ESSAY :)

Name: Hannah McPherson
Student #: s2681768
Tutor: Adam Muir


Much debate has encircled the world of video games since their arrival in the 1970’s. Obviously since that time, the development of such games has been quite significant, in terms of graphics, the consoles and the games themselves. Due to the availability of new technologies, games are becoming more realistic and more accessible for young people, and have proven to have detrimental effects on those who play them; particularly in regards to violence, educational disadvantage, social development and health and wellbeing.

In comparison to the days where young children would play placid console games such as Donkey Kong and Super Mario, we are now living in a world where young people are becoming exposed to games promoting violence, drugs and death. Games incorporating such content are thought to have a severe impact on the psychological state of those playing them, and in the past, have been blamed for violent attacks including school and university shootings. This can be exemplified through the Columbine Shootings, where the gunman was believed to have been influenced by the video game, ‘Doom’. The game involves players roaming within a 3-D environment, with the aim being to kill alien invaders with arsenal guns. ‘Doom’ was allegedly a favoured game of one of the gunmen. This relates to the psychological effects that games are able to have on the impressionable young minds of those who play them. According to Sean P. Neubert, (n.d) of the Rochester Institute of Technology,

“Continually playing games in which the only positive outcome is the violent demise of enemies could positively reinforce antisocial behaviour and perhaps even cause such a psychological difference over time.”


Games no longer exist to merely entertain. They have become an obsession for many players, dominating the routines of their lives. Getting to the ‘next level’ seems to be of a higher priority than completing school work or household chores, which is sure to have a negative impact on the education of young people. If parents continue to allow their children to become emerged in the playing of video games at whatever hours they choose, their health will suffer; as will their education. Excluding a minority of educational video games; which are highly unlikely to be popular with children, all video games have the potential to become addictive to those who play them. For parents, games consoles are often viewed as a “babysitter”. The view of these parents is that if the child can be occupied and immersed in these types of games the end almost certainly justifies the means.

The health factors relating to the playing of such games are a major issue in the video games debate. This is not only in regards to psychological issues, but also physical factors, relating to obesity and poor health in general. Studies have indicated that when children play video games for extended periods of time, they are subjected to incorrect posture, as a result of sitting in an irregular position in front of the television or computer. Furthermore, video games require constant rigorous movements from the hands, and as a result, many children have experienced issues with their joints, as well as their skin. Problems have also been encountered in terms of sight deterioration, caused by hours of staring at a monitor displaying fast moving graphics. Sitting indoors in front of a television or computer does not promote positive health. There is nothing positive about young children being brought up being able to freely play these games as they wish. It is now becoming more prevalent for young people to choose to stay indoors and play against each other online, rather than go to an arcade to play each other. If children are able to stay indoors all day and play video games, their desire for outdoor physical activity weakens. New technologies have increased the laziness of players so they don’t even have to leave their computer chair to compete against players from all over the world. Moreover, with young children being incredibly advanced in their knowledge of new technologies, it is no surprise that young people are being exposed to such games at increasingly younger ages. This disadvantages young people in terms of social and physical development, denying them of a physically active childhood, which is considered necessary for an individual to function within society.

This leads to the issue of social interaction amongst young children who are obsessed with video games. For many online ‘gamers’, the social interaction they engage in online has become their social network. Instead of engaging in physical outdoor activities, players choose to remain indoors, addicted to the game they are playing at the time. With the availability of technologies allowing game players to be connected through the internet, they feel no need for social interaction. That is their social interaction. Furthermore, the heavy distribution and accessibility of such games now allows children to be in possession of a games console at any time of the day. This is made possible through the portability of compact games consoles, as well as through the improvements made to hand held consoles such as Game Boys, allowing children to have access to games at school, or on public transport. While they may seem beneficial in terms of entertainment on public transport, the distractions they cause at school make for a serious disadvantage in the classroom, with children preferring to play their Game Boy, rather than complete their work.

If parents continue to raise their children with video games being a central component of their routine, their foundation of life is more likely to be one of poor health, materialism and violence. This is not to say that all young people who play video games will be affected to this extreme; however for those who allow such games to become an obsession, affecting school work, development and psychological and physical wellbeing, the effects will be extremely detrimental, resonating throughout the later years of one’s life.












References

American Medical Association. (2008). Featured Report:Emotional and Behavioral Effects of Video Games and Internet Overuse. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/17694.html. Accessed: 27 May 2008.
Collins, G. (1985). Relationships: Children and video games. The New York Times. http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/pqdweb?index=19&did=954257201&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1211800818&clientId=20824. Accessed: 24 May 2008.
Downs, E. (2006). Is playing video games detrimental? The Pennsylvania State University. http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/videogames.html Accessed: 24 May 2008.
Greensmith, M. (2008). Video games do not cause violence. Geek news central. http://www.geeknewscentral.com/archives/007883.html. Accessed: 24 May 2008.
Haines, L. (2005). Violent video games do not cause aggression. The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/15/video_games_and_aggression/. Accessed: 25 may 2008
Jenkins, H. (n.d). Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked. KCTS Television. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html. Accessed: 23 May 2008.
Kooijmans, T. (2004). Effects of Video Games on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors During Development. Rochester Institute of Technology. http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html. Accessed: 25 May 2008.
Newitz. A. (2002). Blame Game. Gamers say social problems, not video games cause violence. San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/01/14/gameviol.DTL. Accessed: 25 may 2008.
Stromberg, J. (2008). Computer/video games and your child's health. http://www.softforyou.com/articles_tutorials/computer_video_games.html. Accessed: 27 May 2008
The New York Times. (1994). Ratings for Video Games. http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/pqdweb?index=5&did=966953311&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1211800417&clientId=20824. Accessed: 26 May 2008