Your Child's Brain On Technology Analysis

Reading this essay has caused me to do more research on this specific topic and the things I have found are disturbing. Video games change your mind set, your way of thinking and can affect you for the rest of your life, so when it comes to the violent video games we are turning into a more violent society. It has been studied that playing video games can affect your dreams, and your dreams affect how you feel and treat people, it’s a never ending circle. Through playing video games we are spending less and less time with one another and I think it’s a crying shame. We as a society are naturally social people and the fact that with our recent technology we have become more and more independent.

According to Jane McGonigal in “Be a gamer, save the world”, video games have the ability to provide gamers with an opportunity to live a happy meaningful life by offering the hope of success with strong social connection and a satisfying work environment with a chance of becoming a part of something bigger. McGonigal believes that video games give gamers a sense of self and allows them to reach outside of who they are and empowers them to tackle real-world problems. Typically gamers are looked at as being escapist, someone who tries to get away from reality, but the reality is playing video games has helped players to become the best version of them self. In McGonigal's article, she makes some good points. For example, by the evidence provided

The use of video games has become a norm for many people and families. They may be used to relax after a long day of work, or as a way for the family to all participate in something together. Many people view video games as just another form of entertainment, but could they actually be more?

In “Electronic Gaming Monthly,” there was an article that explained the top five negative aspects of videogames. Isolation: people can become obsessed over a videogame. Shawn Woolley, a young fan of the popular Everquest, committed due to bankruptcy. The game makes you pay-as-you-play, and he played too much. Addiction: people have been known to “forego work, relationships, and even food for the sake of their online play.” Physical problems: many of today’s games have vibrating controllers to give a more interactive feeling. A 15 year-old kid developed “hand-arm vibration syndrome,” burning sensations and inflammation in the hands and arms, due to playing on his Playstation too much. Violence: Senator Joseph Lieberman ran a campaign against Mortal Kombat due to its “spine-ripping gore.” Even Captain Kangaroo was brought in, explaining that videogames teach lessons to kids that would cause a parent to faint. Violence numbing: when a child plays a violent videogame, the terrible news in today’s world barely faze them since they have seen worse in the videogame, even though it wasn’t real.

Are video games harmful? Are they poisoning society and corrupting the minds of the youth? The evidence would certainly make it seem that way, but what are the real effects that video games have on people? Video games have been the subject of controversy ever since their creation. Yes that’s right, ever since the creation of Pong, video games have been a concern. In fact C. Everett Koop stated that “There is nothing constructive in the games. Everything is eliminate, kill, destroy and do it fast” (Marcovitz 12). As video games grow more and more like real life concern grows as well. However, as video games grow, they also grow in providing a safe outlet for negative emotions, teaching player’s life lessons, and any research proving otherwise is too flawed to be reliable, the media also twists the subject of video games to fit their viewpoint instead of reporting what video games actually do.

Once I started researching this topic, I found out that video games can affect people's moods making them more aggressive and irritable. People become obsessed with video games and often withdraw from normal life (work, school, and family). They can acquire social anxiety or depression from the lack of daily socialization. Some people become very unproductive and only care about their game. It’s like the video game takes over people's lives.

Video Games cause social isolation, for example a 15 year old boy in Sweden pass out after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight, he passed out because he started experiencing social withdrawal, the kid was lacking contact with other humans, and his body’s response to the problem was to pass out. On an extreme level, Ruya Cunningham, a college student spent twenty hours a week playing video games, she eventually “dropped out of school, stopped exercising, and even stopped bathing” (Marcovitz 70). Later on, Ruya Cunningham developed depression, but she kept playing video games because she was addicted to the game. When people are addicted to a game, there is a spiraling vortex sucking the gamer away from society and from sanity. As a consequence of playing violent video games, many teen gamers struggle with real world relationships, this is because they form close virtual relationships with people they meet online. A man in Wisconsin has formed a tremendously close relationship with a group of guys he plays online with, he discusses politics with them and they send each other Christmas gifts even though they do not know each other (Marcovitz 70-72). Video games can also affect the players mental and their physiological state.

Don't take it from me, take it from PsychologyToday.com which says “If only kids would automatically do the things that they practice with me in my office when they’re with their peers or family members, my work would be so much easier! Children routinely behave differently in different situations.” This would mean by playing online with other players the gamers would laner how to talk to other people. Another person who investigated this topic in the DailyBeast.com says “Rather than leading players to become less moral, this research suggests that violent video game play may actually lead to increased moral sensitivity.” This means that they can better understand what's right from wrong. Like I stated earlier, some people argue that video games make your less social. They back up this claim by stating “Yes, people who play video games are more introverted because they are

Video games have been argued about for decades. Some people have argued that video games are linked to violence. However, new research shows that video games can be used for therapeutic purposes, exercise, stress relievers, positive interactive learning, hand eye coordination, and different types of patient treatment for people all around the world.

Video games can isolate a child causing him to be socially awkward and find it hard to communicate with others and cause the child to spend less time doing other activities such as homework, reading, interacting with friends and family and sports.

When I had a talk with Ryan England whom commonly goes by the name ‘Sans’ (when he is online) and asked him if video games make people violent he immediately responded with “we’ve been violent since the beginning of time. We have this nature in us to kill and video games subdue that.” On the impact of today he said that in our everyday life, video games can be used to relieve stress, socialize, and make you feel you have power (or are worthy). I asked him to elaborate on the latter feeling and Sans responded “people that play a lot of video games often feel like nothing (worthless), even if people don’t treat them as such. It lets you feel like you’re somebody when you’re a nobody in the real world.

Video games are frowned upon by parents as time-wasters, and worse, some education experts think that these games corrupt the brain. Violent video games are easily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some young people become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior. But many scientists and psychologists find that video games can actually have many benefits – the main one is making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level thinking skills that they will need in the future.

Excessive video game playing has been a problem with today’s youth they have had more influences over the youth than ever before. That brings to my attention a question, how do video games affect the youth of our society? Excessive video game playing, especially violent video games, can lead to youth violence, a decrease in academic success and many other negative things. I realize that some parents believe that they can be good for children, I agree but I also disagree in some cases. Some parents allow their children to play video games to keep a social life and to learn how to use strategies. This is true in some cases but not in all cases. For instance, other children that play video games alone and are in their rooms constantly can

Video Games immerse the player into a completely different world whether it is a first person shooter or a virtual reality headset. There is something attractive about getting away from the real world and experiencing something out of the ordinary. Take the short story, written by Rachel B. Glaser, “The Jon Lennin Xperience” as an example. The main character, Jason, has a younger sister who is constantly playing a virtual reality game where she is dating Kanye West. Jason eventually is sucked into a similar game where he plays as John Lennon. The game engulfs him and he becomes addicted. He spends more and more time on the system and enjoys it more than real life. Video games can be fun and relieve stress, but when played

“Life is a video game. No matter how good you get, you are always zapped in the end” (“Video Game Quotes” 1). Over time researchers, psychiatrists, and parents have often wondered how damaging violent video games can be to the youth in society. This is an important matter to people with children in their personal lives or work environment. These games have become a large risk factor for aggressive behavior in children. Researchers have been saying that video games do affect adults as well; however, they have even more effect on younger brains in early development. Video games have negative effects on childrens’ behavior. Some effects that video games have are reduced academic performance, aggression, obesity, and emotional disorder.