Video Games and Their Negative Affect - Case Study Example

Policy Argument; Video Games should be banned by Government as they negatively affect Children Introduction The advent in technology has led to the transformation of various aspects in the world. One of such transformation has been the rise of video games. This has been tremendous in the last two decades. In fact, video games have become more popular compared to other entertainment media such as television and film (Burgess, S. Stermer, and Burgess, M. 376). Hence, it has become the most common way of spending leisure time especially among the young children. The number of time spent by the American youth playing video games has also been on the rise. A study carried out indicated that between 23 and 60 minutes are spent per day by the young generation playing video games (Burgess, S. Stermer, and Burgess, M. 376). The prominence of these games has mostly been associated with negative issues especially among the young children and teenagers. Hence, there is a need of ensuring that the industry is regulated to ensure that the matter do not get out of the hand. The regulation can only be possible by having intervention from the government of the day. The government should ban video games as they lead to aggressiveness, bullying, and declining education standards. Arguments Government should ban video games as they lead to aggressive thoughts and behaviors among children and teenagers. The advent of technology has led to the emergence of new and complicated forms of video games. Moreover, it has become possible for such games to be accessible to children and teenagers. Most of these games have been full of violence. Moreover, most of the characters in the games have become more realistic. Children and teenagers are most likely to be influenced by things they learn or come across in life. Most of the things that they encounter in life are likely to influence their emotions and perceptions negatively. There has been a number of statistics indicating why such games need to be an area of concern. In a research done by Cooper and Mackie, it was evident that fifth-grade girls were more hostile on introduction to violent games (Kooijmans 1). The practical nature of the games has been linked to various occurrences of mass shooting that have been taking place in the country. One of such incidences was the mass shooting that took place in Newton. In the incident, Adam Lanza killed 26 people (Jaslow 1). The victims were 20 children and six teachers (Jaslow 1). According to CBS news reported, the lone gunman was influenced by violent video games (Jaslow 1). The assertion proved as the law enforcers discovered a series of violent video games on the perpetrator basement. The recent spate of killing due to the influence has reached a worrying trend. The government cannot allow death to continue taking place without taking the necessary action. The law the curb, the reliance on video games, will help in ensuring that fewer children are involved in violent actions. The government should provide alternative to video games such as bowling that leads to creativity and higher level of thinking. Secondly, the government should ban video games due to poor academic performance depicted by children and teenagers involved in the video games. Good academic performance is the goal of every parent and country. Therefore, anything that leads to deviation from good academic performance ought to be addressed the earliest possible by the relevant authorities. The amount of time spent by young people on the various video games continues to be on the rise. Hence, video games as a new form of entertainment has begun to compete for time traditional used by young people to engage in educational activities (Burgess, S. Stermer, and Burgess, M. 376). Time spent on studies keep on dwindling. On the other hand, the frequency in which students engage in these games has been shown to have a detrimental effect on school performance. The effect has been mainly due to reduced time that is spent in reading and doing homework. In a study that involved adolescents in America between the age of 10 and 19, it was found that of those that participated in these games, they spent 30% less time reading and 34% less time doing homework (Dewar 1). The academic goals should be a paramount thing of any government. Industry players responsible for manufacture and marketing of the games should not influence the government. The government has to protect the interest of the young ones by ensuring legislation are passed that put limit on the availability of the games. There should also be stiffer penalties to the industries that go against the set laws. The measures may include closure of the companies that do not adhere to the set laws. Additionally, the government should ban video games as they contribute to victimization and cyber bullying. The advancement in technology has led to increased availability of video games through online. This has made it possible for the young population to access the video games at home and in a school environment. The violent games have had an adverse effect on young people behavior (Lam, Cheng and Liu 159). The technology has led to the emergence of a new form of bullying. The new form relies on the internet and hence makes it sometimes impossible to identify the perpetrator. The recent statistics indicates how the online violent games have affected young people. A survey done on school going children indicated that most of them have been victims as well as perpetrators. The statistics indicated that over five percent were victims only, and 4.5 % were both perpetrators as well as the victim (Lam, Cheng and Liu 159). Additionally, the ban will help in curbing the recent deaths that have been associated with cyber bullying and victimization. Most of the victims are pushed to the limit and often opt to die to avoid further victimization. In one of the cases, a girl by the name Rebecca Ann Sedwick committed suicide by leaping to the ground after being exposed to online threats (Alvarez 1). The dangers of games in prominence of victimization are evident. The games have caused more threats and death to a young population. It is the high time that the government intervenes by ensuring necessary law are put in place to protect the vulnerable population. The law should also have a prolonged jail term to those that are involved in bullying. On the other hand, there should be sections of the law that outlines rehabilitation programs for those that have been affected. However, there are those that will most likely to be opposed on banning of video games by the government. The argument is that there are video games that contribute to a positive development in children and teenagers. Hence, their argument is that there should be promotion of those games that contribute significantly to children growth and development (Smith 1). In some of the arguments, it is opined that video games may play a significant role in the classroom. In one of the studies done in the United Kingdom, it was found that majority of teachers and students supported the idea of video games as they helped in offering motivation while learning. The analysis showed that over fifty percent of the teachers agreed that they would consider using some of the games in the class activities (CBC News 1). On the other hand, 62 percent of the 2,334 students interviewed agreed that using games would help them in the learning process (CBC News 1). Secondly, the games have been associated with mental sharpness. According to doctor Ferguson, violent games have been associated with high scores in analyzing information (Ferguson 1). However, based on the evidence above on the various adverse effects of the games, the proponents have a weak case that can act as a deterrent in passage of the policy. In fact, based on the research the negative of the video games far outweigh the positives noted by those in support of video games. Moreover, dropping games does not mean there will be any meaningful effect on the education and mental status of young people. In fact, there are other ways that can be relied upon by both students and teachers in boosting education performance. For example, students may engage in extra curriculum activities such as sports. Moreover, teachers may employ the use of other equipments to boost teaching such as scramble. Action Plan Overall, the above raised issues indicate video games as an emerging problem in the society. The significant problems have been their effect on young children that are a concern for country and future generations. The hope can be wiped by failure to address the problems of aggressiveness, victimization, and dwindling academic performance. Hence, the government in can effectively tackle these problems. The government should come up with bills that can be presented to the legislature for debate on the concerns raised due to the prevalence of video games. The law may seek to control the availability of video games to people less than 20 years. Moreover, the bill should also ensure there is an age limit in which one can be able to access online games. Such online games may have some password that can be accessed by someone with an identity card number or the driving license number. On the other hand, there should be the outline of various penalties to adults that grant access of games to children and teenagers. The penalties should be stiffer to instill fear among those that may be tempted to allow children to have access using their identity card or license. However, there is a point of worry as other laws that have been meant to protect public and especially the young ones have not been fully implemented. Therefore, my recommendation is that parents should take a leading role in preventing availability of video games to children. In addition, parents may provide alternatives that can keep children busy and at the same time be informative without causing any harm on children. Works Cited Alvarez, Lizette. “Girl’s Suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by Cyberbullies.” Nytimes.com. Web. 24 July 2014. Burgess, Stephen, Paul, Stermer Steven and Burgess, Melinda. “"Video Game Playing and Academic Performance in College Students." College Student Journal 46.2(2012):376-387. Print CBC News. “Too much time with TV, video games cuts school performance: study.” Cbc.ca. Web. 20 July 2014. Dewar, Gwen. “The effects of video games on school achievement.” Parentingscience.com. Web. 24 July 2014. Ferguson, Christopher. “TAMIU Study Finds Positive Results in Playing Violent Video Games.” Tamiu.edu. Web. 20 July 2014. Jaslow, Ryan. “Violent video games and mass violence: A complex link.” Cbsnews.com. Web. 24 July 2014. Kooijmans, Thomas. "Effects of Video Games on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors during Development." Personalityresearch.org. Lam, Lawrence, Cheng, ZaoHuo and Liu, XinMin. “Violent "Online Games Exposure and Cyberbullying/Victimization Among Adolescents." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking 16.3 (2013): 159-165. Print Smith, Blake. "How Do Video Games Affect Kids?" Jou.ufl.edu. Web. 20 July 2014. Read More