Psychological Effect of Video Games
Mecca 1
The American educational system has been hindered by video games. If you look around you, you will realize that video games are everywhere. From Ipods, to smart phones, televisions, to even some of our printers now have games. Our generation is called the “Joystick Generation”, and for good reason too. Everyone is plugged in and no one more so than America’s youth. To put the impact of the “Joystick Generation” into perspective, take into account that software sales spiked twenty-eight percent last year to 9.5 billion. An average of nine games were sold every second according to the Entertainment Software Association. By the time the average adolescent turns 21, he or she will have spent 10,000 hours playing video games (Prensky page). This is about the same amount of time necessary to fully master a sport, musical instrument, or area of professional expertise (Ericsson pg.1). Given these statements, it is evident that videogames are a large aspect of today’s life. The majority of our youth today play video games. Only making the effects of video games all that worse. Video games cause psychological problems in students such as aggression, apathy, and impulsive behavior as well as many physical problems such as obesity and high blood pressure. Video games have become such a large problem that all around the world there have been control systems put in place trying to keep violent video games out of the hands of adolescents. Society has a general understanding that videogames are linked to numerous negative issues, however, there are a few good studies about video games. Some scientists believe that video games do a few good things for people since they serve as a forum for interpersonal Mecca 2 interactions, meaning that they provide an activity for friends to participate together in. Online video games can promote interactions with others across the game network and establish new friendships.
The American educational system has been hindered by video games. If you look around you, you will realize that video games are everywhere. From Ipods, to smart phones, televisions, to even some of our printers now have games. Our generation is called the “Joystick Generation”, and for good reason too. Everyone is plugged in and no one more so than America’s youth. To put the impact of the “Joystick Generation” into perspective, take into account that software sales spiked twenty-eight percent last year to 9.5 billion. An average of nine games were sold every second according to the Entertainment Software Association. By the time the average adolescent turns 21, he or she will have spent 10,000 hours playing video games (Prensky page). This is about the same amount of time necessary to fully master a sport, musical instrument, or area of professional expertise (Ericsson pg.1). Given these statements, it is evident that videogames are a large aspect of today’s life. The majority of our youth today play video games. Only making the effects of video games all that worse. Video games cause psychological problems in students such as aggression, apathy, and impulsive behavior as well as many physical problems such as obesity and high blood pressure. Video games have become such a large problem that all around the world there have been control systems put in place trying to keep violent video games out of the hands of adolescents. Society has a general understanding that videogames are linked to numerous negative issues, however, there are a few good studies about video games. Some scientists believe that video games do a few good things for people since they serve as a forum for interpersonal Mecca 2 interactions, meaning that they provide an activity for friends to participate together in. Online video games can promote interactions with others across the game network and establish new friendships.