact, a study found that children spend around 9 hours a week playing video games (Polman, de Castro, & van Aken, 2008). It is evident that video games are progressively becoming more violent in nature, and with children spending as much time as they do playing video games, there are questions that must be asked, is the violent nature of video games effecting today’s youth? And if so in what ways?

“97% of US kids between the age 12-17 play video games...more than half of 50-Top-Selling video games contain violence” (Guardian US interactive team). Video games are present in almost every home around the world, their commercialization and popularity are increasing abruptly, reaching in hands of a lot of teens who can spend hours and hours just playing them. Because of the huge demand that video games have, their creators are in the necessity to make them more attracting, to increase their sales, and give more satisfaction to their consumers, in this case the majority young people. However violent video games have been blamed to be a very influential factor in child development, contributing to youth violence. In other hand different organizations and personalities had different opinions about it, arguing that violent video games had no link with social violence.

Video games have grown immensely since the beginning of the millennium. Consumers spent a total of $20.77 million dollars on video game related technology (Trang).With almost 51% of Americans having a gaming device of some kind, and each console, a major piece of hardware designed and produced solely for gaming, having several different gaming genres to choose from, it 's no wonder the industry has had such a big boom (Trang). The problem is that too much time spent with video games can be damaging. Children are one of the primary sources of funding for the gaming industry, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children spend no more than fourteen hours per week in front of any type of electronic screen, yet it’s also reported that the average school age child spends more than thirty-seven hours per week in front of an electronic screen (Gentile). Video games are becoming easier to access; the revolution of smart phones has made thousands of

There has been a considerable concern about video games causing harm to the mental well-being of teenagers, not only due to the actual number of teenagers playing video games but also because the topic is relatively new and unexplored. The problem of aggression has a big influence on a social psychology, due to its conceptualization as a problem in interaction between individuals (Krahe 2013, 2). Due to the number of different opinions that people have, it is necessary to understand what is right and what is wrong. The data shows that, on average, a teenager spends 9 hours a week on playing games. Also, 90% of all children ages from 2 to 17 in the United States play video games (Carnagey, n.d., 882). However, the actual problem lies deeper. The main concern about video games is actually whether they cause the level of aggression to rise or not. In this research paper, there will be a thorough analysis of both sides that will shed more light on the topic and further recommendations will be given.

Video Games have come a long way since their first introduction into the main stream. With video games becoming more sophisticated and using advanced technology, it seems as if video games are closing in on the gap between games and reality. However, as video games become ever so life-like it brings up the question of if the violence associated with video games is having a negative consequence. There have been many accusations over the years over the harm video games are causing children and teenagers. Experiments have been conducted trying to associate a link between video games and aggressive behavior. Even the media has been known to point fingers at video games for the cause of children

Good Morning, everyone, i'm going to start off with a poll of who all plays video games in this class. A lot of you/ maybe not too many in this class play video games and/but, as of 2015, 42% of Americans played video games at least 3 hours a week, which is roughly 135 million of the total population. This proves that video games play a large role in our society. Today I’m going to be speaking about the psychological effects that video games have on youth, but in order to do that, I need to inform you of the evolution of violent video games, the effects of violent video games, and the positive effects of video games.

The first reason why violent video games are bad is because it can become addicted. Addictions involve unhealthy attractions that keep up with regular daily responsibilities such as forgetting to do school work, homework, and chores around the house. Another bad thing that addiction causes is that children and young teens interact less with others. They rather be antisocial and hang out less with friends, in order to play a video game on the Xbox, PS3, or computer. Teens who are obsessed with video games and play for long periods of time can often go an entire day without leaving their room to eat, use the restroom or to bathe. The study found that “88 percent of the nation 's children ages 8 to 18 play video games. With 45 million children of that age in the country, the study would suggest that more than 3 million are addicted "or at least have problems of the magnitude" that call for help, Gentile said” (George). The effects of this behavior can be serious danger to their overall health.

When kids get bored they turn to their PlayStation four, Nintendo DS, or Xbox and play their favorite games. According to the journal of the American Medical Association, “Several peer-reviewed studies have shown that children who play M-rated games are more likely to bully and cyberbully their peers, get into physical fights, be hostile, and show aggression towards their peers.”(Carter 32) Video games are known as ‘time-wasters’ to parents, and worse, these games can corrupt the brain. Furthermore, when playing violent video games kids can attach the game into their personal life. Some games can teach kids wrong values. Playing violent video games can cause aggression, bullying, and depression in kids.

According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Sales of “family entertainment” video games more than doubled in 2007, making it the fastest growing segment of the video game market. The average game player (or gamer) has been playing video

“Recent contents analyses of video games show that many as 89% of games contain some violent contents” (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, Walsh 3). More than half of video games being sold around the world contain some form of violence. All of the violence involved in the video games being played by children is a pattern leading to aggression. Aggression can be caused by many things; however, violent video games are the main cause of aggression in young adults. “If a child began playing violent video games at a young age, then he might think that violence in real life is the same as the game violence and that it doesn’t have a real impact on others” (Gilad, Alto 1). Thinking that violence in the virtual world is the same as in the real world is the first step to showing aggression. Aggression in children caused by video games is the biggest effect parents and researchers worry about. Violent video games teach children that shooting and killing people are

Video games have become a very unique entertainment for children and teens in today’s society. She explains in her article that many adolescents today that are playing in video games engage more on a deeper level, physically, and emotionally then others that are watching a movie or television. In today’s society, many adolescents in the United States purchases video games and the sales are constantly going up. Andrea Norcia explains that playing video games has a positive and negative effect on adolescents. She suggests that the positive impact on adolescent playing video games helps improve children and teen’s manual dexterity and computer literacy. However the negative impact of playing video games has a risk factor for aggressive

Playing video games is a popular pastime for kids and teenagers, one that is causing much concern for teachers and educators. The most popular games generally are filled with violence and gore, whether they be about war, street life, or otherwise. All over the world, teenagers and children (79% of them!) fill their free time with explosions, gunfire, and fistfights, and it all takes place behind the relative safety of a screen and controller. It can become so addictive that they play upwards of eight hours a week. Though these people don't physically participate in the calamity that takes place in their games, there are real world consequences for their involvement in them, both physiological and psychological. The negative link between the excessive violent video game usage is clear, according to a recent paper by David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the family. The effects of playing these games include increased aggressive instinct, physical reactions such as increased heart rate, and lower happiness levels throughout the day.

Video games have existed for much longer than many young people are aware. For example, an individual would need to be over the age of 50 to remember the first time arcade games were available for play in a bowling alley or inside the entertainment building of a miniature golf course. Similarly, an age requirement of 40 would be required for a person to remember the first release of the Atari, which was usually seen at a friend’s home, or to remember the first complex games available on a computer (for example, The Sims). With a history of decades, computer and video games have influenced generations. Although many experts and doctors have argued otherwise, computer and video games usage doesn’t encourage or cause violent behavior; rather, participation in computer/video games encourages positive social interaction and strengthens problem-solving skills.