In recent times, the debates about aggressiveness in children due to exposure to video games have been on the rise. There is much violence in video games, and it is estimated that “over 85% of the games contain some violence and approximately half of the video games include serious violent actions” (Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman 489).
Most video games are rated E, meaning they can be sold to children of all ages starting from six years old. However, a close examination of these games shows that the parents consider them violent. This is detrimental to the youths because exposure to violence in video games has worse effects than those caused by abusive parents, coming from a broken home, or associating with antisocial peers.
Children who play violent video games have increased aggressive cognitions, aggressive behavior, psychological arousal as well as antisocial behavior. Furthermore, exposure to violence in the games leads to desensitization- “a reduction in emotion-related physiological reactivity to real violence” (Carnagey et al 490).
This means that when children are exposed to violence, they become used to it and may grow up thinking violence is the norm. For example, when children are shown a violent clip for the first time, they react with a lot of anxiety, but a second clip with similar content does not have the same effect because they have become immune to violence. This is dangerous because it lowers the children’s responsiveness to real violence.
In video games, children are exposed to violence in a positive manner, with exciting music and sounds and beautiful visual effects, which are used as rewards for violent actions in the game. This leads to reduced physiological arousal, for example, the heart rate. Eventually, desensitization occurs, and such children are less likely to notice violent acts or events or sympathize with victims of violence.
They also have a less negative attitude towards violence and generally believe the world is unsafe, which leads to the need for violence to protect oneself. Such children are less likely to seek for help in cases of violence because they have a decreased perception of injury. In addition, such children have increased aggression and are more likely to unleash violence toward other children at school.
Some children spend a considerable amount of time playing video games which impacts their school performance negatively. This is because they devote a lot of time to playing video games at the expense of schoolwork. This is especially true for children who have already had a problem with schoolwork
. They prefer to play video games instead of doing homework, especially if they keep failing. To enjoy a bit of success, they turn to video games where they can achieve victory. For example, for killing the villain in the game, they get rewarded with points, music, or sounds.
The negative effect on education is more evident among children who begin playing video games at a very young age.
These children become addicted to video games and thus ignore schoolwork. Video games also impact children’s education. Most of the time, they will be talking about their video game heroes instead of discussing useful things that might help them to improve their academics.
Some children can remember all the aspects of video games but can find it difficult to remember simple mathematical or science concepts taught in class. Some children will play video games for long periods and may fail to get enough sleep. This may lead to a lack of concentration in class the following day. Thus, they fail to grasp the content taught by teachers and jeopardize their educational growth.
The evidence is in lower grades in school exams and tests.
Still, some scholars argue that video games are good for children as they help to improve their cognitive and motor skills. This is because the “skills learned during game playing may be applied in instructional setting” (Vorderer and Bryant 336).
Video games have killed creativity in children. This is because children spend most of their time sitting in front of computers playing games. They engage in shooting, killing, and kidnapping instead of doing creative things that might help improve their cognitive skills.
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They do not have an opportunity to engage with the environment or even play with their peers (Lakhanpal 1). This kind of environment allows the children to develop social skills, become inquisitive by asking questions regarding their surroundings, and learn about daily activities. On the contr
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