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Have you ever wondered how games impact children? or why kids love to play them? Well your about to find out and the answer may be surprising. Video games were first introduced in the 1970s. By the end of that decade they had become a preferred childhood leisure activity, and adults responded with concern about the possible ill effects of the games on children. Early research on these effects was inconclusive. However, a resurgence in video game sales that began in the late 1980s after the introduction of the Nintendo system has renewed interest in examining the effects of video games. The increasingly realistic and exciting nature of electronic games has helped to make them enormously popular with children and youth. 79% of American children now play computer or video games on a regular basis. Children between the ages of 7 and 17 play for an average of eight hours a week. Most of the games on the market are appropriate for these young players, and the best of them can bring a lot of benefits. Besides being fun, some of the games provide practice in problem solving and logic as well as strategizing. The subset of games that feature violence, gore, and antisocial behavior has raised concern among parents, educators, child advocates, medical professionals, and policy makers. The implication of games in high profile school shootings has led to congressional hearings, government investigations, and legislative proposals. The intense concern about video and computer games is based on the belief that the ultra violent games are inappropriate for all children and harmful to some. Exposure to violent games increases aggressive actions. Studies measuring aggressive behaviors after playing violent video games (compared with behaviors displ... ... middle of paper ... ...hildren (and adults) who play more violent video games are more likely to experience aggressive feelings, thoughts, and actions, and are also less likely to behave in positive, helpful ways. This appears to be true for both boys and girls, and surprisingly, also for children who are not naturally aggressive. In conclusion video and computer games will continue to be an exciting and growing part of children’s media diets. With so many good games available for children and youth, it is unfortunate that so much attention has to be paid to games which are inappropriate for all youth and harmful to some. As long as children have easy access to these games, then policy debates will continue. Perhaps those debates will be moot in the near future as both the industry and parents make sure that the children and youth of America are sold games that entertain and benefit them.
The authors of the article “Violent Video Games Affecting our Children,” offer a solution to this issue (Vessey and Lee 2000). Addressing parents, they suggest that they monitor the type of video games children play and how much time they spend playing (2000). As long as the parents assume responsibility on this matter, choosing which games are appropriate for their children, they decrease the chances of their children overexposing themselves to the graphic images from video games intended for older audiences
The allegation that videogames cause violent behavior in children has been present as long as videogames themselves. Some researchers said that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was one intense gamer. “Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech Shooter was seen by his roomates as odd because he never joined them in video games.”(Beresin) This debate will continue to go on in this country as long as there are horrific crimes that occur. There is much written in the research regarding this issue, and many differing views. The research that is presented in the next few paragraphs supports the theory that it is not the graphic video games that produce aggressive behavior, but other factors in a child’s life that create violent actions.
The American Psychological Association has conducted research pertaining to the effect violent video games play on children. In this article the APA discusses how some of their research has made it evident that violent video games may cause some children to be far more aggressive to their peers, but the same games seemed to have a positive affect on other children. The research that was conducted by the APA in this article shows that the violent video games alone have little or no effect on a child, but instead it is a mix of certain personality traits of the given child that make a child more susceptible to the violence that is presented to them when playing video games. The research presented in this article also shows some of the positives that come along with the activity of playing video games. These positive effects range from the usage of video games in a hospital enviro...
In the last two decades, video games have become popular, especially violent video games such as Call of Duty, Unreal Tournament, and Grand Theft Auto, among others. According to Anderson and Bushman, “[a]bout 10% of children aged 2 to 18 play console and computer video games more than 1 hour per day; among 8- to 13-year-old boys, the average is more than 7.5 hours per week” (354). Due to their explicit violent content, violent video games have been seen as a negative influence in society by promoting aggression in the real world, thus increasing violence in society. Most people assume that playing violent video games has negative effects on players because violent video games create aggressive behaviors on the people who play them. However, studies show that violent video games bring some benefits, and people who normally choose to play violent video games are the ones that have been raised or have been exposed to a violent environment.
Video games are one of the most addictive things in the world. Researchers said that more than 1.2 billion people are playing games worldwide whatever genre is. Many people buy it to have fun with friends, other people buy it for themselves, and others just buy it because they don’t have nothing to do at home. What many people concern about is whether or not kids should play video games. In my opinion, I believe that video games can make kids more violent for three main factors.
The future is a mystery that human beings can’t figure out because the mindset ideal of the future. A step to get close to the future has been the revolution of technology. It has changed society individually and mentally for the reality for the future. However, technology has change entertainment in the manner of video games. Development to create games has been a phenomenal. Making beautiful digital graphics, wonderful story-lines, and human graphic characters that can talk to an individual through certain scenarios. Although video games are a great revolution for the future it has brought negative influence upon people of all ages in high problems leading into transition behaviors like addiction, violence, and signs of aggression.
Video games, with violent content, do not cause violent behavior. However, in the case of an individual experiencing, violent, disruptive, and dangerous behaviors, video games may contribute to an outburst of violence.
One article points out that video games have a big impact on children’s lives and that many of the games played are violent. Researchers have found that “nearly all children spend time playing video games” and studies have found that “8th graders spent an average of 17 hours per week playing video games” (Tamborini 336). Moreover, 68% of the most popular video games contain violence (Tamborini 336). So it is clear that many children have access to violent video games and they have a big impact on their lives simply because of the amount of time spent playing them.
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
Over the past 30 years, playing video games has become one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Not only has the video game industry become a multi-billion dollar industry, but it has attracted people from all age types. While video games today are played by both kids and adults, there are many issues being raised regarding the effects of video games. More particular, is the effect that violent video games may be having on children. Some critics argue that video games are direct indicators of child aggression while video game supporters argue that there is no direct link between child aggression and violent video games. While many people have their own personal stances, this issue is unique because it is unfolding everyday. Scientists and researchers all over the world are continuously doing research regarding the effects of video games on children. Even though this remains a field of uncertainty for researchers, parents should definitely be involved in being aware of what it is that they’re children are playing when they play video games.
By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video game...
Social scientists have been examining the effect that video games have on behavior. From the introduction of video games in the 1980s, there have been numerous research studies to this effect (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). The issue has become even more significant in the modern context because these video games have become bloodier and more realistic than ever before. Even though boys play these games more than girls in America, the consumption of video games has generally been high. Carey (2013) indicates that 32% of these gamers are below the age of 18. Therefore, it would be crucial to evaluate the effects that these video games have on the behavior of such children.
Video games first appeared in the early 1970's. It all started with a simple white ball bouncing back and fourth on the screen. In 1986, Nintendo introduced its first line of home video game consoles. With the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) on the market, the home video gaming industry surged and immediately became popular among children. Since then, not only have video games increased in popularity, but there have been vast improvements in graphics, game play, and forms of gaming. Today, video games have become the preferred choice of entertainment among children and teenagers. Research done in 1998 has shown that kids who own video games spend an average of 90 minutes a day playing them. Clearly the video gaming industry is a profitable one. With the increasing competition between gaming companies, the advancement of technology and content of games began to change. One of the most significant and concerning changes in gaming is graphics. With the improvements in graphics the content of the game became more and more detailed and realistic. Visually violent actions can now be displayed on the screen. Images of blood, flying body parts, and gore have been integrated into every aspect of today's video games. Violence has always been a common factor in many games, but with the improvements in graphics and capabilities of gaming consoles, a growing number of people are becoming concerned about the effects on our children and society.
In recent years, technology has developed very rapidly. This has led to many arguably both positive and negative changes in our everyday lives. One such change was the increased accessibility of personal computers and gaming consoles as well as the introduction of numerous video games. Due to their entertainment value, these games gained popularity among children and teenagers. Although many concerns have been voiced related to playing video games, especially those that are violent, [e.g., increases in aggressive behavior in children (Anderson & Bushman, 2001)], this paper will argue that certain video games also have beneficial effects. They should thus be played by children, teenagers and adults alike albeit with caution.
...ct violent video games to have a greater effect than violent television, and most of the reasons why one would expect them to have a lesser effect are no longer true because violent video games have become so realistic, particularly since the late 1990s. Controlling an avatar during video games has a much larger influence on the audience’s behavior, thoughts, and beliefs than that of a movie. Children grow up killing others in video games, seeing it in a movie doesn’t have nearly as large of a impact on them as its does when they do it in a video game. Since video games are interactive and you’re fully engaged in the game, it has a larger impact on people as opposed to simply watching a movie. While most parents (88%) report regularly supervising their children's use of television, only about half report regularly supervising their children's use of video games.