Advantages and disadvantages of video game play

Recreation

Pros and Cons of Playing Video Games

Do playing violent video games lead children to act out these violent video games in society?

A study reported on in the March issue of Psychological Bulletin, a journal of the American Psychological Association, shows that playing violent video games often increases violent thinking, attitudes and behaviors among those who play them. It also shows that playing these games does nothing to promote positive social behaviors. Craig Anderson a Psychologist at Iowa State University and his team looked at existing studies of 130,000 people from the U.S., Europe and Japan. His findings held true for players in Western and Eastern cultures, for male and female players and for players of various ages (LaRue Huget, 2010).

This study shows that while violence in movies and TV shows is often looked at for their potential impact on viewers' tendencies for violence, video gaming, which is a much newer phenomenon, has not yet been so fully researched. In the review of the data, the new research found that exposure to violent video games was associated with aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition and aggressive affect. They are thought to desensitizes users and create a lack of empathy and a lack of prosocial behavior (LaRue Huget, 2010).

There have been increasing reports of bullying that can be partially attributed to the popularity of violent video games. In a 2008 study Grand Theft Childhood it was reported that 60% of middle school boys who played at least one Mature-rated game hit or beat up someone, compared to 39% of boys that did not play these same games. Violent video games tend to desensitize players to real-life violence. It is very universal for victims in video games to disappear off screen when they are killed or for players to have multiple lives. In a 2005 study, violent video game exposure was found to be linked to reduced P300 amplitudes in the brain, which is often associated with desensitization to violence and increases in aggressive behavior (Do violent video games contribute to youth violence, 2010)?

The other side of the debate shows that violent juvenile crime in the United States has been declining as violent video game popularity has increased. The arrest rate for juvenile murders has fallen 71.9% between 1995 and 2008. The arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes has declined 49.3%. During this same period, the sales of video games more than quadrupled. It has never been proven that there is even a causal link between violent video games and violent behavior. Many studies have flaws in their design and often use unreliable measures of violence and aggression such as noise blast tests. Thoughts about aggression are often confused with aggressive behavior, and there is a lack of studies that follow children over long periods of time (Do violent video games contribute to youth violence, 2010)?

AU.S. Secret Service review in 2004 of school-based attacks found that one-eighth of attackers exhibited an interest in violent video games, less than the rate of interest attackers showed in violent movies, books, and violence in their own writings. The report did not find a connection between playing violent video games and school shootings. Playing violent video games is thought to reduce violence in adolescent boys by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play. Playing violent video games often allows adolescent boys to express aggression and establish status in the peer group without causing any physical harm (Do violent video games contribute to youth violence, 2010)?

Playing violent video games frequently provides a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings. Violent video games offer healthy and safe opportunities for children to virtually explore rules and consequences of violent actions. Violent games also allow kids to experiment with issues such as war, violence and death without any of the real world consequences (Do violent video games contribute to youth violence, 2010)?

2. ) Is the playing of video games affecting the lack of interest in extracurricular activities, and is it a result of the high rate of obesity in our youth today, as well as education (homework) in our youth, and in young adults in the work place, far as performance or unemployment (to interested in video games then to get a job)

The playing of video games is definitely affecting the interest levels in extracurricular activities in children. Instead of going outside to play kids nowadays spend the majority of their free time playing video games. To these kids playing video games is an extracurricular activity and they don't see any reason to do anything else.

The major problem with this is that the incidence of childhood obesity in the U.S. is three times higher than it was 40 years ago. Research shows that the increased use of technology by children during leisure time has transformed play from what used to be more physically active to sedentary. Children are often engaged in an environment that exposes them to food advertisement that encourages even more caloric consumption. Despite the linkage between technology and sedentary behavior, no consistent policy exists at the federal level that articulates government's role to address this issue (Campbell, Gilmore, McGinty, Pickering and Ramos, 2009).

A new study shows that every hour that a child plays video games or watches television may double their risk of obesity. This is not the first study to associate childhood obesity with time spent in front of the television or playing video games, but researchers say this study offers new insight into the extent of the problem. Researchers have found that each hour the children played video games or watched television doubled the likelihood that the child was obese (Warner, 2004).

According to new research on video games and children, another downside of playing video games is that kids are spending less time reading or doing homework. The data for this study came from diaries that were completed by nearly 1,500 U.S. kids and teens who were 10 to 19 years of age during the 2002-2003 school year. In the diaries, these people accounted for how they spent their time. They kept two sets of diaries, one on a randomly chosen weekday and one on a randomly chosen Saturday or Sunday. More than a third of the group or 36%, reported playing video games. It was reported that compared with non-gamers, adolescent gamers spent 30% less time reading and 34% less time doing homework (Video Games May Divert Kids From Homework, 2007).

The data surrounding children's video game habits are correlated with risk factors for health and with poorer academic performance. When video game play is looked at in regards to violent content, additional risk factors are observed for aggressive behavior and desensitization to violence. It is not a far stretch from this to think that they also affect young adults in the workplace as well. Young children are found to spend the majority of their free time playing video games instead of participating in extra curricular activities or doing their homework. And young adults have been known to either not be motivated enough to look for a job or not willing to stop playing video games long enough to go to work and be productive.