The Negative Influence of Video Games

The Negative Influence of Video Games
Video games are a relatively new medium of entertainment, which gives us control over the story to play it out, act it out, making it engaging. This leads to games being extremely fun, challenging, appealing and addictive. With time, games with improved mechanics, visuals and complexity are released making it even more appealing for the player making it difficult for people not to like video games. Nevertheless, video games tend to have certain effects on people too, especially those who are psychologically weaker. While this might not be true to everyone, there are cases where many people become reclusive and unsocial because of excessive playing of video games. I too was addicted to playing video games when I was younger, and there are days I wish I was more productive because I could have done things differently. My addiction to video games might not necessarily have been extreme, but it was to an extent where time was being wasted and my grades were being affected. This put me in a mental state where I wanted to change but due to being so used to escaping reality by drowning myself in playing games, hence, making me depressed. While this might not hold true to everyone, I have come across many people who due to spending too much time and money on video games ended up in depression. Video games when played in excess can cause problems to the gamer.
Over the years’ academics, politicians, psychologists and parents have been saying that children are spending too much time playing video games. Children being at a stage of life where they should be active physically, they stay rooted in their chairs spending their time controlling pixels on the screen. According to Education Professor Patrick McCormack, “All these hours in front of the screen interfere with the time adolescents should be giving to study, playing outside with their friends, and other social activities. Reports and studies suggest that extensive "gaming" (like watching TV) contributes to physical inactivity, social isolation, obesity, and poorer test scores and reading skills.” (Us Catholic) This submits that video games can have a negative influence over youngsters today, especially those that are going through difficult times. A study conducted in 2011, 40% or more of American children today play video games. 80% are boys and 20% are girls. Male gamers spend 30% less time studying and doing homework while female gamers spend 34% less time than people who don’t play video games. This does say that the trend is changing and it is likely that the numbers might increase with time. This is because the gaming industry is still growing at a rapid rate, and as new technologies are developed in this field, more people will be attracted to games (Harvard Group, 2). We can clearly see the influence video games have over the younger generation showing us how important it is for them to play in moderation.
The recent rise in video games containing violent and criminal themes has also apparently had a negative influence on children and youngsters to some extent. Professor McCormack also said that, “In the last decade numerous headlines have made the connection between gaming and violent crimes. Stories have identified the perpetrators in school shootings and other multiple homicides as adolescents who spent a good deal of time playing violent video games, and FBI reports have suggested that fascination with this sort of media violence could be a warning sign identifying possible shooters. Some reports have indicated that playing violent video games encouraged more aggression than passively watching violent TV or movies.” (Us catholic, 1) This is debatable as conclusively establishing the correlation between a crime and a video game is very difficult. There is some influence from such violent video games on the minds of players. One might think how one can be influenced by violent games when they are supposed to be fun. People often wonder about such things because most might not do things that they do in video games. However, there are those who are troubled or are mentally disturbed or have psychological problems. These potential groups of people are more prone to be negatively influenced by the violent and criminal themes contained in video games than those who have a stronger psyche. Some people do not agree with this view and say that violence in video games does not cause a negative influence (Deadening the Heart, 2). It makes sense that those who are weaker look for an escape from their problems and video games make a good escape.
According to Robert Howe, “Defenders of video games, however, have pointed out that juvenile violence in the United States has plummeted in the very years that video game use has been exploding. Since the early 1990s violent crime by youths and adolescents has dropped to its lowest rate in decades. Not so long ago politicians and pundits decried comic books and rock 'n ' roll as moral scourges corrupting our young. Now the scapegoat is video games.” (Howe Robert, 2). Robert Howe does have a point regarding the drop in crimes and this does suggest that negative influence that video games have on gamers is something that has been made a big deal about but is rather a minor issue. It is common to see society make small things into big issues just because of one in a crowd. Also, there is no real way to prove that video games have had a negative influence over gamers unless the gamer themselves admits to it. Since video games are just a means of entertainment, saying that they have negative influence over gamers also submits that books and TV are a bad influence. Video games help gamers to forget their problems for some time and enjoy life. Everyone has fantasies, and while no one necessarily wants their fantasies to come true, gamers are happy by fulfilling their fantasies by playing video games. Just like how everything in life must be done in moderation, similarly, as long as one plays video games in moderation, they won’t have any problems, however, just like any addiction, too much playtime can result in the gamer giving up something else.
So what do we conclude? While it is a fact that video games have been a source of relaxation, entertainment and fun, the arguable question is whether they have had a negative influence. This will depend from person to person. As fun and entertaining a video game can be, it can always have some negative influence on a person to some degree or the other. Addiction to video games, particularly games with violent and criminal themes, can have a lasting impact on players. But as long as people learn to manage their time and regulate their need for video games, it is possible to enjoy the pleasures of it without getting addicted.

Work Cited
"Deadening the heart: killer video games are no 'safety valve '--quite the opposite." Christianity Today. Oct. 2005: 31. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.
Howe, Robert F. "Deadly games." Reader 's Digest Aug. 2005: 124+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.
"How Video Games Affect Time Use." Harvard Reviews of Health News. Harvard Health Publications Group, 2007. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.
McCormick, Patrick. "Moral Kombat: how much should we worry about the daily dose of interactive, virtual murder and mayhem in our kids ' lives?" U.S. Catholic Apr. 2009: 42+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.

Cited: "Deadening the heart: killer video games are no 'safety valve '--quite the opposite." Christianity Today. Oct. 2005: 31. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. Howe, Robert F. "Deadly games." Reader 's Digest Aug. 2005: 124+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. "How Video Games Affect Time Use." Harvard Reviews of Health News. Harvard Health Publications Group, 2007. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. McCormick, Patrick. "Moral Kombat: how much should we worry about the daily dose of interactive, virtual murder and mayhem in our kids ' lives?" U.S. Catholic Apr. 2009: 42+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Sept. 2011.