The Truth Behind Interactive Games and Children.
For years and years there has been controversy over whether or not different types of media promote aggressive and disruptive behavior in small children. With the help from several different sources the answer has become apparent. Yes, interactive games increase violent behavior and may cause physical and mental health problems. With various information from an article in Newsweek, Pediatrics, a news story covered by CNBC, a couple different chapters from Violence In The Media, and a GameGirlz website, we see just how affective these games are and what is being done to prevent children from getting a hold of this knowledge. .
In an article that was produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, in November of 2001, it is stated "American children between 2 and 18 years of age spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using media."" (Media Violence 2) This media includes television, videos, movies, video games, print, radio, computer, and the Internet. Most kids are in school for a total of 6 hours, this includes time for lunch and recess and if required naptime. So if you subtract the hours of the other activities, you find that kids are not actually doing one activity for six hours. Besides sleep, the most time spent on any one activity would involve the media. It was found that the highest proportion of violence is in children's shows. Children are witnessing large amounts of violence and in video games they take control and virtually cause harm on others. The video games that award points for violence against others are also the games of the highest preference for children grades 4 through 8. 21 percent of the top 33 video games had violence against women. Media has more of an influence on children than parents or teachers. This is because there is a greater amount of access and time involved through media shaping a child's attitude and behavior.
Video games are the number one source of entertainment for numerous kids. ... For many kids it can be therapeutic, by taking out their anger in video games. ... As a young kid video games made me think quickly. ... Kids will learn skills learned in video games and will apply them in real life situations. ... Therefore, kids benefit more from violent video games than suffer from them....
In the beginning, video games were mostly played by people interested in computers and technology, but since then video games have become an everyday part of some people's lives, particularly children. One reason video games appeal to such a young audience is because they are so easy to play and even if kids are unfamiliar with a game, they will quickly catch on. ... The exposure of violence in video games directly impacts children in a negative way. Violence in video games has been present since the first video game was created. ... The violence in video games negatively impacts our ...
However, there are many concerns surrounding video games. ... Those who are into video games can literally become addicted to them. ... What is even more problematic is when they, in some cases, condone their kids to abuse the games, using the games as a sort of babysitter. ... "People focused on those kids in Columbine using violent video games, they should have focused more on the guns in their rooms" (Leland A-1). ... There have also been many medical concerns about video games. ...
What's to say that video games do not have the same effect? ... Video games have been around for years. ... Now parents are begging their kids to play Pac-man! ... The video games were not making people dumb, just making them violent. ... Kids are very susceptible to the things that they see going on around them. ...
Then, why do people think the increase in school violence is because more and more kids are playing video games like Half-Life and Quake? ... Hundreds of kids play the first person shooter games, but we have only had a hand full of kids have committed major crimes and half of them were not even link to any video game. ... Most of the kids that shot up a school had some kind of physiological problems coming from other sources, not video games. The video games were said to be the linked to the Littleton shooting, everyone reported that the two kids were always picked on by the "jocks" and other...
A considerable amount research on the effects of violent video games suggests there are definitely proven changes to the person playing violent video games. ... The article, "Are Violent Video Games Harmful?"... (Anderson and Bushman 353) The leaders of the video gaming industry are rightly trying to get out from under this stigma of making kids commit violent crimes. ... If scientists cannot agree on the kind of aggression being shown when kids play these video games how can we assume that playing these video games can cause a violent act? ... It is evident that playing violent video games is...
VIDEO GAMES " Turn that crap down!" ... "If you keep on playing your video games too much you're going to go brain dead!" ... Video games and children video games were first introduced in the 1970s. ... Nearly 37% of females did not play any video games. ... When kids have nothing better to do they can always relax with a game that can at the same time make them smarter. ...
Violent video games are being played by children all over the world. ... In more extreme cases violent video games may be correlated with children who have committed murder. ... It is very important that parents monitor the amount of time their children play video games, especially if they are violent video games. ... These kids may be learning ways to commit a crime and in some cases will act on it. Violent video games are not the only form of media violence effecting children's behavior though. ...
As Kayla and her class were ready to go home a little boy pulled out a gun pointed at one kid, then turned around and killed Kayla Rolland. ... One of the largest reasons that it happens so often is because of the violence in video games today. ... For example, a kid will believe in the tooth fairy. ... When you see a couple of kids fighting seriously do you think their mother taught them how to put someone in a chokehold? ... The answer all adds up to violent video games such as the ones in these pictures.* ...