Allen Joseph Ms.

Derrick English II 31 October 2011 The Effects of Violent Video Games on Children

Joseph 1

Todays world is driven by media. The media consists of different things unlike early times. The primary form of media in the olden days was the newspaper, but now we have the television, internet and many other forms. Media has many advantages along with some disadvantages. One of the most common forms of media nowadays is video games. Video games are enjoyed by both children and adults. The games that come out these days are so unique that the people who play them feel that they are actually inside that world. Video games are very entertaining and interesting, but like everything else in this world video games also have their own disadvantages. Most of the kids who play video games are addicted to them. When they start playing a game they feel like there is no end to it. Recently a 21 year old student died of playing Halo on his Xbox for 24 hours without any rest. I read t about this on an online article and I think this will help me in my research. These video games can be deadly to people if people dont limit the use of it. Another big problem caused by video games is the bad effect that it has on children. Many kids play violent video games nowadays. Most of these games would be inappropriate for

Joseph 2 kids because they contain violence, use of drugs and abusive language. The kids who play these games are exposed to violence and other things that are inappropriate for them at an early age.

Unlike TV, where you can only see violence, video games let you be the person who does the violence. As a result kids feel that what happens in the game is what happens in real life. They also believe that the life led by the characters in the game is cool because the characters get to do whatever they want. We can see several incidents where kids get influenced by the games they play and do stuff that they shouldnt be doing. Games like Grand Theft Auto have things that are inappropriate for kids. Many of the kids caught doing illegal stuff say that they learned to do it from Grand Theft Auto. My research has taught me that Grand Theft Auto motivates the players to steal and kill. Because of this many kids learn things like how to steal cars from these kinds of games while others learn even to use dangerous weapons like guns, grenades, swords etc. What I think is that these games are turning this generation into a Grand Theft generation. I assume that these kids who play these violent games enjoy it because it is something that they will never be able to experience in real life. I also believe that most of these kids take out their anger by playing these games. I assume some kids learn new stuff from these games, like fighting skills and they use these skills in school to hurt others. Sometimes they do crazy stuff that would result in hurting someone. But not all games are violent. There are many games that do not have any violence at all. There are sports games, adventure games and puzzle games. Almost all the games are rated by the age; there is different rating for different ages. There are games that are suitable for everyone and there are games for teens and some games that are only

Joseph 3 meant for adults. Games like GTA are only meant for ages 17 and up. This means that only adults should be allowed to play them. However almost all the kids have one or more games from the GTA series. How do they get access to these games? Why arent most parents concerned about the game ratings? I assume that most parents arent aware of the games that their kids play. I think that it would be good if the game stores provided detailed information to the parents before they buy their children the games. In my opinion game stores should explain the contents of the game and its rating. This would make it easy for the parents to realize whether the games are appropriate for their children or not. Again I assume that most of the kids who get bullied in school take out their anger by playing the video games. What caused the death of the boy who played the video game for 24 hours without any rest? I do not actually know what caused the death of this kid? But I assume that it was probably physical trauma because he didnt have any rest. Do video games really change the mindset of kids? I think that video games alter the attitude of kids. When kids are exposed to extreme violence they automatically tend to change their attitude. I believe most kids are becoming arrogant and selfish. On top of all of these kids are turning into cruel and ruthless people. They turn into people who arent afraid of anything or anybody. Is this a global problem or is it happening only in this country. To find out the correct answers to all these questions, I feel like it is my responsibility to research deeply into this topic. I believe that this research would help me to protect myself and my friends from the addiction to these video games.

Joseph 4 Video games simulate brains (Kuther & Olson 6). I totally agree with this statement. After reading this book I have come to know that video games have the power to simulate ones brain like drugs and alcohol. When a child is exposed to video games for a long time he/she becomes addicted to it and will feel that they cant live without it. Students usually devote 7-10 hours per week for video games (Gentile 132). This research tells us about the time that is spent by kids these days to play games. I learned that most of the kids spent the same time for studying and playing video games. This according to me is a bad situation. Researchers tell us that it is because of this that their brains are being simulated. Adolescent girls played video games for an average of 5 hours a week, whereas boys averaged 13 hours a week (Norcia). This tells us about the ratio of girls who play video games to boys to play video games. This suggests that teenage girls are less affected by these games when compared to teenage boys. I believe that this is why teenage girls are less aggressive than teenage boys. Playing video games may increase aggressive behavior because violent acts are continually repeated throughout the game (Gentile & Anderson). This tells that it is not a wise choice to play a game for a long time especially a game that is meant for mature audiences. After reading this article I have come to know that violent games can turn kids into criminals and thugs. Exposure to violent media can elevate aggressive thoughts, especially in children. These effects on aggressive behavior can be long term. The researchers have concluded that once they become aggressive they cannot easily be brought back to their normal self. American children spent plenty of time in front of screens, be it television or video games. For 15 hours each week on average, and that more than 75% of the teens who play report playing games rates M for mature, which often contains blood, gore and intense violence (Adams). This is from a newspaper report from the LA Times. Their study

Joseph 5 suggests that more than half of the kids in our country play mature games that are meant only for people who are 17 or up. These games that are designed for adults can harm the mindset of children in my opinion. They contain all sorts of violence as written in this article. In my opinion this is a big problem that is arising in our country. We should to several steps to protect ourselves from this problem. As video games have become more violent and more sophisticated the sales of video games have sky rocketed and plummeted (Adams). She is trying to tell us that the demand for violent video games has been increasing over the years. I truly agree with this statement made by him because I usually see a huge crowd in front of a GameStop when a new M rated game comes out. This line usually has adults as well as children. In one of the articles that I read when I started this research, it stated that the games that were in the top selling list for the Xbox and PS3 were Halo and Call of Duty. These games are rated M games for mature. I still wonder why parents let their kids play these games. Video games give your childs brain a real workout. In many video games, the win involves abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not taught but they are trained by the video games (Shiel). Now when we think about the advantages, the games can train our mind in many ways. This is what recent studies suggest. Video games introduce your kid to the computer technology and the online world (Shiel). This is another advantage of playing video games. When a kid plays the video games he or she is brought into the world of technology. They will always be able to learn more about computers and other new technology before others come to know of it. When kids play their games online they get exposure to online world because they get to compete with people all around the world. This can help kids to learn more about the game and it also helps them learn new strategies of the game from online gamers. Video games make

Joseph 6 learning fun (Shiel). They are trying to tell us that kids might find learning through video games more fun because they are easily attracted to the colors and animations in the game. Video games increase your kids self confidence and self-esteem he masters many games, the levels of difficulty are adjustable (Shiel). This suggests that when kids are playing games, they can increase their self-confidence. It makes them feel that it is their hard work that brought them to that level. This is another way that a game can help children. Violent video games may act as a release of pent up aggression and frustration. When your kid vents his frustration and anger in his game, this diffuses his anger and provide a positive aggression outlet the same way as football and violent sports (Shiel). The writer of this article is trying to tell us that it is better when your kid takes out his anger in the game rather than taking it out on somebody. Playing video games is safer than having your teens do drugs, alcohol (Shiel). I totally agree with this statement because when kids play video game they are actively engaged in the game. This is a better situation than letting them do drugs. When kids are engaged in games they do not feel like doing anything else. They will be only interested in completing the game and facing other people online. However this can turn into an addiction. But this addiction is way better than addiction towards drugs and alcohol in my opinion. Too much video game makes your child feel isolated (Shiel). I totally agree with this statement because when kids are always playing games they will never be exposed to the outside world. This will not help them make friends in their school and they will remain alone. They might make friends online, but they are seen as real life friends. This is because the kids never get to see their online friends in real life. These are some of the main effects of video games on children. So I believe that it is my duty to find out answers and solutions to all these questions.

Joseph 7 This research has taught me a lot of things. It has deeply explained to me the good and bad effects of playing video games. I never thought that video games could teach children new skills like team play. It also makes teaching fun for children. All of this information has helped to protect myself and my family from the wrath of the video games. Through this research I have learned many techniques to protect ourselves from the wrath of violent video games. I learned many precautions that parents could take to help their children from being addicted to video games. The research has taught me that parents should always check the ratings on the back of the cover of the game box. This rating tells us whether the game is suitable to a particular age group. Another thing that we should always note is that parents should never get their children mature games and Adults Only games. Both of these are strictly meant for adults only. When we come to the advantages of video games, this research has taught us that it can help a child in many different ways. First of all it makes learning easier and fun. I have come to know that the Xbox Kinect, which is a new gaming system, introduces new types of learning games that are run on the motion sensor system. In this type of gaming the children will get to do things on the game just by standing in front of the console. They dont need remotes for this type games. This makes even easier for small kids since they do not have to use the controllers to play games. My research has taught me that most of the Xbox Kinect customers are the kids who are below 10 years. Another advantage of gaming is that they help you to improve your skills. The research has taught me that when someone finishes a game, they are actually solving a puzzle in their brain. People need to make use of their brains to win some games, so I think it is really good in that way.

Joseph 8 At the beginning of this research I never knew all of these things about video games that I know right now. It has really helped me to realize that too much of anything is bad. I the beginning I assumed many things that were proven wrong by the research. For example I never thought that playing a game for a long period of time could cause death. When someone plays a game without any rest it can even lead to death that is caused by a blood clot. Another huge thing that this research teaches is that it games can be addictive like drugs and alcohol. It tells us that when a person is addicted to a game, it is really hard to bring him back to the normal track. I have come to know that this is because when somebody is addicted to a game they feel that they are a part of that world. The researchers said that most of these people do not feel anything that is happening in the outside world when they are playing these games. So I think that this research has helped me in many ways first of all it has made me aware about the advantages of the video games and then it has made me aware about the disadvantages and the effects of these games and finally it has also taught me different methods to fight the disadvantages. Anyhow I believe that this research paper will always help me protect myself and my friends from the addiction to video games.

Joseph 9 Works Cited

Norcia, Andrea The impact of violent games on children .17 July Available: http://www.pamf.org/preteens/parents/videogames.html Jill U, Adams. Effects of violent video games. Los Angeles Times 03 May 2010 Lawrence Kuther and Cheryl K Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008 Gentile, Douglas Media Violence and Children: A complete guide for parentsand professionals. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc., 2003 Jaikumar Vijayan. (22 August 2011). Video game kills 21 year old. Computer World (Online) Available: www.computerworld.com Shiel JR, William. The good and bad effects of video games. 23 August 2010. Available: <http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-andbad-effects-of-video-games