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Dustin Lewis
Mrs. DeBock
English IV
25 February 2016
The Dangers of Gaming
Video games can be a great past time when they are played in moderation but as
of recent, Video games are being seen as a threat. People are becoming more violent and
addicted to these games and it poses a huge threat to the future of video gaming. The
video game industry poses a large hazard to peoples mental, and physical lives.

Video game addiction has become more severe over the past recent years. As
technology advances so does the video game industry. Video game companies discover
way to increase their overall production and quality of the games they produce over the
years. Whenever new technology hits the market, video game companies find ways to use
these in order to increase maximum output on their video games. This can help to lead to
addiction as better looking games are often praised for their style and are more well
known to the public. When the public knows more of something the public has a
extremely higher chance that the consumer will purchase the said product, in this case the
video game. Addiction is not only subjected to adults and teens, children can also become
the victim to video game addiction. According to the Entertainment Software
Association ninety-two percent of children that or under the age of eighteen play video
games regularly and that eight and a half percent of children between the ages of eight

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and eighteen are and can be considered to be pathologically addicted to video games
(Wagner). Video game addiction is cause by the feeling of reward someone gets for
completing certain objectives or obstacles in a game session. The brain sends out the
feeling of reward whenever someone completes an objective or a task in the video game.
According to Wagner, a team at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that
areas of the brain responsible for generating feelings of addiction and reward are
activated during game play (Wagner). The feeling of reward that someone feels will
compel them to continue playing so that they may continue to relive that same feeling of
reward over and over again making this the leading cause in video game addiction.

Violence has been around since the dawn of time and it seems almost impossible
to stop, but we try to prevent it anyway. Violent video games can be seen as a gateway
into making someone, especially a game addict, into a violent person. Playing video
games require an extreme amount of attention since many things can be happening on the
screen at one time, which requires the player to stay constantly aware. Since video games
require more attention than a TV show or movie, this could lead to having more enhanced
behaviour and reactions to violent images portrayed in the game (Anderson 4). Most
research is shown that aggressive behaviour is increased when the brain is being
rewarded for acting out aggressive behaviour. Since video games have a more direct way
of rewarding violent actions than a movie or TV show does, this suggests violent video
game exposure may be more detrimental (Anderson 4). Violent actions are rewarded
which in turn cause the brain to send out a feeling of accomplishment to the player. This

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makes the player believe that violence will aways be met with reward even in the real life
and since the brain is rewarding this activity it is more likely for a person to become
addicted to a violent video game than a regular one.

Obesity is a world wide problem and America is one of the top countries that have
a major weight problem. Video games are one of the reason why Americans are becoming
more overweight. A research team decided to measure the body mass index of teenagers
while adjusting for demographic factors such as diet, excises, and daily activity (Atherton
2). Over fourteen-thousand people took part in the study, among the teens the average age
of the teens who took part in the study were around sixteen to seventeen years of age. The
research showed that females have a more increased risk of gaining body mass from
playing stationary video games than men do, meanwhile men have a higher risk of
gaining body mass while they are watching TV (Atherton 2-3). Video games are one of
the leading causes in obesity in America. Teens and adults should be more cautious while
playing video games for extended periods of time and try to come up with a weight loss
plan or even try to cut out video game time from their schedule.

The video game industry poses a large hazard to peoples mental, and physical
lives. Most of the simple dangers are obesity, addiction, and increased violent behaviour.
Video games are addictive and addicts can suffer from many threats in their lives such as
reduced social contact, increased violent behaviour, depression, and many other harmful
things. Not only does it hurt people mentally but it can affect them physically as well.

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Prolonged periods of gaming can lead to the reduction of muscle strength and the
increased of body mass. Video games are harmful and need to be seen as a threat and stop
being categorized as harmless entertainment.

Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games Cause Aggression." Video Games. Ed. Laurie
Willis. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Declaration of Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., in United States District Court,
Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division." 2005. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Atherton, Martin J., and James A. Metcalf. "Video Gaming Increases the Risk of
Obesity." Video Games. Ed. Laurie Willis. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Does Gender Modify the Impact of Video
Game Playing and Television Watching on Adolescent Obesity?" American

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Journal of Health Studies 21 (2006). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2
Mar. 2016.

Wagner, Jennifer Seter. "Addiction to Video Gaming Is a Problem." Video Games. Ed.
Laurie Willis. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"When Play Turns to Trouble." U.S. News & World Report 144 (19 May 2008):
51-53. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.