Essay

Essay Question: Understanding the pros and cons of children playing video games.

The Effects of Video Games on Children and Adolescence

Video games were first introduced to the world in 1958 (The First Video Game, 2008). Since their introduction they have quickly become one of the most pervasive, profitable, and influential forms of entertainment across the world (Squire, 2003). Children in particularly, have adopted these games as their preferred leisure and entertainment activity which has consequently heightened the belief that technology is now shaping the growing mind (Children and Video Games, 2002). In 2001, computer and console game software and hardware exceeded $6.35 billion in the United States, and worldwide reached $19 billion- both these figures are an astronomical amount. These figures may be attributed to the fact that technology is continually developing and thus offering new and exciting video games, replacing the older games (e.g. not only did you need the Nintendo 64 in 2001, you now need the Nintendo Wii in 2009). With so much money and obviously time being invested in these games, it becomes reasonable, if not necessary, to research and understand both the positive and negative benefits of using these games, particularly concerning children and adolescence.

In this essay, we will focus on the relevant literature centered around the different effects video game playing may have on children and adolescents. Theoretical interest on this subject has created a precedent for ever-growing research to be conducted globally, and thus research is readily available. Many researchers have outlined the negative short and long- term effects consequently derived from video game playing (such as social alienation/exclusion). Other researchers have outlined the beneficial effects of using video games (such as for educational purposes). Both these arguments will therefore be explored in deeper context and will be used to answer the controversial and debated question: Video games and children, for better or worse?

Given the encompassing influence of video games on society, many educators/scholars have taken an interest in what effects these games have on the players, and how some of the motivating aspects of video games might be harnessed to facilitate/enhance teaching (Squire, 2003). It has been suggested that the new advances in computer games can therefore be used to engage students and enhance their learning (Grimley, Green & Nilsen, 2006). It is widely known that video games are designed to elicit certain emotions from the player- power, aggression, joy, accomplishment, fear etc. These emotions are encouraged/influenced by video game designers by balancing certain game components, such as character traits, game rewards, obstacles, game narrative, competition with other humans, and opportunities for collaboration with other players (Squire, 2003). By understanding these clever dynamics behind the design of video games, instructional technologists (who design interactive digital learning environments) can find this as a useful guide (Squire, 2003). One example of how the use of video games in education may prove to be successful is shown in a study conducted by Bakar, Inal and Cagiltay (2006). In this study 49 prospective teachers were asked to play and then rate the educational quality/benefit of certain video games. It was found that participants believed video games had the potential to increase students motivation because they are enjoyable and a source of fun, they enhance students’ cognitive skills (such as problem solving, decision making and critical thinking), they improve students’ abilities in terms of using mouse and keyboard and lastly they are effective tools in encouraging and demonstrating teamwork (Bakar, Inal and Cagiltay, 2006). These results run parallel to researcher’s findings that video games, used for educational purposes, have been found to be beneficial for children and adolescences cognition. Researchers have proposed that spatial skills are the cognitive skills that are most likely to be enhanced by video game playing, as most games require spatial visualisation and spatial perception skills (Greenfield & Cocking, 1996). To prove this a study was conducted by Ofra and Pnina (2004) examining 150 kindergarten children, and it was found that children who engaged in adult-mediated computer activity improved the level of their cognitive performance on measures of abstract thinking, planning ability, vocabulary, and visual-motor coordination, as well as on measures of response style including reflectivity (Ofra & Pnina, 2004). Both the opinions of teachers and the actual performance of children have shown that when video games are used for educational purposes, the outcomes are beneficial.

More prominently however, research and studies concerning the negative effects of children playing video games have continued to circulate within society. These studies have been centered on the fear that video games can foster violence, aggression, negative imagery of women, or social isolation (Provenzo, 1991). As mentioned earlier, it has been stated that technology is shaping the growing mind- if young children/adolescence are continually engrossed in taking part in the act of killing violently, acting aggressively towards others and in some cases, being desensitised to racism, what values/morals are we allowing our young to inherit? It is this particular question that has controversially circulated in the media, in other words, do video games increase aggressive/violent behaviours in children and adolescence? It is hard to disagree, or think otherwise, when stories such as the Columbine shootings (high school massacre, committed by students of the school, occurring in 1999) linger in the back of our mind. The students who committed this atrocity were regular players of the violent video game Doom, and would play it most afternoons (Glick & Keene-Osborn, 1999). Jerald Block, a US psychiatrist, believes that the anger that was being projected into the games by the two students was unleashed into the real world (Columbine high school massacre, 2003). With such profound evidence, researchers have therefore taken it upon their responsibility, to study this eerie phenomenon. Several experimental studies suggest that playing a violent game, even for brief periods of time, can generate short-term transfer effects such as increased aggression in children's free play, increased aggressive/hostile responses on ambiguous, open-ended questions, and increased aggressive ideation (Kirch, 1998). For example, Kirsh reported that 3rd and 4th grade children (7 and 8 year olds) who played the violent video game Mortal Kombat 2, responded more violently to open ended questions than did children who played a nonviolent basketball game (Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut & Gross, 2001).

Other researchers has centered on the idea that video games increase social exclusion/isolation and decreases positive social development. This has been researched on a number of occasions. It has been found that children and teens who play excessively often do so at the expense of homework, and playing solo can isolate children from their peers, potentially causing problems for them later in life (Storch, 2006).

"Social interactions teach you how to deal with other people as well as what's appropriate and what's not. You learn how to handle situations. Social interaction is also one way of coping with stress and receiving emotional support”. (Eric Storch 2006, pp. 226-228)

Although only two problems associated with video games have been discussed (increased violent/aggressive behaviours and decreased socia lisolation/development), a wide range of other problems have been outlined, such as: obsessive, addictive behaviours, desensitizing of feelings, personality changes, hyperactivity, learning disorders, premature maturing of children, psychomotor disorders, health problems due to lack of exercise and loss of free thinking and will (Setzer & Duckett, 2008). These problems need to be considered individually
when answering the question- do video games negatively affect children/adolescence?

Enormous amount of research has been conducted in order to prove that video games have both negative and positive effects on children/adolescence. Only a small amount of research has been discussed in this essay. Although video games have been found to have an educational benefit and enhance learning environments, the negatives far outweigh the positives. When all the negatives are put together, a hard-to-debate argument is created. As a society we need to encourage even further research into this topic so we can help guide the future of our young children/adolescence. Perhaps if video games are only used for educational purposes or if stricter classification regulation is introduced, the negative effects of video games on children/adolescence can begin to decrease.



REFERENCE LIST

Children and Video Games. (2002). The Kaiser family foundation. Retrieved December 9, 2009, from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/3271-index.cfm

Columbine high school massacre. (2003). Bookrags. Retrieved December 9, 2009, from
http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre

Glick, D. & Keene-Osborn, S. (1999). Anatomy of a massacre (Columbine High School shootings). Newsweek 133(1), 24–30. Retrieved from Academic Research Library Database.

Greenfield, P. & Cocking, R. (1996). Interacting with video: Advances in applied developmental psychology. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Grimley, M., Green, R. & Nilsen, T. (2006) Computer games in education. ULearn Journal, 24(1), 24-30. Retrieved from Academic Research Library Database.

Kirsh, S, J. (1998). Seeing the world through Mortal Kombat-colored glasses: violent video games and the development of a short-term hostile attribution bias. Childhood: A Global Journal of Child Research 5(1), 177–184.

Ofra, N. & Pnina, S. (2004) Computers for cognitive development in early childhood. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual, 21(2), 223-230. Retrieved from Academic Research Library Database.

Provenzo, F. (1991). Video kids: Making sense of Nintendo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard.

Storch, E. (2006) Video games fun but pose social, health risks. Medical News Today 31(2), 226-228. Retrieved from Academic Research Library Database.

Squire, K. (2003) Video games in education. International Journal of Intelligent Stimulations. Retrieved from Academic Research Library Database.

The First Video Game. (2008). Brookhaven history. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from
http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/higinbotham.asp

Use of Commercial Games for Educational Purposes: Will Today’s Teacher Candidates Use them in the Future? (2006) Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from, http://www.mackenty.org/images/uploads/Prospective_teachers.pdf