Pro 1: Great educational toolEducational video games are not as popular in our culture as other action games but when they are used they are a fun, interactive way for kids to learn. When I was growing up I learned to type using Mavis Beacon, learned how to be resourceful playing the Oregon Trail, and mastered words with Word Munchers. I remember those video games being my favorite way to learn, it added variety to school and provided a learning tool for the more visual learner.
Pro 2: Better performance on attention-demanding
tasks
A study conducted by Mishra et al. described how players of action video games are able to quickly pick out important information in an over-stimulating situation, divide their attention between multiple tasks, and are able to avoid distraction better when compared to non video game players (2010). This has only been shown to be true with action video games but could be a benefit to children with shorter attention spans and could be particularly useful for increasing focus in school.
Con 1: Increased risk of aggressive behaviors
A study conducted by Mishra et al. described how players of action video games are able to quickly pick out important information in an over-stimulating situation, divide their attention between multiple tasks, and are able to avoid distraction better when compared to non video game players (2010). This has only been shown to be true with action video games but could be a benefit to children with shorter attention spans and could be particularly useful for increasing focus in school.
Con 1: Increased risk of aggressive behaviors
Each year hundreds of new video games are released,
amongst the most popular titles such as Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Assassin’s
Creed, Halo, Hitman, and World of WarCraft (IMBD, 2012). Though some are more
popular than others they all have one thing in common, violence is a central
theme. I am not a video-gamer myself but I have seen these games being played
and typically the player carries a weapon is sets out to kill the enemy which
ranges from anything from a solider to a mythical creature. According to a meta-analysis, “A primary process in such socialization is
observational learning taken in its broadest sense. Children and adolescents
mimic what they see in the short run and acquire complicated scripts for
behaviors, beliefs about the world, and moral precepts about how to behave in
the long run from what they observe” (Huesmann, 2010). So if we are exposing
children to constant violence there is a chance this will alter their
perception of reality and eventually lead to behavior changes. This
meta-analysis goes on to explain that there is a definite correlation between
short term aggression and playing a violent video once but also long term
aggression for those who regularly play violent games.Con 2: More inactivity leads to higher rate of obesity
Our country is currently facing an obesity epidemic,
according to the Center for Disease Control, 17% of children in this nation on
considered obese (2012). This rate has been climbing throughout the last 20
years and high incidences can be contributed to unhealthy diets and lack of
exercise. Also within the past few generations, the amount of time children
spend playing video games has gradually increased as well. It is no secret that
this correlation is a huge contributor to our current epidemic and is encouraging
a sedentary lifestyle for many American children. The time spent in front of
the TV takes away from time for active play, a healthy and necessary ingredient
for development.
References
Bo, S., Ciccone,
G., Durazzo, M., Ghinamo, L., Villois, P., Canil, S., Gambino, R., Cassander, M., Gentile, L., Cavallo-Perin, P. (2011). Contributors
to the obesity and hyperglycemia epidemics.
A prospective study in a population-based cohort. International Journal of Obesity 35(11); 1442-1449.
Center for Disease Control (2012). Overweight and obesity. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/facts.html.
Huesmann, R.L. (2010). Nailing the coffin shut on
doubts that video games stimulate aggression: Comment
on Anderson et al. Psychological Bulletin
136(2).
IMBD (2012). Most popular video games released in 2012. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=moviemeter&title_type=game&year=2012,2012.
IMBD (2012). Most popular video games released in 2012. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=moviemeter&title_type=game&year=2012,2012.
Mishra, J., Zinni, M., Bavlier, D., Hillyard, S.
(2011). Nueral basis of superior performance of action videogame players
in an attention-demanding task. The
Journal of Neuroscience 31(3),
992-998.
Karissa, I thought you did a wonderful job laying out the pros and cons of video gaming. I agree that there are benefits to interactive gaming for children; however we do not yet know the long-term effects this has on a person. Since video gaming is fairly new, it has been difficult to find longitudinal studies on this matter. I would be very curious to the see what type of effects video gaming has on somebody’s health that plays almost every day. I think the effects would also depend on what type of game a person is playing (i.e. violent vs. educational). I do agree that video games can have the effect to increase brain activity and response time, however overall I do not see this as a big enough health benefit. Also, in a child’s developing mind, overstimulation by all the technology and animation may cause lags in development. I would much rather send my children roller blading or take a family hike than circle around a television. I think that getting the blood circulating and increasing heart rate trumps a little bit of increase in attention. Also, one could argue that exercising has the same effect on health as far as increasing focus and benefiting attention span. It sounds so traditional, but I think kids these days ARE missing out on some of the greatest outdoor activities by cocooning inside. I know as my sisters and I were growing up, we did not have a video game system. We would play at friends’ houses, but we never really wanted that in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe part that scares me the most is how children’s behavior can be altered just by playing a game. Children with developing minds are being exposed to all sorts of things by playing “violent games.” Greenwood (2010) talks about violent themes such as urban dystopia of gun fights, car chases, pole dancers, and prostitutes… “Where blood splatters realistically on the camera lens.” This type of exposure to young minds can corrupt and distort children’s views of women, anger, and empathy toward others. Greenwood (2010) states, “violent games reduce empathy and effective anger management skills, and promote aggression.”
Finally, I think you really hit the biggest con of video-gaming in children. Obesity is increasing in this country faster than it has ever before. Combining unhealthy habits and a sedentary lifestyle may take years off of a person’s life. Without physical activity, other health problems can arise more quickly than they would with exercise. We as nurses need to stress the importance of exercise in children. We also should inform parents of what specific games, such as Grand Theft Auto, may cause detrimental behavioral changes. Ultimately, we as nurses need to reach out to the communities and help the population learn about gaming in moderation as well as balancing with a physical activity and a healthy diet.
References
Greenwood, D. (2010, June 22). Grand theft auto is good for you? Not so fast... Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=grand-theft-auto-is-good
Karissa,
ReplyDeleteI think you made some very valid points regarding videogames. I agree that there are many pros to videogames played by children if the right ones are chosen. Unfortunately, more violent, gruesome games are readily available and more appealing to the child’s eyes versus educational videogames. Growing up I also played Oregon Trail and really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed word games; which helped me in school because I became a very good speller. Many school also utilize computer games to teach children how to type correctly. I was very competitive, so I wanted to go as fast as I can when the games were timed which resulted in me becoming decent at typing. Rosetta Stone is also a good teaching tool that is used in schools and is on the computer. It is known as a very successful teaching tool that helps kids learn a variety of different languages.
On the other hand, videogames have a very bad reputation due to the graphic nature of them. Many games children play involve shooting and killing people or stealing. Many children enjoy these gruesome games and prefer them to educational games or even playing outside. By being so violent while playing these games, it can carry over into the real world. Many kids might think it’s okay to be that cruel to their friends and they could act out at their parents, teachers, or other authority figures. I also agree that such inactivity contributes to the obesity epidemic. Children are spending much more time sitting playing videogames when they should be outside playing, running around, and exercising. While they sit and play these games children are more likely to be munching when they aren’t hungry; which also contributes to their increased weight. I had access to videogames growing up, but I preferred being outside and being active to sitting in front of the television all day. Kids need more encouragement to get outside and to be active rather than sitting indoors.
Karissa,
ReplyDeleteYour point on the increased use of video games was very informative. I myself didn’t grow up using video games for learning or otherwise, simply because I never had an interest for them. But I have to agree the educational use of video games is a great way to get children to interact in a way that is more fun to learning. Even with the age we are now, there are many apps that continue to challenge and encourage different ways of learning. I learned the other day that my friend was using an app to learn French. The idea of the app was to keep going through the game to get to higher levels while the game was all about learning the language. Giving children the challenge of multiple choices with different outcomes allows them the chance to see what can work and what doesn’t, this can be beneficial to thought processes in real life.
I hear often that violence in video games is worrisome for parents. What would interest me to find out would be what age group shows more sign of this behavior and what other possible problems could be correlating with these issues. It might be that children with other negative influences in their environment make them more susceptible to violence they see in video games and bring back into their own lives. If this is such a problem, it would be in the nurse’s best interest to gather other sources for the cause of changes in behavior.
Karissa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your information regarding video games effect on children. You organized your post so it was easy to follow and understand.
I do agree that video games have positive aspects. Seeing “Oregon trails” brought back some memories! Also, this reminded me that in 4th grade, our teacher used a video game to help us practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was a race car game and once everyone passed, we got an ice cream sundae party! I remember this was a fun and exciting way to learn these basic mathematic skills because it was competitive and challenged us.
Too bad there is usually always a negative with any positive. Although this technology is a great tool for learning, it has also expanded to the creation of violent and unrealistic games. It is scary to think that with how impressionable children are, such violence is not only allowed, but encouraged! Children tend to play these video games and get false ideas about how to act appropriately or how to treat people with respect.
Being a parent nowadays comes with great responsibilities! How much is too much? How much will benefit? How much will leave lasting damages? Unfortunately, because this is a newer topic of discussion, many questions remain without solid answers and it becomes a fine balancin
Karissa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I think you make an significant point when you say that you remember playing games in school and that it was your favorite way to learn. It is important to get children excited and motivated when it comes to learning. By making learning a fun experience children will want to go to school and it may help to increase attention span and focus. I remember learning to type using a computer program called “type to learn”. Although it wasn’t the most exciting game in the world, it was still different from the typical classroom setting and something to look forward to. I feel that this game was successful and greatly helped me advance my typing skills. It was also very interesting to learn that video gamers were better able to out perform non-video gamers when it came to such tasks as avoiding distractions and dividing their attention between multiple tasks. Video games are usually shown in a very harsh light, but this study shows us that there can be some benefits from playing. Although this should not give children a reason to play video games excessively, everything in moderation!
Your second point about video games adding to the current obesity epidemic is also very true. The children of today’s world spend much more time playing sedentary games and watching TV than they do going outside or playing active games. Some video game companies have taken this into consideration and attempting to make more interactive games that get people up and moving. Wii and Xbox Kinect are two that come to mind. These games use motion sensors to encourage players to get up and be active while they are playing the game. I have played the Wii “Just Dance” several times and I can say that it is a good work out and it gets you sweating! Along with games that promote activity companies have created specific work out DVDs that you can play on your game console. I think it is a great idea for video game companies to create games like these that promote health. It allows people to be healthy, while still having fun, and this will get more people up and moving!
Karissa-
ReplyDeleteYour post did a great job of mentioning some of both the pros and cons of video gaming. There is no doubt that video games are a debatable issue, especially with children. "Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association have weighed in on this topic and have confirmed the link between television and violence and aggression. The typical American child watches 28 hours of television a week and by the age of 18 will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence" (Gallagher, n.d.). That is a crazy amount of violence! So with so much attention focused on the negatives of video games, what are some other positives?
Richard Gallagher, Director of the Parenting Institute at the NYU Child Study Center, commented that, "as part of a balanced entertainment diet, the games can provide stress relief for kids, they can help with aspects of coordination and concentration on visual details, and they can help kids relate to one another in some forms of healthy competition" (n.d.). The key word is moderation. Excessive playing leaves less time for academics, social development, and physical activity. So how much is too much? How can parents enforce moderation?
The NYU Child Study Center provides suggestions for setting up firm time limits on games. A simple system might limit screen time from 0-60 minutes on school days and increase the amount of time allowed on weekends and holidays. Parents can also use a point system to charge overtime. In this system, extra playing time equals extra chores. The Center stresses the importance of respecting the child's play time and avoid interruptions of small chores and tasks until afterwards (Wang, n.d.).
This, in combination with healthy and even education games, can provide many benefits to our children that can help them excel in their everyday lives.
References
Gallagher, R. (n.d.). Video games: Pros and cons. Retrieved from http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/video_games_cons_pros
Wang, K. (n.d.). Video games and kids: Why they love them, and what parents can do to minimize the risks. Retrieved from http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/video_games_kids