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negative effects of kids growing up with technology
negative effects of kids growing up with technology
negative effects of kids growing up with technology
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In today's society there is no escape from technology. We are completely submerged in our iPhone, ipads, computers, and gaming systems. These gadgets give us the opportunity to be connected to each other and the rest of the world at all times. But, this is not a glorious step in history. Technology blinds us from the real world. As John Tudor said, “Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except technology.” We may run our lives with the help of our iPhones and computers, but do these forms of technology in turn control us? At first glance these new advances are greater steps to making our lives easier. But, when examined closely a large portion of technology is the cause of many problems in our society. Years ago, simple toys filled the shelves in department stores. Things like leggos, dress-up dolls, and bicycles were the hot items flying off the shelves. Now, kids are begging for new games for their PlayStations and Wii systems. Of course, parents easily give in to these requests and overload their children with multiple games. So, instead of the future leaders of our country being creative and active, their eyes are glued to televisions playing violent and mature games. Sure, there are a select group of games focused on education and enrichment, but the games focused on bad behavior and violence equal and almost out number the educational ones(Crystal). Children may gain a thing or two from a video game, but they are losing something much more important, communication skills. In the documentary, Digital Nation, a young South Korean student is shown who is addicted to his gaming systems. His mother explains that because of his addiction, he has lost the ability to communicate with her.... ... middle of paper ... ... Work Cited Bosworth, Martin H. "Too Much Technology, Too Fast?" ConsumerAffairs.com: Knowledge Is Power! Consumer News, Reviews, Complaints, Resources, Safety Recalls. 23 Dec. 2005. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . “Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics & Driver Text Message Facts." Edgar Snyder & Associates® - Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Crystal, Dawn. "The Negative Effects of Video Games on Children's Behavior, Page 2 of 2." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Yahoo, 24 Feb. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Digital Nation. Dir. Rachael Pretsin. PBS.
In today’s society technology is everywhere, whether it be in a car, on a billboard, a laptop, or even on one’s phone. However, is all this technology a bad thing or is it truly a worldwide phenomenon. Even back during 1992, author Neil Postman wrote about how technology is both a blessing and a burden. Many people believe Postman’s views are arrogant or far-fetched, but there are also those who agree with him about the dangers of technology.
The allegation that videogames cause violent behavior in children has been present as long as videogames themselves. Some researchers said that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was one intense gamer. “Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech Shooter was seen by his roomates as odd because he never joined them in video games.”(Beresin) This debate will continue to go on in this country as long as there are horrific crimes that occur. There is much written in the research regarding this issue, and many differing views. The research that is presented in the next few paragraphs supports the theory that it is not the graphic video games that produce aggressive behavior, but other factors in a child’s life that create violent actions.
Despite criticisms of video games in the media and among much of the general population, video games have many positive aspects. Walton points out that much of mainstream press tries to put forth the opinion that video games are a plague upon young people (and sometimes even adults) today—blaming such diseases as diabetes and mental issues like sociopathic behavior on video games. Rarely are the positive aspects of games shown—increased hand-eye coordination, development of social problem solving skills, increased attention levels, better collaboration with other students and better grades. (2012)
Now a day every video game has something violent going on. Such as in 2010 the top 20 games out in the market were violent related. When a kid sees in a video game that he can beat someone else up and get away with it they think they can do that in real life. This will increase bullying and kids are being taught not to bully. Every kid plays video games even if it’s a racing game or a shooting game. In 2008, 97% of kids from the age of 12-17 played video games. Most M rated games have sexual violence and when a kid sees that in a game and then beats the girl up. The crime rate for rape will increase as it has. A study in 2009 found that it only takes a child four minutes of playing a game to make him have aggressive and violent thoughts going through his head. The critics of violent video game has that bully has increase 32% because of violent video games. Also in the study when a child sees blood when beating up or killing someone in a game he will have more aggressive thoughts than normal.
Gentiles explain the positive and negative effects of video games on children. Gentile warns that kids are spending more time playing a video game every day and parents need to do something about it before it goes out of hand. Gentile also does several types of surveys and experiments on children one that plays for eight hours while another plays for five hours. The author agrees that kids today are spending excessively much time in front of a game system and parents are not doing anything about it to stop it. Gentile also suggests that if parents do not do anything about it bad thing will happen to their kids including having aggressive behavior.
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
Video games are almost always present in any house that is home to an adolescent child. While video games are popular among people of all ages, adolescent children are usually the most involved. An article was developed by three members of the Psychopathology department at a university in the Netherlands. While addressing the use of video games the statement was made that “Today, in the United States, 91% of children between the ages of 2 and 17 play video games”(Granic, Lobel, Engels). Children may spend countless hours sitting in from of a television screen, participating in the electronic activities. While there are many different genres of video games, perhaps among the most popular are those that contain a high level of violence and hostility. Along with the violent content and commentary, these videogames create a hostile mindset. Video games have the ability to cause negative effects in the way young people think and act socially.
By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video game...
The average adolescent spends a major part of the normal week watching or interacting with some form of the media’s products. Video games are one of these media based mediums and have become increasingly popular since the 1980’s. According to a report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, "Female gamers spent an average of 44 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and four minutes playing on the weekends, and male gamers spent an average of 58 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and 37 minutes playing on the weekends" ("Video Game Play Among Adolescents"). What can we understand from this evidence? The fact is that adolescents, male or female, are spending tremendous amounts of time each day sitting in front of a screen with a controller in hand.
Since the Early 70’s video games have been giving a bad name. Parents state that video games rot the minds of children and are influencing them do be violent. These accusations are far from the truth. In my research I found that there are many positive effects of gaming. Some of these effects are increased skills, creativity, general knowledge, and also help those in need. Parents can also take proper precautions and look into a game before buying it to see if it meets the criteria discussed in this paper.
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
Technology has more negative effects on today’s society than positive. Due to technology in the past few decades Canine Shock Collars have been increasingly popular. Students in school pay more attention to texting than they do their classes. Violent addictive video games have made their way into American homes. Parents encourage their children to not text as much, but them to face the problem of constant communication. The Internet gives the students easier ways to cheat in school, and reinforces laziness. Internet Porn gives every bored male a chance to look at the seediest film in the comfort of his own home. Technology has taken the innocence and mystery away from the American family.
Video Games have been accused of making youth violent and aggressive, making people isolate themselves from society, and for lowering the attention span and the ability to concentrate in youth. These claims have yet to be supported by several well organized studies and have never been more than a correlation to any of these claims, and in fact have been disproven on several occasions. Adam Eichenbaum (2014), author contributing to the American Journal of Play, concluded a discussion on the research on video games say that “Today’s video games are much more than entertainment. They are also weapons in the fight against declining mental capacities in old age. They promote job-related skills. And they are a model of how to teach children complex and difficult tasks and abilities. As with any technology, video games are neither intrinsically good nor intrinsically bad.” (pg. 67) Video games are not the waste of time that they are accused of being, nor are they damping the development of today’s youth. If anything is to be said about video games is that in them lays a great potential for good; that video games serve as tools for people who want to make a change in society, whether the changes are positive or negative lie in the hands of those that choose to use video games as tools. These are not unrealistic or histrionic claims; video games, after all, are more than just
Why Reliance on Technology is a Bad Thing | World of Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/04/21/why-reliance-on-technology-is-a-bad-thing/
Is technology controlling us or are we choosing to be controlled by it? This is the question we should ask ourselves when we feel controlled or connected to our technology. It is in our hands to control overuse or misuse of technology. Technology is everywhere we go: stores, schools, households and banks and that must mean it’s good for something. The purpose of technology in general, is to help us have more productive and with less hassles.