Are Video Games Harmful?

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Are Video Games Harmful? “The 2010 average gamer spends 8 hours a week playing video games” If you ask young people what is their opinions of video games, likely you will hear that they are fun and enjoyable. On the other hand, parents describe them as the polar opposite: violent, useless and costs lots of money. As technology advances and first generation gamers ( playing in the late 1970’s) begin to pass on their “gaming gene” to the second generation of gamers, are video games really harmful? This essay will explore both sides of the argument and reach a conclusion about how they affect people. Any type of addiction is bad, having a video game addiction is no exception. Good games can lead to addiction as gamers will spend hours to try and complete the goal of the game. A study to addiction of video games conducted by Scientist Douglas A. Gentile researched 3,034 children and teenagers and the study revealed that the average time spent on playing video games was twenty hours a week which is nearly one full day of a week playing games. The research also found out that 72% of houses in america play video games, that means if you go into one hundred peoples houses in America you will find at least seventy of them that have a video gaming device. Out of the 3034 children and teenagers interviewed, about 273 (9%) of them showed some symptoms of game addiction. Having a game addiction will lead to mood changes as frequently feeling unhappy and moody when not playing video games. Addicted gamers may isolate themselves from their families which can cause serious changes in family relationship such as failing to communicate with each other. Violence in video games lead to many parents being concerned about their children's behaviou... ... middle of paper ... ...games as it is proven to slow down the brain ageing process and improve short and long term memory. In conclusion, the benefits of playing video games can be very surprising and the hazards concerning. In my opinion, I find myself leaning towards the benefits of gaming as the concerns can be easily overcome if you play for the correct amount of time such as addiction, it can be easily prevented if you limit your time playing by finding something else you like to do such as going out with your friends and do some sports. Violent video games should also go through stricter age ratings to prevent younger people from playing these game. If one looks into it in detail, you will find that the advantages can be undismissable. Word count = 970 Total word count= 1112 Quotes = 142

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