Video Games's Effect On Youth Identity And Development

As different values and perceptions are being shaped by watching movies and TV shows, video games also have an effect on youth identity and development. As the world’s fastest growing industry, video games are a very popular free-time activity among youth, seen as a prominent role in youth culture, shaping their identities. It’s a widely chosen medium for entertainment among adolescents and young adults. There are various reasons why video games are being played, it might be for ‘escaping’ the real world, entertainment, learning new skills, emotional satisfaction, to challenge themselves, stress relief, or even boredom. We will explore the ways video games can be negative or positive towards youth development, with the different types of games played and its effect. Like any other medium, video games are a
Depending on the content of the video game, the effects change. For example, playing a more violent game may have an effect on the increase of aggression, bullying, or aggressive thought, while playing a game with positive content, it will have positive effects. Although it is very common to think that video games mostly have negative effects that may or may not lead to crime, an ongoing debate is to whether children’s exposure to violent games is a source for violence or not. If those effects are existing, then it is not possible that videogames are the only source of violence in a child or young adult’s life. There are many factors that contribute to a violent child or young adult that would label them as a violent or aggressive child for example, having history of being abused, psychological disorders, drug addiction/use, media violence, witnessing real life violence, or inflated self-esteem. To become a violent child, video games or any of these factors alone are not strong enough