Nowadays, a lot of children and teenagers prefer spending their free time playing video games, using consoles, personal computers, tablets or smartphones. Anderson and Warburton refer to a comprehensive poll by the Kaiser Foundation, which establishes the fact that American children have become more involved in playing these games over the last decade. In particular, this increase among those aged 8-18 is over 400 per cent (56), which is rather overwhelming. Teenagers tend to play quite a lot during the day and feel alienated from their family, friends and studies, because video games may contain a lot of scenes of violence and anti-social behavior. Parents feel concerned about the possible effects of the violent games on their children. Although video game content can be designed so as to improve children’s and teenagers’ lives, violent media instill negative attitudes in them. There has been a lot of research and evidence on both harmful and beneficial effects typical of any violent media we come across on a daily basis. Violent video games should be banned only to the extent that they can produce a loss of attentional capacity, cause aggressive behavior and result in video game addiction if children and teenagers play such games excessively.
Video games are associated with “interactive simulated environments, available on a wide range of platforms (consoles, PC, tablets, smartphones etc.) operated through a user interface, with the aim to entertain, educate or train consumers” (Schwartz 104). This aim transforms into different types of learning that children and teenagers can be subject to: imitation, identification, repetition, interactivity, lack of negative consequences, associative learning and acquisition of aggressive knowledge structures. The contemporary video games have become known to the public after the first electronic games were invented and special equipment was provided. Namely, children have been playing video games for over 50 years since the first Spacewar game was launched. This game content was based on the theme of battling to death and is considered to be the forerunner of violent video games. Although there are different types of games on the market, violent video games tend to sell well. It cannot be denied that we observe the violence in the nature and in our lives. These observations imply that children will inevitable have access to violence no matter where they are now: watching television news about violent acts on the streets or playing video games in which the level of violent content can be different. Children and teenagers must be aware of the violent content and learn how to behave in such situations.
Playing video games excessively is one of the reasons why children and teenagers begin to perform poorer at school. Firstly, they do not allocate enough time for studying and reading, so they do not get fully prepared for school classes. If this happens regularly, school students begin to lag behind those who find enough time and resources to complete school assignments and be active in class. Secondly, resorting to the same mental activity like playing violent video games is bound to produce a loss of attentional capacity revealed as attention deficit, impulsivity and hyperactivity. These attentional problems do not allow students to concentrate on school subjects fully and thus they do not make great achievements. Thirdly, reactive behaviors typical of first person shooting games may make matters even worse and intensify attentional problems. This example explains the fact that children and teenagers are exposed to a lot of violent media (Anderson, and Warburton 74). This concept is also supported by the idea that violent games are not appropriate for small children especially. Alongside with a great number of violent acts and people’s inappropriate behavior presented on television through news and movies, violent video games are likely to impose hostile anti-social attitudes which can be revealed even without any direct influence.
No matter what type of violent media children observe when playing video games, the latter can cause aggression. This idea is supported by a great proportion of pediatricians and parents who acknowledge that “violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children” (Schwartz 107). Without any doubt, too much exposure to violent video games is likely to cause aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence and a decline in pro-social behavior. They are manifested as bullying, hurting other people verbally and physically, and anti-social behavior. On the other hand, the researcher comments on the statistics about a decreased rate of violent crime and murders committed by juveniles by 37 and 76 per cent respectively. The data signify that increased sales of violent games do not necessarily translate into a rise in destructive aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior, according to Anderson and Warburton, is “a very important social phenomenon in its own right” which “does not have to escalate into violence to be harmful” (62). It can change into pro-social behavior in the short and long term if video games are primarily designed to be pro-social. This example means that such games can explain why children and teenagers begin to get rid of anti-social thoughts and stop seeing the world around them as hostile and aggressive.
Another harmful effect is characterized by video game addiction when a player cannot participate normally in everyday activities due to domination of the violence in his/her life. In a very severe case video game addiction can be regarded as a diagnosable psychiatric disorder due to its aftereffects leading to suicide (Anderson, and Warburton 59). Nonetheless, it is important for children and teenagers to use the simulation environment presented in the games so that they could integrate their senses to perceive and analyze the content, situations, relationships and connections. Specifically, this integration relates to development of the player as an individual and part of the society he/she lives in. Moreover, such an environment allows exploring feelings, reactions, attitudes and interactions in different contexts inherent to real life settings. Besides, the focus on decision-making capabilities plays an important role in developing life skills in a fast-paced world full of aggression and violence. Coping with the changing environment and resolving complex problems can be sustained as well. Another beneficial side of integrating the senses relates to physical activity and exercise which can be promoted by video games. Also, distraction and relaxation are the result of specific attitudes towards content to manage painful reactions. What is more, enhancing children’s coordination and spatial cognition abilities can play an educational role and become a powerful teaching tool.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A., and Warburton, Wayne A. “The Impact of Violent Video Games: An Overview.” Growing Up Fast and Furious: Reviewing the Impacts of Violent and Sexualised Media on Children. Eds. Wayne A. Warburton, and Danya Braunstein. Annandale, NSW, Australia: The Federation Press, 2012. 56-84. Print.
Schwartz, Claudiu. “A Projective Identity Perspective on Violent Video Games Controversy.” Agora Psycho-Pragmatica, 9.2 (2015): 103-111. Print.
