Introduction
- Video games popular activity and multibillion-dollar industry
- Promotes learning and skills when played in moderation
- Widespread concerns over violence and age-inappropriate material
- Excessive playing time leads to socialization issues
- Physical and psychological consequences present
Background and Statistics
- Video game industry has reached $90 billion total revenue
- 164 million people in the U.S. play video games and 75% of households have an avid gamer
- At least 91% of kids aged 2-17 play video games regularly
- 56-66% of teens aged 8-17 play for an average of 2-2.5 hours per day
- 90% of parents pay attention to children’s gaming (ESA, 2019).
Positive Impacts
- Gaming can be beneficial to children investing less than 1/3 of daily free time
- Can stimulate pro-social behavior gaming with peers – improved teamwork
- Individually, improves life satisfaction and less problems with peers
- Emotionally healthy if age-appropriate, helps manage conduct problems
- For some individuals can help with attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity (Shapiro, 2014)
- Gaming contributes to meta-cognitive skills
- Improving motor skills and coordination
- Improving attention and building memory
- Comparable to imaginative play vital to children
- Can help with logical and strategic thinking in cognitive development (Schenk, Lech, & Suchan, 2017)
Violence in video games
- Most top-selling video games currently rated Mature or 17+
- Those rated Teen continue to have blood, suggestive themes and fantasy violence
- Competition in most games such as Fortnite stems from and rewards “killing” other players
- Mature games depict highly violent actions and crime
- Modern technology allows for ultra-realistic graphics in-game
- Actions are performed or observed by the human player from first-person perspective (Stuart, 2019)
- APA notes violent video games not linked to mass shootings
- Reliable association to behaviors such as yelling or pushing in children
- Evidence shows aggressive or anti-social behavior (American Psychological Association, 2020)
- Experts clarify aggression does not indicate violent action
- Family environment plays a role on beliefs and exemplification of aggression (Shao & Wang, 2019)
Psychosocial Development
- By observing video game violence, children may demonstrate desensitization to real-world violence
- Emotional health, personality disorders, and situational decision-making impacted
- Motivational behavior suffers with excessive gaming
- Addiction to gaming is an APA DSM-5 qualification as a mental disorder
- Psychosocial effects are both immediate and build up over time (Shapiro, 2014)
- Video gaming, particularly excessive causes severe psychosocial issues
- Clinical symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Social isolation and decreased academic achievement
- Stress and maladaptive disorder, poor functioning
- Sedentary lifestyle and effects on physical health such as obesity (Heiden, Braun, Muller, & Egloff, 2019)
Policy and Regulation
- Video games are evaluated by Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB)
- Research is forcing governments to consider stronger regulation
- Moral panic and politicizing arise
- Proper policy limits minors’ access to violence
- Predatory practices and addictive elements to promote spending regulated
- Difficult with First Amendment issues (Reporters Committee, n.d.)
Conclusion
- Video games a prevalent activity for kids currently
- Can be healthy and beneficial, in moderation
- Violence is concerning, but does not lead to violent behavior
- Excessive gaming leads to addiction and psychosocial development problems
- Regulation and parental guidance necessary to manage effects of the activity
References
American Psychological Association. (2020). APA Reaffirms Position On Violent Video Games And Violent Behavior. Web.
Esa. (2019). 2019 Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry. Web.
Heiden, J. M. V. D., Braun, B., MĂĽller, K. W., & Egloff, B. (2019). The Association Between Video Gaming And Psychological Functioning. Frontiers In Psychology, 10. Web.
Reporters Committee. (N.D.). Regulation Of Violent Video Games Sales To Minors Violates First Amendment. Web.
Schenk, S., Lech, R. K., & Suchan, B. (2017). Games People Play: How Video Games Improve probabilistic learning. Behavioural brain Research, 335, 208–214. Web.
Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). The Relation Of Violent Video Games To Adolescent Aggression: An Examination Of Moderated Mediation Effect. Frontiers In Psychology, 10. Web.
Shapiro, J. (2014). A Surprising New Study on how Video Games Impact Children. Forbes. Web.
Stuart, K. (2019). Video Games Do Not Cause Violence – But Makers Do Need To Think About It. The Guardian. Web.