How Do Video Games Affect Socialization Skills in Children - Research Paper Example

HOW DO VIDEO GAMES AFFECT SOCIALIZATION SKILLS IN CHILDREN? Introduction To The Study Video games which started out in the 1970s essentially as a funand entertainment activity is today a $49 billion industry globally. The US market is approximately one-fourths of this huge market. 65% of all US households play video games regularly with teenagers being the heaviest users. 40% are female players while 25% of all players are aged under 18. An average player clocks up to 18 hours per week. Estimates have ventured that this industry is going to be twice as bigger than the music industry this year. There are five major categories of video games – Sports, General entertainment, Fantasy violence, Human violence and Education. Medicine and psychological experts are divided adverse effects on video games on children especially with regard to their socialization skills. The major pros and cons of playing video games have been highlighted below. Positives Entertainment and Fun learning Promoted even by educational institutions Encourages problem solving skills Interactive Sense of achievement Improves perceptual, motor and cognitive skills Improves planning and handling of complex situations. Negatives Poor academics Addictive Highly aggressive Accepts violence as being normal Leads to health hazards like Obesity and other diseases Increases heart rate, sugar and blood pressure levels Empirical evidence suggests that, more often than not, the negatives outweigh the benefits. Social activists and health experts advise regular parental control over the amount of time the child spends on playing video games and the nature of games being played. Children are strongly urged to keep away from games portraying too much violence. Review Of Literature A recent study conducted by Cheryl K. Olson, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospitals Center for Mental Health and Media in Boston, indicated that fears on the adverse effect of video games on kids were unfounded. He highlighted that video game benefits can include nourishment of self esteem, pride and socialization skills. He concluded that kids can learn academics, social interaction and cooperation and even history from video games. He recommended that parental guidance and control were key to kids’ obtaining maximum benefits from video gaming. Dawar (2010) concedes that evidence exists that playing violent video games makes kids more aggressive and less sympathetic towards victims. But, he argues that video games feature characters helping each other and thereby makes the kids friendlier. He remarks that international evidence from correlational, longitudinal and experimental studies indicate that kids playing prosocial games were definitely better skilled at socialization. The National Network for Child Care (NNCC) reports that children spending too much time on video games result in compromised social skills. Social skills like learning how to share with others, carry on a conversation etc. are imperative to juvenile development. It further states that social skills need to be modeled on parents not machines like video gaming consoles. Affonso (1999) found that teenagers are much heavier Internet users than their parents. Adults deployed the Interne to seek out job and employment-related information. The teenagers were more likely to play games, listen to music and meet new people. He voiced concern that Internet mirrored television and will intensify the negative effects on our social skills and that we are encouraging our children to become social nitwits! However, he was not all skeptical about the effect of video games on children. He also indicated that most children were quite capable of handling themselves and technology had proven to be a positive enhancement to growth. According to him, children used the technology to play, learn, communicate and form relationships as children always have. Development is enhanced in an interactive world." Johnson (2007) argued that gaming sharpened thinking, social skills and perception. It was fun and promoted new learning. Kartha studied the effects of video games on children. She highlighted the positives and negatives of video games on children and attempted to establish a direct correlation between poor academic performance and playing video games. She further warned that too much indulgence can lead to addiction to video games which can have physical as well as psychological effects on children. Excess of video games was a major concern and according to her, balance was the key. Singha (2011) listed out the best video games of all times. The top five video games were : 1. The Legend of Zelda, Action-adventure game 2. Super Mario World, Platform game 3. Grand Theft Auto III, Action-adventure game 4. Final Fantasy VII, Role-playing game 5. Resident Evil 4, Third-person shooter game Kooijmans presented a concise summary of the past research carried out on the effects of video games. He particularly highlighted t he General Aggression Model (GAM) of Anderson and Bushmans (2002) which talks about the biological and physical changes that occur during puberty and exposure to violent games. He pointed out that in order to control the effects of video game violence, one must first understand the effect it has on the brain, including in the areas of aggression and hostility. GAM helped to understand the complexity of the relationship between violence, video game and aggression. Scientific studies on the behavioral effects of video game reveal that these games influence the players both on implicit and explicit levels. Violent games have been found to decrease pro-social behaviors and leads to an increase in antisocial behavior Anti-social behavior begins to appear in younger ages, typically these children display acts of violence with no consideration for consequences. Also, reinforcement of racist or sexist stereotypes has also been associated with video games. Schilmme (2008) pointed out that video games lead to addiction among children. She ascertained that video games addiction not only led to behavioral and social changes but neurological changes too. She strongly advocated a form Video Gamers Anonymous on the lines of Alcoholic Anonymous. Sachoff (2008) studied the effects of gaming on social skills. Quoting studies by Victoria University researchers, he pointed out that playing video games for long periods of time does not necessarily lead to poor social skills and that social problems are not driving people to gaming. Rona (2011) suggested that more and more kids are withdrawing into gaming due to lack of social skills. She suggested parental guidance and control on video gaming by kids and help them achieve a healthy balance. Richfield (2010) presented a clear understanding of the effects of video games on children. He also highlighted various parenting strategies to deal with the social problems associated with gaming. Siitonen (2007) in his doctoral thesis of speech communication in the University of Jyvaskyla used interviews and information gathered by participant observation as the data for his study on the affect of online gaming on social interactions. In the synopsis published by Sciencedaily, he claims that online multiplayer games enable the formation of lasting relationships. He was of the view that long-term interaction between members of multiplayer communities in video gaming lays the foundation for a feeling of community. Jaklina (2009) contends that video games improve the cognition, perceptual skills and social skills too. Gamers can work off their anger and through working together with their gaming friends, they become more socially responsible. Lee and Barr (2004) explored the effects of video game violence on prosocial and antisocial behaviors. They hypothesized that social behaviors would depend on the extent of violence in games. Contrary to the hypothesis, no antisocial behavior was observed in the sample. Prosocial behavior was seen occasionally, but its appearance was not significantly different in violent and non-violent gamers, indicating that prosocial behavior was independent of game violence. The American Psychological Association in its November 2005 report claims that a meta-analysis of psychological studies indicated that video games decreased the pro-social behavior of kids. Worldtech24 (2010) reports that in a study involving 600 primary school children scientists have found that children who spend hours playing online games may be developing friendships and nurturing vital social skills. The benefits of online games were similar to those of making friends in the real world, the researchers from the Chinese University in Hong Kong concluded. Rather than causing them harm, playing computer games can help boost the self-esteem of shy youngsters and increase their satisfaction with life. Griffiths (2005) writing in the British Medical Journal argues that the effect of video games on children has been trivialized and they do have benefits. These games can aid children’s health and do not deserve a wholly negative reputation. Research Question The purpose of this research study is to find if a relationship exists between playing video games and the socialization skills in children, Method selection The study will concentrate on a specific demographic zone and observe the time spent by children in playing video games, the nature of games they play and track their social behaviors. Since the respondents are young children, observation would be the best method of data collection. This can be supplemented with surveys in the nature of informal chats with the children using checklists and diary notes. Parents who are key stakeholders in this activity would also be roped in to offer their comments, insights and opinions. ESA, ESRB records would provide accurate time periods being spent by the children on playing video games. Gaming rental agencies would also be approached to gain an insight into the size and market of the video games rental industry. Research methodology Research type The research will be ad hoc, cross-sectional, exploratory and social. The research will be qualitative in nature. Population & sample A cross-section sample of 100 respondents, ages ranging from 8 to 14 years, will be selected from various states in the US. Methods and Techniques Carry out a comprehensive review of relevant literature on the subject Look into the past research undertaken in this area\ Collect, process and analyze information obtained from observation and surveys Study the secondary information sources such as ESA, ESRB and published reports Research objectives 1) What are the pros and cons of playing video games with special focus on socialization skills? 2) Ascertain the nature of relationship that exists between playing video games and the child’s social behavior. 3) Find out the nature of video games played by children and the time spent by them playing these games. 4) Are video games truly addictive? 5) Does the gender of the gaming child have any bearing on the socialization skills? 6) What is role of parental control in negating the adverse effects of gaming? 7) Can the study findings be generalized across various demographic zones? t Reference List Video games offer kids developmental, social benefits study shows, http//www.indianapolisrecorder.com/online_features_/health_and_wellness/article_ 0d38ce5a-b4f3-5e72-a902-7fe314b6138b.html Dawar, The beneficial social effects of video games: Games that promote helpfulness, http://www.parentingscience.com/effects-of-video-games-prosocial.html Computer games effects on kids, retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_5873907_computer-games-effects-kids.html Bob Affonso (1999, Dec 1), Is the Internet affecting he social skills of our children?, December 1, 1999, http://www.sierrasource.com/cep612/internet.html Steven Johnson (2007, Jul 9) , This is your brain on video games, retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/2007/brain/video-games Kartha , Positive effects of video games, retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-video-games.html Singha (2011, Mar 17) Pros and cons of video games, http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/2- 27-2004-51038.asp Kooijmans , Effects of Video Games on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors During Development, http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html Video game behavioral aspects, retrieved from Online database, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_behavioral_effects Schilmme (2008, Apr 1), Video Game Addiction: Do we need a Video Gamers Anonymous?, retrieved from SerendipUpdate Sachoff (2008, Jun 12), Gaming does not lead to poor social skills,   http://www.webpronews.com/gaming-does-not-lead-to-poor-social-skills-2008-06 Rona (2011, Jan 18), Social Skills and Kids - Do Video Games Harm Their Social Life?, retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Skills-and-Kids---Do-Video-Games-Harm Their-Social-Life?&id=3716889 Richfield (2010, May 12), Dealing with Effects of Video Games on Children , retrieved from http://www.healthyplace.com/parenting/the-parent-coach/dealing-with-effects-of-video- games-on-children/menu-id-2143/ Siitonen (2007, Sep 20), Social interaction in online multiplayer communities, https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/.../13444/9789513929312.pdf?... How Does Online Gaming Affect Social Interactions?, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070915110957.htm Jaklina (2009, May 07), Video Games Improve Children Skills, retrieved from, http://www.articlesbase.com/video-games-articles/video-games-improve-children-skills-905249.html Lee and Barr (2004, Aug 2), Journal of Young Investigators Issue 2, August 2004, www.jyi.org/volumes/volume11/issue2/articles/lee.html http://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedia/psychology/video_game.html Video Games Help Shy Kids Build Social Skills, retrieved from http://www.worldtech24.com/business/video-games-help-shy-kids-build-social-skills Giffiths (2005, Jul 15) , http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-2/hi/health/4682801.stm Read More