Negative impact of video games on children

Negative Impact of Videogames on Children

Video Games are very entertaining and for millions of children around the world it is an interesting hobby. These children are able to balance videogames as an entertainment without affecting their real lives. However, as several research studies have shown, video games have become a negative influence for a sizable proportion of children who are not able to achieve this balance. In such children long-term health and behavioral effects have been reported. The development of addictive personality and being lost in the virtual reality of the gaming environment results in a sedentary life style posing a high risk factor for developing obesity and attendant health complications. My personal experience of witnessing friends who are addicted to Grand Theft Auto IV has shown me how serious such dependence can be and how children can fall into social isolation without their realizing it. The purpose of this research paper is to assist families with children suffering from video game addiction. The negative effects of uncontrolled video game play will be stressed in this paper. This paper does not concern children who play video games for one or two hours but for those who play as much as 8 hours a day. The emphasis of the paper is that parental supervision plays a critical role in controlling the negative effects of video games. The following research plan is adopted to evaluate the negative effects of video games on children. A detailed analysis of available dissertations and peer-reviewed literature is conducted to assess the cause and the effects of prolonged video gaming on children.

OUTLINE

1) Abstract

2) Introduction

3) Impact of Video Games

4) Video Gaming Addiction

4) Game Addiction (China and South Korea: A real Crisis)

5) Video games Increase Violence- Reduce Academic Performance

6) Video Games and Health Impact

7) Conclusion

8) Bibliography

The Negative Impact of Videogames on Children

Abstract

Video games have become ubiquitous and more and more kids are getting addicted to them. Vast majority of the video games are violence packed and this has a tendency to desensitize children to the suffering of people in the real world scenario. Video games are inherently addictive making children spend vast number of hours glued to the computer or the gaming console that directly affects their academic performance. The fact that video games lead to sedentary life style and physical inactivity poses it as a huge risk factor for developing overweight condition, childhood obesity and diabetes, which are serious health issues faced by our nation. Parental supervision and controlled gaming hours are essential to control the damaging effects that the video gaming industry can silently inflict on our children.

Introduction

Video gaming is the single most important entertainment in America. Young children are particularly addicted to video gaming and statistics suggest that 97% of all adolescents play video games [NIMF]. Off late there has been increasing debate into the effects of video gaming on children. Several researchers claim that video games improve the cognitive and motor skills, vision and reflexes of a person. While these positive aspects of video games are encouraging there is also some serious concern about the growing number of literature reporting negative effects of video gaming on the impressionable minds of children. Particularly, many studies have reported that playing aggressive video games can make the child less sensitive to suffering and more violent in behavior. Also, addiction to video gaming has been implicated in reduced academic performance, [Douglas A Gentile] social isolation, and one of the contributing factors for the growing obesity epidemic among children. The recent spate of school shootings have only increased Parents and teachers concerns about the damaging effects of videogames on children. A closer look into the subject reveals that Video games are clearly detrimental to children. They cause addiction, increase aggression and decrease academic performance. Video games also develop emotional maladjustment and social isolation and other undesirable social characteristics in the child. Parental supervision and controlled gaming hours are essential to control the negative effects that video gaming can silently inflict on our children. A brief overview of video gaming and its various negative impacts would help understand the issue better.

Impact of Video Games

Before we dwell into the negative effects of video games on children it is also essential to point out that video games can be positive, as a learning tool for children. Video games improve hand eye coordination, inductive skills, strategical thinking, pro-social behaviors etc. For children suffering from poor self-esteem, video games are useful as a therapeutic tool for improving their self-confidence. Video games also make children computer savvy and help them in developing quick thinking ability. It is also possible to have a positive influence on the young and impressionable minds by providing positive content in the games. One recent study by Gentile et.al (2009) has confirmed that prosocial characters in video games could influence the prosocial behavior of children playing the game in a positive manner. This research involved three studies conducted on children in three different age groups from three different countries. The first study involved 727 Singaporean secondary school students. Students were asked to list out three of their favorite games and the amount of time they spent playing video games and how often the players help or hurt each other in these games. This enabled the researchers to gather data pertaining to their exposure to violent and pro-social video games. 'Prosocial Orientation Questionnair'e was used to assess helping behavior in the games. Statistical regression of prosocial behavior and prosocial game exposure revealed a positive relation. = .49 (p < .001) for helping behavior, ? = .18 (p < .001) for cooperation and sharing, ? = .48 (p < .001) for empathy, and ? = .19 (p < .06) for emotional awareness. Regression with violent game exposure resulted in opposite effects clearly suggesting a positive influence of pro-social gaming on the behavior of children.

The second study involved an extensive survey of 780 5th grade and 1050 8th grade Japanese students. The subjects were asked to answer a survey including questions such as how often they played video games in the last month, how often did the characters in the game help out each other and finally how often did they engage in prosocial behaviors (affection, care, friendship, etc.) in their real life. The subjects were asked to rate these questions on a scale of 1 to 5. The subjects were assessed again within a span of four months and the results compared. Using a structural equation model the researchers were able to identify the relationship between pro-social gaming and behavior at time T1 (first test) to prosocial gaming and behavior at time T2.(after 4 months) The resulting equation fitted well ?2 (11) = 6.68, p > .80, RMSEA = .00, NFI = .995 suggesting a bi directional relationship and an 'upward spiral' between pro-social gaming and pro-social behavior.

In the third and final study 161 U.S. college students were randomly assigned to playing 20 minutes of either a prosocial (Super Mario Sunshine or Chibi Robo) or violent (Ty2 or Crash Twin Sanity ) or a neutral game (Pure Pinball). After playing the game the participants were asked to complete a task where they could either help or harm a fellow participant. The two prosocial games used in the study scored 5.6 (on a 7-point scale) for doing nice things and 1.8 for hurting or killing fellow participants while the two violent games averaged 2.5 and 6.2 respectively for doing nice things and hurting / killing in that order. The neutral games averaged 1.1 for both the cases. This study clearly illustrates the short-term causal effects of either violent or pro-social games on the immediate behavior of children. Together the above three studies indicate that players with greater pro-social game exposure exhibited high pro-social behaviors in real life clearly implying that positive video game content can have a positive bearing on the developmental traits of children. [Gentile et.al (2009)]

However the positive aspects of video games are easily overridden by the negative aspects. Video games can be dangerous for children in different aspects. One of them is their addictive nature. There is clear evidence to the addictive nature of videogames. Several studies that focused on the effects of videogames on children have attested to its addictive effect on children. A brief discussion of some of these studies will help highlight this negative impact of videogames.

Video Gaming Addiction

A study by Philip and Terry (2006) analyzed the possible relationship between Video games and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. This cross sectional study included 72 adolescents from a high school in Vermont and their parents. The subjects of the survey were assessed for the number of hours spent on the internet, watching TV, internet videogames and console-based video games and the effects on their academic performance and social functioning were studied. The researchers administered the Young's Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS) to gather details pertaining to school grades, detention, exercise etc. while the parents were asked to complete the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS). This helped the researchers obtain information regarding the behavioral abnormalities, hyperactivity, inattention, ADHD, etc.

Statistical analysis of the gathered information clearly revealed an increase in inattentive behavior (p ? 0.001 for both Internet and console video games) and ADHD (p = 0.018 and 0.020 for console and Internet games, respectively). The researchers also concluded that students who engaged in video gaming for more than an hour showed significantly lower academic performance with (Grade point average (GPA), p = 0.019 and 0.009 for console and Internet games, respectively). The association between the time spent on playing video games and the YIAS (p < 0.001), was clearly evident indicating the development of video game addiction among the subjects who played for more than one hour daily [Philip and Terry, (2006)]. This study shows that children playing video games may develop attention deficit, which in turn can affect their school performance. It is also evident from the study that children can easily develop an addictive personality, consuming time and energy that could otherwise be fruitfully channelized to academic pursuits.

One of the early studies by Marny and Douuglas (2003) analyzed 607 8th and 9th grade school students by means of a self-reported survey relating to their video gaming behavior. The participants of the study were asked to rate themselves on a 'seven item scale of addiction' based on the 3 point Likert psychometric evaluation scale. A total of 85 subjects (15%) answered in the affirmative to more than 4 or more addiction measures listed in the questionnaire. 265 subjects answered in the negative to a minimum of 6 items and were classified as non-addicted. The subjects were then assessed for a history of their school performance, time spent in playing games, aggressive behavior, hostility etc. It was found that addicted subjects spent greater amount of time playing the video games (t (341) = -13.17, p < .000). The study also revealed a gender bias with boys more vulnerable to addiction compared to girls (x2 (1,345) = 42.86, p < .000). Also addicted subjects had high hostility scores (t (347) = -4.14, p < .000) and were more frequently involved in physical fights in the last year (t (347) = -4.14, p < .000). This study also indicated a negative association between video game addiction and school performance with addicted students reporting lower grades (t (337) = 5.035, p < .000) [Marny & Douglas, 2003].

Overall, this study clearly indicates that video game can be addictive and that addiction can entail negative consequences such as development of aggressive attitudes, behavioral maladjustments and a drop in school performance. The high hostility scores of children who played video games for more hours clearly suggests that video games kindle violent nature in children. This is mainly due to the aggressive content in the games.

Game Addiction (China and South Korea: A real Crisis)

The problem of Internet-based video game addiction is nowhere so pronounced as in China and South Korea. In these Asian countries, Internet gaming has blown out of proportions and has even resulted in fatalities. A series of cardiopulmonary deaths at computer gaming centers have prompted the Korean government to seriously investigate the issue of Internet addiction and in particular, video gaming addiction among young children and adolescents. The 2006 national report by the Korean government revealed some shocking facts. It was found that around 210,000 ( 2. 1% ) of 6 to19-year-olds were found to be severely addicted and 80% of these children required psychotropic medications. The report also indicated that 20% to 24% of the children required hospitalization. With Korean school students spending an average of 23 hours per week in video gaming, government sources project that another 1.2 million school age children may be urgently requiring counseling services and appropriate anti-game addiction interventional programs. These reports have forced the Korean government into serious action mode and the result is that currently there are more than 193 hospitals in the country that treat internet and video gaming addiction disorder. Overall more than 1043 trained counselors are already actively engaged in the interventional programs [Block J, (2008)].

China's case is even more severe due to the enormity of its population. The gravity of the video game and computer game addiction in China is so serious that the government began to control video gaming services in the country. Currently laws in China, do not permit more than 3 hours of video gaming per day. According to Dr. Tao Ran, the director of the Beijing Military central hospital, more than 13.7% of adolescents or roughly 10 million teenagers are afflicted by internet and gaming addiction disorder [Block J, (2008)]. Video gaming does not only carry an addiction risk but also imprints violence into the impressionable minds of young children.

Videogames Increase Violence- Reduce Academic Performance

Video games are not only addictive but they also feed negative behavioral traits in children. While the gaming industry claims that video games help improve cognitive and motor skills it is equally true that videogames develop aggression among children. The fact is that majority of the video games are bloody and involve violence and as such children who are constantly exposed to these kinds of games get desensitized to violence and become belligerent. In the wake of the repeat school shootings parents and teachers have become increasingly concerned about the influence of violent video games such as Quake, Doom, Grand Theft Auto IV, etc. In fact several countries have now banned Grand Theft Auto IV as the game has undesirable content including sex, violence, theft, etc. This game created such a controversy that senator Hillary Clinton announced "The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder,"[Linda Wharton]. A new legislation was introduced aimed at controlling children' access to such games. The results of the following studies confirm the correlation between video games and violence in children.

Nicholas et.al (2006) studied the physiological desensitizing effects of violent video games that were reported in several previous studies. The participants of this study were 257 college students (124 men and 133 women). All the participants were subjected to baseline measurement of their heart rates (HR) and Galvanic skin response (GSR). The subjects were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire pertaining to their video gaming habits including the style of video games they played, the number of hours they played and particularly about the use of aggressive video games. They were also made to fill out a nine-point physical aggression questionnaire. The participants were then randomly chosen to play either a violent video game (Carmageddon, Duke Nukem, Mortal Kombat, Future Cop) or non-violent (Glider Pro, 3D Pinball, 3D Munch Man, Tetra Madness) video game for a period of 20 minutes. Upon completion, the subjects were asked to rate the video game for different attributes (violence, addiction, arousing, entertaining, boring, etc.)

Subsequently, the participants were showed a violent movie and their HR and GSR were recorded during the same. Heart Rate measured at baseline, post game play and during the movie was an average of 66, 68.6 and 69.6 respectively. During the watching of the real life violence video, it was observed that there was a significant contrast between the heart rates of those who had played violent video games compared to those who played non-violent games F (1,131)=16.60, p

The participants of this study were 70 school going children between the age of 6 and 10. The researchers presented the parents of the study subjects with an extensive survey consisting of three sections. The first section gathered detailed demographic information while the second section pertained to the computer and video gaming traits of the children and the final section focused on the behavioral traits and academic performance of the children under study. Interpreting the data based on the Child behavior checklist (CBCL) subscales ('attention problems', 'delinquent Behavior', 'aggressive behavior', etc. And school competence measure in terms of the GPA (grade point average) revealed important information.