Introduction
Contextualizing: Video games are gaining popularity and may affect people in negative ways.
Define terms of debate: The author will argue in support of the negative effects of video gaming.
Hook: Did you know some parents think games make their children “act too young?” (Guerrero et al., 2019, p. 3)
Thesis: Video gaming can lead to addiction, psychological disorders, and self-esteem problems.
Plan of Development: The essay will present three arguments for the negative effects of video gaming, and two of them will be followed by counterarguments, concession, and refutation.
Body
Supporting Argument 1: Intensive gaming may cause addiction (van den Eijnden, et al., 2018).
- Detail: For a child may be hard to quit an exciting video game.
- Detail: Teenagers may resist when asked to stop playing.
- Detail: Children show signs of annoyance when deprived of video gaming.
- Opposing argument: If the child is interested in sports or reading, their desire for those activities is just as strong.
- Concession: Any activity could be addictive if children enjoy participating in it to the point of sacrificing other necessary tasks and rest.
- Refutation: The problem of addictive video games is especially dangerous now.
Supporting Argument 2: Playing video games too much is a serious issue that is recognized as a psychological disorder.
Detail: It has received the status of mental health condition (van den Eijnden, et al., 2018, p. 697).
- Detail: Sometimes, children are not able to adequately judge whether video gaming is harmful to them.
- Detail: Medical specialists and psychologists follow particular methods in helping to treat video game addiction.
- Opposing argument: Psychological disorder as a term is subject to bureaucratic definitions.
- Concession: While many concepts in society are relative, people have to define criteria for medical disorders to treat them.
- Refutation: If helping children through medical strategies could help improve their life quality, this strategy should be considered.
Supporting Argument 3: Playing video games may lead to low self-esteem and depression problems (van den Eijnden, et al., 2018).
- Detail: Many modern online games include communication via chat in a toxic atmosphere.
- Detail: Children often go through sensitive stages of development, and negative feedback from teammates could trigger depression.
- Detail: Sometimes, children use video games to avoid solving social problems.
Conclusion
- Restate your position. Videogaming has numerous negative effects on children.
- Summary and final thought: Playing video games may lead to behavioral and psychological problems in children if not controlled by adults.
- Prediction and/or recommendation: If safe guidelines for video gaming are not developed and followed in a timely manner negative effects will become more apparent.
References
Guerrero M.D., Barnes J.D., Chaput J.P., & Tremblay M.S. (2019). Screen time and problem behaviors in children: Exploring the mediating role of sleep duration.International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16(105), 1-10. Web.
van den Eijnden, R., Koning, I., Doornwaard, S., van Gurp, F., & Ter Bogt, T. (2018). The impact of heavy and disordered use of games and social media on adolescents’ psychological, social, and school functioning.Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(3), 697–706. Web.