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By the end of that decade, video games had become a preferred childhood leisure activity; psychologists urged many with the concerns of the ill effects of video games. “ Even The military has long been aware of some of the side effects of video games… Some of the best fighter pilots in the world grew up playing these games.” (Sullivan) Primitive video game research proved inconclusive on the overall effects of video games. Video games provide positive effects including a friendly method to introduce children to computers and may increase children’s hand-eye coordination and attention to detail. However, advancements in video game technology have had an extensive range of negative effects on the next generation including suggestive themes, physical problems and psychological disabilities. Many video games negatively utilize the advancements in video game technology in order to show more sexually explicit games and scenarios. “Those video games and many others have received very little attention from adults.” (Sullivan) The social content of video games may influence children’s attitudes towards gender roles. Hundreds of video games on the market have women depicted, helpless and unable to defend them selves, rather than initiating action. (Cesarone) One study found that the covers of the forty-seven most popular Nintendo games depicted 115 male and nine female characters; among these characters, twenty of the males played a dominant role while none of the females did. (Provenzo, 1992) women found themselves in need of rescue, in thirteen out of the forty-seven game scenarios tested. Many children have difficulty agreeing to themes presented in video games, leading to confusion and misunderstanding of the content. Secondly violence, another suggestive theme also contributes to societies major concerns about video games. “Advanced improvement in the presentation of the games comes an increased use of the technology to present extremely violent, bloody, and sexually explicit game scenarios.” (Duckett)Violence has gone from simple games like space invaders, and packman to present day games such as Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto 1-3, Quake III and many other games where violence, blood, and death are prominent themes. The demand for violence is not because male children choose to witness it, but because males are looking for beneficial role models, which they find in these games. (Clark, 1993) Playing games such as these can increase a person’s aggressive thoughts and feelings under both laboratory settings and real life. Violence in video games according to Cesarone “points out that other authorities have speculated that when a child plays a violent video game, he or she is more likely to behave aggressively….” Sometimes however violent video games become addictive leading to many psychological disabilities. The prolonged and excessive use of video games can cause, mainly upon children, a number of psychological changes which may include the following: obsessive, addictive behavior, dehumanization of the player, desensitizing of feelings, personality changes, psychomotor disorders, and the development of anti-social behavior. A young video game player needs a strong inner constraint to stop playing the game, which exercises a tremendous action. (Setzer and Duckett) Many questions asked about the problems associated with video games are unknown to researchers today. Can we compare the addiction to electronic games to that of drugs and gambling? As Setzer and Duckett State, “It is the excitement of the competition that leads us to the hypothesis that the addiction to electronic games may be a chemical addiction linked to the excitement produced by the game.” Psychologists, teenagers and parents express a variety of views about the effects of video games. The potential harm of video games largely depends upon the age and maturity of the child. (MacDonald) Many of these ailments can lead to physical problems as well. Video games effect some children’s internal physical functioning. One of the more serious problems associated from playing video games epilepsy. “’Physicians have a term for a seizure caused by video games. They refer to it as ‘dark warrior epilepsy’”(Dorman). Treatment for such seizures requires avoidance of video games all together or anticonvulsant drugs. Other effects include heart rate and blood pressure changes. These serious adverse physical effects, however, are transient or limited to a small number of players. Research has also identified benefits associated with creative and beneficial uses of video games, as in physical rehabilitation and oncology. (Funk, 1993). Video Games also affect children externally. One the injury nintendinitis, symptoms include severe pain in the tendon of the thumb, caused by repeated clicking and pressing of buttons on a control. The only cure for nintendinitis requires abstinence of video games for several days. Another rare impediment musculoskeletal injuries, and typically disappear with abstention from further game playing. Calvert and Tan compared the effects of playing versus observing violent video games on young adults’ arousal levels, hostile feelings, and aggressive thoughts. Results indicated that college students who had played a violent virtual reality game had a higher heart rate, reported more dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts in a posttest than those who had played a nonviolent game. Since research on the effects of playing electronic games is not definitive, further studies are necessary. Meanwhile, professionals can work to educate the public about rating systems, about issues related to violence and children’s development, and about the importance of parental supervision of their children’s media experiences. (Funk, and Buchman, 1994) Video games have remained popular since their introduction in the United States in the 1970s. A trend toward increased violence and realism in electronic games in the 1980s through to today have prompted concern from parents and educators. Bibliography: Works Cited Cesarone, Bernard . "Video Games and Children." ERIC - EECE. Jan. 1994. 14 Jan. 2002 . "Effects of video game playing on children." Fact Sheets. 9 Aug. 2001. 2 Feb. 2002 http://www.mediaandthefamily.org/ research/fact/>. Sanders, Seth. "Video Games value, violence will be debated." Online posting. 18 Oct. 2001. 5 Feb. 2002 . Sullivan, Bruce. "Interactive Video games training teen killers?” Editorial. Conservative News Service 23 Apr. 1999. 14 Jan. 2002 . Valdemar, Setzer. Electronic games. 25 Apr. 2000. 14 Jan. 2002 . "Violent video games can increase aggression.” APA online. 23 Apr. 2000. 2 Feb. 2002 . Word Count: 956
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