Video Games Are Creating An Army Of Adolescent Ninjas And We Are All Doomed 2!

     Most of us are well aware of the negative impact video games can have on our children. After reading a fellow student's blog analyzing an article written by a college student named Andrea Norcia entitled The Impact of Video Games on Children, I to wanted to do my own analysis of this article. I have a twelve year old son and have observed for myself several of the negative effects that video games can have on the children who love them. According to an article in The Washington Post website,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/04/19/AR2009041902350.html, a study conducted in 2009 concluded that videogames can produce symptoms of addiction and that 8.5% of youth ages 8 to 18 exhibit multiple behaviors that indicate an addiction to playing these games. I feel quite sure the number of kids with these signs is much higher than it was three years ago. An article in the New York Times confirms that video games encourage a sedentary lifestyle and addresses the misconception that interactive video games that require movement to play do not actually promote physical activity in gamers and may actually compensate for the extra movement required to play these games by reducing other physical activities. An article written by Dr. Gentile,http://www.pedsforparents.com/articles/2791.shtml, he identifies many health risks, mood and behavior changes, and learning problems videogames have been proven to cause, largely due to the ever-increasing amount of time kids are spending on gaming.There is plenty of evidence of the unwanted, negative impact kids are likely to experience, yet for some reason parents, myself included, continue to buy the systems and games that are slowly poisoning the youth of America. 
      The article that I chose to analyze is titled, The Impact of Video Games on Children,http://www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/videogames.html, and the main thesis of this article is that playing violent games for extended amounts of time is linked to increase in aggressive or confrontational behaviors as well as contributing to difficulties in school. These changes in mood are attributed to entirely too much play time as well as a lack of discretion when buying or renting games with adult or mature themes.  One suggested theory as to the method these behaviors manifest is that videogames are a stimulating and interactive way of learning and often use repetition as a teaching tool. When kids are playing violent video games that require the repetition of violent acts, they may develop aggressive behaviors as a learned pattern.Another proposed reason why children may be susceptible to these disruptive behavior changes is because video games have characters that are created to inspire role identification; giving characters an entire persona and often letting the player pick certain attributes, skills, and certain aspects of the character's appearance. It is not only possible but probable that a child could easily be influenced by a character in a game; imagining himself being the character and behaving like the character. Unfortunately, a lot of the best loved characters appearing in video games are violent whether they are supposed to be thought of as a good guy or the villain. 
  The author of this article lists a warning that multiple medical associations got together and released a joint statement alerting parents that violence in video games can have a negative impact on children. She also presents results of studies conducted that are relative to her stance as well as other sources that provide evidence supporting her claim that children who spend a lot of time playing video games, especially those intended for mature players, are likely to have changes in attitude and begin to display aggressive tendencies. Even if these changes are not evident, children may also demonstrate an indifference of desensitization to violence, gore, and death. The writer also included tips to help parents  manage their children's media usage in hopes of helping parents make informed decisions about what to buy and allow children to watch or play. In addition, this article introduces the rating system used to specify the recommended age group suggested based on the content in the game. Often an innocent looking game can contain suggestive adult themes that could easily be overlooked at first glance. It appears that this article was written to reveal the potential for videogames to create discordant, unfavorable changes in your child's mood or behavior but also gives a general guideline of ways to prevent video games from being dangerous to children who like to play them.  
    My son's favorite thing to do is play video games and I have had to witness many of the ways video games can negatively influence a child and deeply regret ever allowing them to be available to him. The risk for aggressive behavior is just one of the many changes in mood or behavior that may surface as a result of frequent or regular gaming. When I bought my son his first game system I believed videogames to be harmless, especially if you monitored the games being played and continued to promote physical activities. I had no idea that video games would become a big part of his everyday life. At this point, he feels as though he has absolutely nothing to do if he doesn't have some form of media to entertain him. One of the worst habits my son formed from frequent gaming is the expectation of instant gratification.When playing a game, children have control of the outcomes and is able to push a button and the game instantly produces his desired result. His aversion to practice and learning is very likely as a result of this attitude of entitlement and belief that he should not have to wait for any desired outcome.
     An article on Psychology.com,http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201001/the-positive-effect-action-video-games-speed-visual-processing, boasts about the positive effect of playing action games. It claim that action games help players develop faster visual processing and are able to quickly make a decision based upon that processed information. This article does, however, recognize that most action games are violent. I feel that the benefit does not come close to the risk. A report on the Colorado State University, website,http://www.news.colostate.edu/Release/5653, states that complete immersion into playing video games helps to create a skill that can help you reduce stress and and even increase a persons overall happiness. The research conducted also recognized that some players can be what is considered addicted ultimately  leading to negative consequences. The Boston Globe's website posted an article entitled how video games are good for your brain,http://www.boston.com/ae/games/articles/2009/10/12/how_video_games_are_good_for_the_brain/, that claims they boost mental function, increase visual acuity, and improve short-term memory. The problem with all of these suggested benefits of playing video games is that they don't include the evidence of how kids are affected that lack self control or how easily influenced most children are. Video games may have some positive effects but while children may be able to learn something from these games, they are not likely learning other important skills and may possibly be learning things you would not want them to learn.
     I was able to verify that all the information provided in this article was accurate and true. The writer provided adequate evidence to support her claim. I believe, however, that there are many different issues plaguing our children's minds and actions and that it is not just violent video games that are the culprit. The pop culture relevant to this new generation is filled with negativity, sex, violence, sarcasm, and dependence on technology; all of which are influencing the way our children think and act. While I believe this article presents a valid concern, it is just a small fragment of a much bigger picture. The themes found in video games can also be seen in everyday life. We have not yet begun to see how the media has affected the kids of today, who knows what they will be like as adults. For more insight into this problem, check out http://voices.yahoo.com/the-negative-effects-video-games-childrens-behavior-2693214.html?cat=9, http://www.apa.org/research/action/games.aspx, and http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20000424/children-violence-video-games?page=3.