Free «Video Games Effect on Children» Essay Sample

Parents usually feel concern about the effects of video games on their children, namely, the violent video games. In most situations, parents have discovered that the increased exposure of their kids to video games has negative effects on the children. However, given assumption has been contested due to the fact that little evidence was provided to confirm that violent video games had adverse effects on the children. This issue is appeared to be completely ambiguous, while there are certain investigations proving the importance and relevance of video games. These games are recorded to influence some aspects of children’s life positively. Nevertheless, it remains unclear if some positive factors observed among players could justify the ultimate violence shown in such games. The paper will seek to analyze the various scientific findings and understandings on the actual effects of video games on children.

Currently, social and beneficial video games have a great potential of influencing the lives of rising generation positively, while antisocial video games increase the risks of negative outcomes. According to the recent studies those children between the ages of 8 to 18 spend 8 hours a week on video games (Agina, and Robert 784). It was also discovered that the percentage of video games quantity in the USA had increased by more than 400 % (Garrison, Kimberly, and Dimitri 29). There are a great number of children that are exposed to violent and anti-social video games. Thus, it is crucial for parents and educators who interact with kids to understand the actual effects of video games on them.

Though a lot of studies have been dedicated to the negative influences of video games, the few of them focus on the possible positive effects. For instance, in spite of the aggressiveness and competitive nature of some video games, they constitute an effective approach directed at pain management among the children. According to Garrison et al., video games have the ability to distract the players while going through the painful medical procedures (Garrison et al. 33). Violent video games demand active participation of the children setting the pain reduction process. Opinions are divided on this matter. There is a belief that active physical activity increases pain pressure among the children. In contrast, some investigators argue that the prior video games were helpful in reducing the pain ratings and increasing the pain tolerance (Ray, and Kana 574). The parents and medical practitioners should assess the pain situations in order to avoid the distraction of the pain management among the children. Thus, active video games affect the proper pain management in the American society.

In addition, video games affect empathy and helpfulness of the children. In spite of the negative effects of video games, there is strong evidence that they are able to increase both short and long-term engagements in prosocial behavior. Elementary children exposed to prosocial video games have been recorded to be more helpful and responsive in real life compared to the other children. Thus, video games that promote friendliness and team work help children adapt in their social life. Prosocial behavior enhances helpful actions, cooperation, and coordination among the children (Garrison, Kimberly, and Dimitri 31).

Recently, various studies have been conducted in order to indicate that video games promote physical activity and exercises. Some of the non-violent games that increase strenuous activity include such games as Dance and Just Dance. Research implies that video games have the ability to promote exercise conditioning among the children boosting healthy living. However, excessive use of video games could have negative impacts on their bodies as well.

Most importantly, video games can also been seen as a powerful tool of education through its ability to teach children new ideas and concepts. They can be used to study programming, algebra, biology, and other specific skills with the help of simulators (Agina, and Robert 786). The educational benefits of video games make them an appropriate teaching tool. Video games have the ability to influence children acquiring and mastering skills necessary to resolve issues related to complex situations and dynamic environments.

On the other hand, video games have a lot of adverse effects, e.g. video game addiction. Most of the children could be affected by video games to an extent where they are unable to perform any other activities. Video game addiction is a serious problem that requires psychological intervention. The condition has been considered as a psychiatric disorder and has led to further research and investigations of the psychologists. Children who are engaged in video games at the age of 8 to 18 are exposed to serious effects on their functioning in the social, school, and family lives. Video games addiction leads to increased exposure to the games that are violent, not to mention other related negative outcomes (Baranowski et al. 637).

Moreover, video games have significant effect on the school performance of most children. Majority of the children who spend a lot of time playing video games perform poorer than the children who are not engaged in video games. Weak school performance can be explained by the displacement of qualitative studying time that is spent playing video games. Also, it is possible that the children in the age of 8 to 18 who are engaged in video games are exposed to the risk of getting attention deficit, a disorder causing poor school performance as well (Baranowski et al. 638). These findings imply that the increased video game playing causes the reduction of attentional capacity.

In conclusion, video games definitely affect children and teenagers, both positively and negatively. The positive effects of video games among children include dealing with pain management, promoting prosocial behavior, increasing physical activity and boosting healthy lifestyle, improving intelligence level. Apart from the positive effects, there are several negative effects of video games on children, such as video game addiction, poor school performance; attention deficits disorder and increased aggression among the children. Thus, the parents and educators are to learn and understand the significant effects of video games on the rising generation in order to engage effective countermeasures. It is important to supervise the choice of the video games for children, as excessive violence shown there could lead to the terrific results including psychological disorders. Educational establishments should develop various video games of skill for the children to study while playing.