The Adverse Effects of Video Games on the World's Youth

The Adverse Effects of Video Games on the World’s Youth
Since the beginning of time, games have captivated human interest. In the last forty or so years, a new type of game has taken America by storm. Started by snatching quarters out of young boy’s pockets in arcades across the country, the addiction to video games began. The addiction has evolved to the point where it drastically affects brain activity and elicits non normal, potentially malignant behavior. Like a train with no brakes, the video game revolution has exploded and no one can stop it.
Starting in malls and shopping centers across the US in the late 1970s arcades started to sprout up. The golden age of standup arcade games had begun. For America, this was a brand new form of entertainment that no one had ever seen before and it was a new activity for young people to do on the weekends. Never before were they able to interact with something on screen. This became a new way for the already competitive teenagers to dominate each other and claim a proven winner, constantly competing, teenagers across America pumped quarter after quarter in machines like Pac Man and Donkey Kong until they exhausted their allowances. This was only the beginning of the impact that video games would have on people young and old in America (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters).
In the next years, software and hardware engineers stepped up their game and brought their games to the home. Before video games were in arcades, games like Pong were available for home use, but now for the first time, complex games that had been solely available in commercial arcades were now available for people to play in the comfort of their own homes. This also took the addiction to the next level; after th...

... middle of paper ...

...trictions, underage children are still being influenced by violent games. Some may say that it is the developer’s fault since they churn out violent games with no recourse because they know that it will be under some rating system and they won’t be accountable (Robinson 420-422).
In society today most young people play some form of a video games. Depending on how much they play and which type of game it is determines the effect that it has on the user. Whether it’s violent behavior, a decrease in social life, or a dedication to the competitive aspect of the games over a period of time, there is an adverse effect on the user playing these games. With the help of federal rating systems and responsible parents the malicious side effects to the games can be subdued but as of now the ramifications of video game addiction constantly plagues teenagers around the world.