The negative effects of video games on children

¶ … Video Games on Children

This text is a follow-up of the recent discussion we had on the need to cut down on the number of hours your son, Alex, spends playing video games. In that regard, I will largely concern myself with the negative effects of video games on children. It is my hope that after reading this text, you will recognize the need to limit the number of hours Alex spends playing video games.

The Negative Effects of Video Games

Today, video games have become a source of both fun and entertainment for millions of children from across the world. Thus it's obvious Alex has got company. In basic terms, video games could be violence oriented, educational or even sports oriented. From our discussion, you mentioned that Alex is particularly interested in violence oriented video games.

Two years ago, Tyler Savage, an eighteen-year-old lured a young developmentally-delayed girl to an isolated location and strangled her to death. Immediately after, Savage according to Gaines and Miller "returned home to play the online fantasy video game Dungeons and Dragons" (60). According to the authors, Pierce County's prosecutor at the time pointed out that in the opinion of the defendant, the murder and the video game were somehow connected. This is just but one of the cases that have in the recent past fuelled debate on whether or not there exists a link between video games and violent behavior amongst young people.

Games that have numerous instances of violence including but not limited to shootings and killings could trigger increased aggression in children. Research in the words of Gaines and Miller "has found that violent video games, especially those of the first-person shooter type, not only desensitize players to real violence, but also train them to commit real acts of violence" (60). It is important to note that unlike is the case with movies; games with a violent theme effectively place the player (in this case a kid) in control of the violence. As a kid identifies more with such violence, he or she may be motivated to replicate the said violence in real life.

It is also important to note that apart from influencing violent behavior, video games are also obvious time wasters. In general terms, most video games are programmed to present more challenging levels to players on the successful completion of easier levels. Winning in subsequent levels becomes a real morale booster. This could easily hook players on the game's console for hours on end. In that regard, video games could easily interfere with the academic performance of Alex should you allow him to allocate more time to playing the same instead of studying.

Further, video games could negatively affect a child's interpersonal skills as a result of social isolation. The greater the amount of time a child spends playing video games, the less time such a child has to socialize and interact with his or her peers.

Video games could also impact negatively on the health of your son. In the opinion of St.-Onge, Keller, and Heymsfield, children are spending a lot of their time performing a wide range of sedentary activities including but not limited to playing computer games and watching television (qtd. In Stern and Kazaks 97). Lack of physical exercises has been identified as one of the contributing factors to obesity. It therefore follows that sedentary video game activities effectively increase a child's chances of being obese.

Recommendations

In the final analysis, the negative effects of video games amongst children seem to easily outweigh the positive effects associated with the same. Further, quite a number of studies have shown that violent video games do indeed make young players more aggressive and/or violent. This is in addition to the various other negative impacts that violent video games have been shown to have on children. It is my hope that after having read the arguments presented above, you will be convinced to cut down on the number of hours Alex spends in front of the computer playing video games. Another option I would recommend you to explore is ensuring that Alex has no access to violent video games at all. Further, you could replace the current violent video game collection your son has with video games that have educational content.