From virtual world gaming to common arcade games players have been intrigued by the pixelated images, ideas and story lines created by developers. Video games can be fascinating however, the amount of time children are allowed to spend playing them should be limited because they hinder positive growth through negatively influencing its players to indulge in social isolation, obesity, and violence.
The bias situation consisting of the argument of whether or not video games cause health related issues have been active ever since the late 1990s. Because of the thriving video game industry, the effects of video games over the years have changed in many ways. According to a National Health Nutrition examination survey in 2008, approximately thirty percent of children were considered overweight and at least seventeen percent were considered obese. ‘As the years progress, technology advances and the amount of games and gamers varies based on may factors.
Although some video gamers support the effects of video games, there are others who disagree with their claims and feel that video games influence gamers through violence, increases social isolation and obesity. Despite the common stress relieving nature of video games, the violent content in most of them can lead to a rise in aggression. Video games include shooting, racing, and exploring are usually known as the most influential types of games. Playing these types of games can also lead to addiction which can create aggressive thoughts and feelings. In addition, Video game play has been linked to delinquency which consisted of a relation which was stronger for individuals who are characteristically aggressive and for men. According to Jordana Mansbacher, PsyD, a pediatric specialist, ‘There is less engagement in physical activity, which leads to other health problems, There is more snacking during video-game playing, and most of these snacks are unhealthy, such as chips, soda, popcorn and candy bars, There is increased risk of being aggressive and normalizing aggressive behavior if violence based games are played.’ Increasing the amount of time spent playing video games can definitely contribute negative habits to the daily lives of its players.
Within the world there are approximately 1.2 billion gamers within our nation alone who range from the age of 5 years old to 40 years old who play video games on a daily basis. Families are also involved because for some children gaming means playing with younger or older siblings, meaning that both the child and their sibling are being pulled in by the fascinations associated with video games. Friends of game players are usually involved as well due to the easy accessible way to connect and share video games through your online account or mobile device causing them to possibly be affected by the effects of video gaming.
Because the majority of video gamers are students or adolescents who spend a large portion of their time indulged into their monitors they are first in line to suffer the consequences. In addition, older gamers who have families are affected because of the decreasing amount of time that they are spending with precious family all because of video games. However, Video gamers are able to benefit from the long periods of time that they spend playing games by learning new improved skills and tactics, although close family members do not benefit and are affected by their loved one’s absence. The overall effect of video games could fall in either direction based on the individual gamer, the types of games they play and the total amount of time spent playing games.
Reality which is essential to the furthering of our society as video games are becoming more and more prominent.
Ultimately the negative effects of video gaming harms the player. The video game player is mostly affected because they are the main person in control of the game and of themselves while they are playing. Video games are solely controlled by its controller, whom is the gamer(s) at any given time meaning that they control the degree at which they are negatively affected. The scholarly research on the effects of video games has not altered my view points on the topic because I am a gamer and I understand the overall impact of playing too much video games on a personal level. Some implications based on the effects of video gaming for future preferences would be that they certainly cause negative effects on your health if you are and obsessive gamer.
Works Cited Page
- Sabella, Ph.D. Russell A. “Negative Potential of Video Games.” Education.com, 29 Apr. 2010, www.education.com/reference/article/negative-potential-video-games/.
- Zhang, Tao, et al. ‘Promoting Children’s Physical Activity in Physical Education: The Role of Active Video Gaming.’ JTRM in Kinesiology, 04 Jan. 2016. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-sbib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1088275&site=eds-live&scope=site.
- JIA-KUN, ZHENG and ZHANG QIAN. ‘Priming Effect of Computer Game Violence on Children’s Aggression Levels.’ Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, vol. 44, no. 10, Dec. 2016, pp. 1747-1759. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2224/sbp.2016.44.10.1747.
- Golin, Mark. ‘Are Video Games Zapping Your Child’s Mind?’ Prevention, vol. 44, no. 8, Aug. 1992, p. 56. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-sbib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=9208101091&site=eds-live&scope=site.
- Gentile, Douglas A. ‘The Effects of Video Games on Children: What Parents Need to Know.’ Pediatrics for Parents, vol. 21, no. 6, July 2004, pp. 10-11. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-sbib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=15751521&site=eds-live&scope=site.
- Porter, Guy and Vladan Starcevic. ‘Are Violent Video Games Harmful?.’ Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 15, no. 5, Oct. 2007, pp. 422-426. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10398560701463343.
- Walther, Matthew. ‘Violent Video Games Can Carry Negative Side Effects.’ Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2018. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/WBIZYA811034899/OVIC?u=mgat&sid=OVIC&xid=94a3b94f. Accessed 21 July 2018. Originally published as ‘Why can’t we all admit that violent video games are sick?’ The Week, 9 Mar. 2018.
