Effects of Video Games Upon Children and Their Behavior in the Real Life in the USA - Research Paper Example

Journalism, Mass Media and Communication 31 October Effects of Video Games upon Children and their Behavior in the Real Life in the USA 1. Introduction Video games are very popular among children, teenagers and adults. They can be played on cell phones, handheld devices, game consoles and computers. They can also be played from just about anywhere that an electronic gadget can be operated. Majority of children, adolescents and idle adults in America spend excessive quantities of time playing them. Today, Video games have become very advanced and realistic requiring players to pay full concentration while playing them. In fact, some games can now be connected to the internet allowing the players to play with strangers online. Video games have both adverse and favorable impacts on players. However, while a few of some games have informative content, majority of them accentuate contradictory themes and promote negative behaviors. Today, computer and video gaming is a founded method of entertainment for both the young and the old. Most families in America have some kind of video equipment or a personal computer. Consequently, children grow up with the habit of spending many hours daily in front a screen of some kind which is mainly either watching videotapes or television, playing video games or using a personal computer. Balter states that “The most common pattern of play is daily, with most of the players playing between one-half and one hour per day….substantial differences have been found between light players and heavy players” (665). Heavy players spend the most amounts of hours playing video games; they also tend to avoid chores, homework and other family activities in order to preserve their level of play. Light players on the other hand, spend comparatively less amount of time playing video games. The Video game industry in America continues to thrive and just like any other big business every worker and investor anticipates its future growth. According to Melanie, “In 2010, computer and video games contributed $24 billion in sales to the U.S. economy. The computer and video games industry employs 120,000 Americans in high-paying jobs in 34 states” (“Growing the Video Game Industry in the US,” fas.org). However, despite providing jobs and improving the economy, parents and organizations are concerned about the vast negative effects it has in the American society. Organizations such as the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics state that, vulnerability to violent media, such as video games, can lead to real-life destructive behavior and harm minors in other ways (“Violent Video Games and Young People,” Harvard.edu). 2. Types of Video Games There are eight main categories of video games namely; action, adventure and role playing, arcade, strategy, simulation, driving and puzzle. a. Action: They are characterized by excessive violence and are generally fast-paced. Majority of mature-rated games fall under this category so they are not appropriate for children. Mild games in this category have suggestive themes. These games may depict a human being against another human being or a human being against an alien or an animal (Caruana, V., Caruana, C., and Bruner, focusonthefamily.com). b. Adventure and Role Playing: These games contain an element of fantasy. They are less violent and less graphic than action games. However, they do contain some level of violence. c. Arcade: Games in this category range from being violent to classic. d. Strategy: These games require the making of tactical movements by the players. They have no violence making them suitable for children but they are quite difficult to play. e. Simulation: Games in this category mainly consist of aircraft simulations. Majority of their themes revolve around destroying enemies. f. Driving: Most of these games involve racing, however, there are a few that are mission-based. Players initially choose car, and with time, they get better and better cars (Caruana, V., Caruana, C., and Bruner, focusonthefamily.com). g. Puzzle: These types of games can be played by anyone provided that the player has the ability to reason logically. 3. Benefits of Video Games Although videogames have some serious effects, they are also important learning tools. Positive, prosocial game play has positive effects on the player while violent game and aggression has negative effects. The number of positive effects associated with game play include; increasing spatial skills, intelligence, scientific problem solving skills and choice reaction time. Playing video games also increases the abilities to process in parallel or multitask. However, Bidgoli points out that “Multitasking may have the negative consequence of losing depth of information processing while gaining breadth” (106). In children, video games improve manual ability and computer literacy. Despite all these, many studies have revealed that video games have a level of addiction that carries a lot of negative effects on the players, regardless of whether they are children, teenagers or adults. Despite the fact that video games are developed mainly for entertainment purposes, they have been very significant in the health sector. Video games and virtual reality are used as learning aids in the United States healthcare sector. According to Khan, Virtual Reality and video games have also been used to rehabilitate stroke patients, to educate young people about asthma and diabetes management, and as therapy in controlling some types of fears (3). 4. Negative Effects of Video games Video games have negative physical, behavioral and psychological effects. According to Bidgoli, “exposing infants and young children to video games and the Internet often does not engage their major learning style, which is through their sensorimotor system, and thus may have negative effects on their cognitive development” (106). The impact of exposure to violence in games has become a matter of concern. According to statistics, majority of American teenagers own their own computer or video games and spend approximately five to thirteen hours a week playing these games (Bidgoli 106). Most teenagers wish that there was more violence in the kind of video games they play. It is a fact that boys spend more time playing video games compared to their peers and this makes them more violent. The following are the negative effects of video games on the behavior of children and teenagers in the United States: a. Exposure to violence in online games leads to real physical violence. Majority of youths who desire more violent video games have gotten into physical fights already or are more likely to get into fights (Bidgoli 106). b. Violent video games increase anger levels in children and teenagers, this usually results to aggressive thoughts and behavior in real life. Sclafani points out that “as violent behavior is rewarded in the game world, they may become motivated to repeat it in life” (162). c. Internet and video game overuse lead to internet addiction. This is the most negative psychosocial effect associated with gaming. According to Khan, symptoms of time regulation and division from the public or the community appear in forms similar to those of other disorders that are addictive (4). d. Teenagers who spend large amounts of time playing violent video games are more likely to get into confrontations with their teachers at school compared to other teenagers. e. Playing video games directly correlates with poor academic performance. This is because too much time is spent playing video games while studies are ignored. This consequently results in poor grades at school. f. The physical health of both children and teenagers is negatively affected by video games. Long hours of sitting before video game consoles increase the risks of epileptic seizures, carpal tunnel syndrome, obesity, disorders of the skeleton and posture in children as well as muscular diseases (Sclafani 162). g. Video games also have severe chronic health effects such as high blood pressure and increase heart rate (Sclafani 162). 5. Control of Video Content From the above effects, it is clear that there is need to control video game content. The government of the United States has adopted a number of measures to control video games content in the country. The following measures have been taken: a. Introduction of video game ratings: Sine the introduction of video games, there has been concerns about the suitability of the content especially to children. The Entertainment Software Rating Board developed rating symbols and content descriptors to highlight the appropriateness of video games. According to Khan, the accuracy of the rating system in distinguishing inappropriate content differs according to user age (5). b. Legislative Efforts by the Federal government: Over the past few years, the United States Congress has made efforts to enact laws efficiently controlling sale of video games that are inappropriate to minors. In 2002, the Protect the Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act was introduced. The act aims to further prohibit renting or sale of adult level video games to children (Khan 5). c. Legislative Efforts by the State: Regulations on the sale of video game have also been introduced at national level. Today, states have laws protecting the renting and sale of inappropriate video games to children. d. Research: Various studies have identified a number of negative health effects that come with video games. This has played a major role in emphasizing the need for legislation. 6. Conclusion Video games have a prominent place in the culture of the United States. With the passing of time, video games have evolved in many ways. Today, they come with a range of categories from the most violent to the harmless. However, all these games carry some level of harm that mainly depends on the amount of time spent playing them. This has led to concerns about potential harms and effects in the usage of video games. Despite having a number of benefits, the use of video games has been found to contain vast negative effects. Consequently, federal and state laws have been formulated to control these harmful effects and especially on children and teenagers. Parental control is essential to decrease the negative effects of video games on minors. Parents should therefore keep a closer eye on the kinds of video games their children play. Controlling the number of hours children and teenagers spend playing video game is also a positive step towards controlling their harmful effects. It is not clear how inappropriate video games get to inappropriate audience in the United States. Therefore, there is need for more reviews, tougher laws and censorship to control this. Works Cited American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “Children and Video Games: Playing with Violence.” aacap.org. No.91. March 2011. Web. 31 October 2012. Balter, Lawrence. Parenthood in America: An Encyclopedia. Vol.1. California: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2000. Print. Bidgoli, Hossein. The Internet Encyclopedia. Vol.2. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004. Print. Caruana, V., Caruana, C., and Olivia Bruner. “Types of Video Games.” focusonthefamily.com. 2012. Web. 31 October 2012. Khan, Mohamed K. “Emotional and Behavioral Effects of Video Games and Internet Overuse.” Report of the Council on Science and Public Health (n.d.): CSAPH Report 12-A-07. Web. 31 October 2012. Melanie. “Growing the Video Game Industry in the US.” fas.org. 4 May 2011. Web. 31 October 2012. Sclafani, Joseph D. The Educated Parent 2: Child Rearing in the 21st Century. California: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2012. Print. “Violent Video Games and Young People.” harvard.edu. October 2010. Web. 31 October 2012. Read More