Video_Games_Should_Be_Banned

There is still the question of compulsion though. As Adrian rightly says, it’s not truly addiction in the medical sense of the word, but compulsive behaviour can still be harmful, and it’s the possible harm that any responsible parent will want to look at, rather than the correct use of terms. The average gamer still only plays for ten to 11 hours per week - less than three days of average television viewing - but the extreme deviation from this mean finds a group that are in front of their consoles or PCs for almost 50 hours per week, more than seven hours per day. These are not only World of Warcraft combat enthusiasts but virtual farmers on Facebook and StarCraft II’s galactic colonists. Attempts have been made to medicalise this group. A set of initials was proposed (EIGP, or Excessive Internet Video Game Play) and studies have been carried out, including this one that establishes a genetic link and a dependence on dopaine rewards in EIGP individuals, but it’s far from clear that they’re doing themselves any harm at all. Yes, it does seem to be the case that other studies or their careers might suffer if they spend so much time playing video games rather than learning Spanish or meeting girls, but that is surely the case with any time-consuming activity. As with the scare over Facebook use causing poor academic results, it’s the time spent away from more constructive pursuits that’s the problem, not orcs and laser guns. Many parents worry, no doubt, about the effect video games have on their children. We list the ten most common problems recently investigated by researchers from 2006-present. 1. An increase in emotional disorder symptoms 2. An increase in and behavioral disorder symptoms 3. Declines in verbal memory performance 4. Somatic complaints 5. Attention problems such as hyperactivity, ADD or ADHD 6. Detrimental school performance (as video game usage increases, GPA and SAT scores decrease) 7. Family interaction problems such as less positive parental relations 8. Significant reduced amounts of slow-wave (REM) sleep 9. Modifications in visual selective attention 10. Playing violent video games is a significant risk factor for later physically aggressive behavior Playing violent video games is different from playing positive, constructive games. In fact, violent videogames have an even more powerful influence than violent television and movies, whose detrimental effects have been documented for decades. While violent videogames may promote some complex problem solving and coordination skills as well, they have multiple negative effects. Here are three related to moral functioning. First, in violent video game play the player learns to associate violence with pleasure (rewards for hurting another character). This undermines moral sensitivity. Under normal conditions, human emotional wiring is designed to abhor violence and feel rewarded for helping others. Those who play violent video games build opposite intuitions that they take into the rest of life (I can see the effects in our society, can you'). Which intuitions would you rather your child have' Second, children practice over and over the actions available in a game. The player practices violent behavior hundreds if not thousands of times, much more practice than normal activities receive. Whatever a person practices repeatedly becomes an automatic response. Violent games teach children how to behave like a criminal and to intentionally hurt others (e.g., burning people alive in Postal2). Is this what you want your children to be practicing for hours on end' Third, video games can be addictive because they give immediate rewards for learning. Child and adolescent brains are typically susceptible to addictions as their brains are under development till the middle 20s. Recent brain research is suggesting that any addictive behavior (drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, violence) can harm the final stages of brain development in young adults, leaving them with a less than mature decision making system and diminished empathy for others. Is this what we want to encourage' So, less empathy, pleasure in the pain of others, well practiced criminal behavior, decreased capacity for mature decision making. These are just a few of the potential side effects of violent videogame play. This kind of moral character is far from the character of our foraging ancestors who were presumably avoidant of violence, cooperative and intelligent. The evidence is conclusive for the negative effects of violent video games. Craig Anderson and colleagues have been studying violent media for decades. They and others have found short and long term negative effects of watching or playing violent media that include increased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior, and decreased prosocial behavior. Neuroscientific studies show reduced cognitive brain functions in individuals exposed to violent media. The greater the experience with violent media, the lower was the activation of brain areas for thinking, learning, reasoning and emotional control. Talk about dumbing down the kids! In my view, violent media should be considered a health risk as great as tobacco use (actually, the effects are stronger for violent media). And society should have a say about the availability of violent media. It is unfair to put the policing of media products onto the backs of parents when there are so many human-caused toxic elements to monitor in a child's life today (food, air, water, soil, toys, personal products) and parents do not receive the information they need to help make decisions. Parents could spend 24/7 being body guards of their children's every move because of the endless onslaught of harmful products and media. Instead, let's give parents some help and socially control the purveyance of violent media. This will not only protect minors but protect ourselves. The public health risks are too great to do otherwise. I'd rather have neighbors who have empathy and full decision making capabilities, wouldn't you'