The Negative Effects of Video Games

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Video games began in the late 1960s. It is highly interactive but also a distinct simulation of the real world and the world of thinking. In recent years, Video games have been gaining its popularity at an amazing rate and have developed into a common form of entertainment in people's lives. According to a survey, the researcher found that in 1992, approximately ninety-two percent of U.S. kids between 2 and 17 years of age play video games, and their parents bought 225 million of them last year to the tune of 6.4 billion dollars (Sider, 2002). Some people also believe that playing video games has become a cultural phenomenon. However, there are many noticeable problems are coming out while video games bring us a lot of fun. The most important problem is: Are video games harmful to children's development? As far as I am concerned, I strongly advocate that the drawbacks of video games should not be ignored. I would not care whether it is art or not, I just think it is a kind of spiritual opium.

Excessive playing of video games can contribute to serious problems associated with mental health. According to the article of Tracy McVeigh (2001), there is a study in Japan led by Professor Ryuta Kawashima. They did a series of experiments to a group of students to determine how children’s mental health influenced by video game addiction. They randomly assigned hundreds of students and examined half of them playing video games in contrast to the other students who just practice simple arithmetic exercise. It is not surprised that the students who worked on arithmetic problems have developed both left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe of the brain. These areas are responsible for the learning, planning, motor, abstract thought, and...

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