Negative effects/ Concerns of video games

Bad Effects of Video Games

On the whole, most of the negative effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain. Children who play more violent video games are more likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, according to a scientific study (Anderson & Bushman, 2001).

The effect of video game violence in children is worsened by the games’ interactive nature. In many games, the audience are rewarded for being more violent, as signified in the Call of Duty series. The audience are in control of the player, which enabled them to carry out reckless violence such as (killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting). Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (such as Anderson & Dill, 2000, Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004). However, the evidence is not consistent and this issue is far from settled.

To some degree, violent video games are a concern for the following reasons:-

* Over exposure to violent video games results in isolation, with players beoming more violent due to thier stubborness in being able to succeed to the next level.

* Violent video games instill audiences; especially children with immoral values, such as murder, manslaughter, prostitution. Grand Theft Auto is a perfect example of these negative ideologies

* Violent video games seem to be too real: younger audiences can can confuse reality and fantasy.

* Academic achievement may be negatively related to over-all time spent playing video games. Studies have shown that the more time a kid spends playing video games, the poorer is his performance in school. (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004)

* Violent video games make audience more willing to become the characters they play as. Therefore, many audiences choose to adopt a more aggressive look, as seen in True Crime.

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