Video Games Are Bad for Children free essay sample

Video games are bad for Children Stop the debate as to whether children who love playing video games should be encouraged to continue or should they be stopped. Several people think children need to play video games because they make them active, but still, numerous other people also believe video games are not good for children. Despite the fact that other people think video games are healthy for children, I strongly believe they are bad for them. There are several reasons why video games are harmful for children. According to Professor Laurie Wills, Video games can be considered as addictive drugs that do nothing but harm the user (Willis 25). This clearly implies that this context issues reasons to demonstrate that video games are bad for children. The first implication that has been proven by all parents who allow their children to play video games is that they are addictive. This is extremely bad particularly from age ten onwards (Sternheimer 36). The reason for their change of personality is because either they are forced to leave the machine or there is some mechanical challenge with the machine. This shows that once the children seat to play the games, they never wish to leave and can spend the whole day on the computer without minding about anything else including meals. Research shows that when children are bound to stop playing the games, most of them burst out crying as a result of their sadness. Surely this kind of behavior will lead them to depression and other long and short term medical problems. Many health problems occur because of addiction. For instance, it is extremely bad for the eyes to play video games for a long time (DeMaria 76). The eyes of children are sensitive and still developing and should be kept safe by avoiding radiation emitted by machines. It is proven that staying on machines like a TV and other visual screens for long periods of time is bad for the eyes of children, and also adults. Many people have eye problems that developed from too much usage of computers. When the eyes concentrate on the screen for too long they get affected by the light. Since the eyes of children are still in development, focusing on the screen is extremely harmful. In addition, it is showed in United States that children who play video games on their free time are less likely to play outside in the fields. This has two big problems. First, these children have a higher chance of getting fat which is one of the biggest problems in the US, because they don’t exercise. It is advisable for children to spend time outside, play with others various games that involve running and physical activity. Children who play video games most of time don’t burn enough calories to stay healthy (Willis 63). On the other hand, they are more likely to eat junk foods. It is always advisable for parents to take their kids to parks and let them participate in fun outdoor activities. This implies that parents should not let their children to play video games because if they become addicted to it, it is difficult to make them stop. Second, video game players who never participate in exercise have more stress. Scientific research has shown that people who are not physically active are more stressed than those who spend time outside. The violence in video games has negative impacts on the attitudes, and behaviors in children. Children are detached from their family and the entire world around them when they play games. In addition to that these children will not live in the realistic world which is more serious. There is no coming back to life after death or cheat-codes to simplify the problems they face in life; one has to fight and win to achieve what they want, not just type a code and pass obstacles. When children play video games; they stay indoors and that will prevent them from interacting with other individuals, for that reason they will end up not having friends and being lonely (DeMaria 108). Similarly, video games play a big role when it comes to changing children’s behavior and attitude. Even if it is not proven that violent video games have long term effects in children, according to Amir Dana and group of researchers who performed a test on children who play violent video games, Children and adolescents who tends to play shooting games are more likely to talk in aggressive manner and mostly they will try to solve problems in violent way (Dana). Moreover, their behaviors are usually influenced by what they see on the screens. Parents are always less concerned with what their children play on the computers. Children see people fighting and participate in criminal activities. According to psychologists, children mostly learn through observation. (Sternheimer 59). They will become rude and acts as what they see in games. This shows that parents need to stop their children from playing these kind of games because it will make them bad. Kids who play video games will not get enough time to do their school work. When a kid spends more time on video games, he or she performs poorly in education. This is because the kids do not get sufficient time to study or do their homework. In addition, they will also have hard time with their teachers, because once they do not do their homework; teachers will focus them. Also, the bad behaviors that they will have after playing these games make them have poor discipline in school (Willis 91). This shows that parents should immediately stop their children from playing video games and encourage them to engage in outdoor activities, which make them active. Stopping children from playing video game is the key for these entire problems. Video games are bad for children because of several reasons. First, they make kids spend most of their time on machines and become addictive. Second, children never get the opportunity to learn any other activity. Most children who play video games become fat and dull. This is because they never get time to participate in fun outdoor activities. Some of them also become victim of stress which will develop from spending long time indoor. Their grades in school will fail affecting their relationships with both teachers and parents. All in all, children addicted to video games never have a social life and their communication with friends and relatives is always poor. Works Cited Dana, Amir et al. The Effect Of Violent And Non-Violent Computer Games On Changes In Salivary Cortisol Concentration In Male Adolescents. Annals Of Biological Research 2. 6 (2011): 175-178. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. DeMaria, Rusel. Reset: Changing the Way We Look at Video Games. San Francisco, Calif: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2007. Print. Willis, Laurie. Video Games. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print Sternheimer, Karen. Its Not the Media: The Truth About Pop Cultures Influence on Children. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 2003. Print.