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Effects of Video Games on Youth
Interactive games such as video games have been a leisure activity for youth since the late 1970s. Therefore due to an overwhelming amount of violence shown through youth within schools and other social environments, scientific study has public addressed concerns regarding the effects of video games possibly being an influence. Evidently displayed through research studies, there has been a correlation between aggressive behaviour and video games seen in adolescents and children. Adolescents often are more vulnerable to the effects of violence through online games during their developmental stages than any other age. “Additionally, the developmental notion of individual differences suggests that only certain adolescents (i.e., those with the greatest number of risk factors) may be susceptible to the negative consequences associated with playing violent video games.” Using Albert Bandura’s 1986 theory, it was suggested through learning theory that exposure to violence within video games can lead to behavioural mimicry. This exposure has the potential to reinforce and evoke aggressive habits and increase internal arousal. Baudura suggest that this constant interaction with violence can increase the likelihood of anger instilled in the child or adolescent as well as tighten the aggressiveness. “Children are frequently identified as a special audience with distinctive characteristics and needs.” Therefore, this identification places close monitoring on youth because they are a placed in a distinct social category. “This construction of ‘the child’ is both a negative and a positive enterprise: it involves attempts to restrict children’s access to knowledge about aspects of adult life (most obviously sex and violence), and yet it also entails a kind of pedagogy – an attempt to ‘do them good’ as well as protect them from harm.” Although, aggressive behaviour and conflicts in youth often is related to the exposure of social and emotional challenges that arise during their early developmental stages. “In addition, early adolescents are faced with increasing cognitive and socio-emotional challenges at school and changes in the emotional, social, and psychological relationships with their parents and peers (Steinberg, 2001).” Every adolescent copes with these challenges differently although there are increased levels of depression in youth and negative emotions during this time. “One possibility for the increased aggressive behavior and conflict during early adolescence is that the increase in negative affect and depression increases the likelihood of responding to a variety of provocation situations with aggression.” Therefore while constantly interacting with violence in video games, the child is more likely to adopt these practices if they are subject to previous aggression as resolving conflicts. “Regardless of the reasons why adolescents play violent video games, consequences of such play have been shown to negatively impact social and emotional functioning in children, adolescents, and young adults (Bushman & Anderson, 2001).”

Benefits
The benefits of engaging with online video games contributes to the creativity aspect involved in this type of digital media. Thought, reflection and participating in this new world you are connecting with through a video game. This depends on what game you are playing and if the game is considered a good game to virtual reality participants. “Good games are the ones gamers come to see as “gaming goodness”, “fair”, and sometimes even “deep”- all terms of gaming art.” Video games have the potential of providing their audience with activities to challenge their curiosity through different quests making it educational. "Research dating right back to the early 1980s has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem." Video games have the potential to consume the attention of children and adolescents when engaging. Due to this strength of maintaining engagement, it is crucial to highlight the impact video games can have on a child’s learning experience if it is education based. This makes learning fun for youth in a way that appeals to them through a fun and stimulating way. “Some evidence suggests that important skills may be built or reinforced by video games. For example, spatial visualization ability (i.e., mentally, rotating and manipulating two- and three-dimensional objects) improve with video game playing.”

Educational purposes of video games

 * Video games attract participation by individuals across many demographic boundaries (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, educational status)”
 * Video games can assist children in setting goals, ensuring goal rehearsal, providing feedback, reinforcement, and maintaining records of behavioural change”
 * Video games can be used when examining individual characteristics such as self-esteem, self-concept, goal-setting and individual differences.
 * Video games can be useful because they allow the researcher to measure performance on a very wide variety of tasks, and can be easily changed, standardized and understood.
 * Video games may help adolescents regress to childhood play (because of the ability to suspend reality in video game playing.)
 * Video games cause participants to become excited and therefore produce a whole host of confounding variables such as motivation and individual skill.

George Gerbner
George Gerbner is the founder of cultivation theory who addresses the implications of media effects. Gerbner suggests that not all violence shown through digital media is there for a negative reason. Rather, suggests society must view this violence at a grand scale. “The way in which media effects researchers talk about the amount of violence in the media encourages the view that it is not important to consider the meaning of the scenes involving violence which appear on screen.” Gerbner suggests violence is a legitimate and fundamental element of cultural expression. Violence demonstrates power within media and have important social functions. Although, constant exposure of this violence leads to aggression. “There is a direct casual relationship, our 15 years of research has shown, between exposure to violence and one’s feeling of where one belongs in the power structure- one’s feeling of vulnerability, one’s feeling of insecurity, one’s demand for protection, and one’s welcoming even repression if it comes in the form of security. That is the direct relationship.” Media content that promotes violence often activates particular impulses in children to incorporate these actions viewing them as the norm. Gerbner suggests, “Violent actions in the media can lead to imitation among younger children. (in a similar vein but to a much lesser extent, young people and adults can copy “tips” on how to perform violence).”

Health Risks

 * Cardiovascular implications: Causing children to be weaker, slower and more overweight due to constant participation in video gaming. This contributes to a lifestyle that displaces participation in physical activities such as sports. “Playing an arcade-type video game may increase energy expenditure by roughly 80%, but it fails to provide sufficient cardiorespiratory stress to improve physical fitness in youth.”
 * Video game induced seizures: “50 documented cases of video game induced seizures have been reported worldwide.” This can be due to these children having photosensitivity to flashing images seen on the screens therefore provoking reactions. Usually children are sitting close to the screen when playing therefore provoking seizure responses more than television.
 * Aggression and prosocial behaviour: “the arousing nature of video games may increase aggressiveness regardless of the game content.” Through social learning theory, it is suggested that children mimic behaviour reinforced in another individual or content they are constantly exposed too. “Accordingly, playing a video game allows children to practice aggression and be rewarded for successful aggression.”
 * Nintendinitis: Injury due to excessive video game play shows through the right thumb. This severe pain is shown when the tendon is repeatedly being used to press a button on a video game.
 * Pathological preoccupation with video games: This happens when the child is completely immersed in the video game as a way of avoiding distress within the family. Implication of this is absence in school due to skipping and suppressing family issues with resistance of medical treatment.