Influence of Video Games on Youth

Video games have become one of the favorite past times with children of all ages, and even
some adults.   What is not normally thought about when buying a new game console or game is: Do video
games influence a child’s psychological development and make them more aggressive and violent?   Do
video games affect a child’s grades?   These will be some of the topics we will be discussing.
Some parents have the concern that video games, among other outlets, affect their children and
cause them to be more aggressive and violent with other children their age and elders, also.   Parents
have the right to limit the time spent playing video games and partaking in the other outlets available such
as media.
According to Anderson and Gentile, [Parents have an important role to play. Psychologists have
found that when parents limit the amount of time as well as the types of games their children play,
children are less likely to show aggressive behaviors (Anderson et al., under review; Gentile et al., 2004).
Other research suggests that active parental involvement in children's media usage-including discussing
the inappropriateness of violent solutions to real life conflicts, reducing time spent on violent media, and
generating alternative nonviolent solutions to problems-all can reduce the impact of media violence on
children and youth (Anderson et al., 2003).]
On the contrary, as according to Anderson and Gentile, [Dr. Anderson and colleagues have
shown that playing a lot of violent video games is related to having more aggressive thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). Furthermore, playing violent games is also related to
children being less willing to be caring and helpful towards their peers. Importantly, research has
shown that these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive children as they do for children
who already have aggressive tendencies.]
Some studies have been done about the habits of children.   Some... [continues]

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