Video Games And Its Effects On Society

Video games have been a part of the American popular culture since the 1970s, when Pong was first invented. They have affected our society in many ways, some good, and some bad. An analysis of video game trends in our society will reveal their evolution over time, the affects they have on society, and the consequences they have on society.

Video game effects are relatively new in modern society. Even though these games are often entertaining, the content of the game has been increasingly more and more violent as technology becomes more prevalent. The popularity of violent video games has caused an increase in controversy. Parents and experts feel that some games are just too violent and they demand the government to regulate the sales of these games. However, violent video games do not cause an increase in aggression, in adolescents. The forceful plan by the government is caused by an exaggeration of the effects of violent video games and this plan are indeed pointless.

The increasing popularity of video games on a global scale has started the explosion in research of this field over the last decade, which has helped us gain more knowledge about how video games affect the players .Since video games have been introduced, kids have been spending endless hours staring at the screen bring up the question: Are they good or bad? Most parents would say that it is a negatively impacting activity. Most kids would disagree. I am here to tell you that video games aren’t so bad. In moderation, videogames can improve memory, accuracy, etc. When you play videogames too much it can have effects such as: loss of motivation and social skills. Just like anything else, videogames can be detrimental when misused, but can have positive effects if used correctly.

Throughout the world there have been incidents of violence and aggression that were attributed to, or subsequently associated with, video games. In this paper, I will determine the extent of influence that video games have had upon an individual’s decision to take such actions and what should be done to avoid such occurrences in the future.

Nowadays there are many more people playing video games, and some consider it a waste of time, but that is very possibly the opposite what is happening. It is possible that gamers are more likely to bring their problem-solving skills into the real world. Some reasons that this outcome might happen include intrinsic—or natural rewards, subconsciously having extra think time, and transferring the skills to real life.

Over the years, video gaming has become more and more popular and has started to become something integrated in with society instead of being cast out of it. It has breached the generational gap, joining the ranks of sports, movies, and other activities that people of all ages can enjoy. Speaking of sports, gaming has spread its wings there as well, officially being dubbed esports or electronic sports, gathering players from all over the globe and competing for trophies and cash prizes. Two of the most popular esports are League of Legends, League for short, and Smite. However, being similar games, many people claim that there is no difference between them, stating that one ripped of the other and that the other is inferior in some way. However, just like football and rugby, while they may look identical to anyone looking in from the outside, anyone who has participated in both games for a decent time will tell you that they are drastically different in gameplay, game feel, and design aspects.

In the modern gaming industry with main stream Role Playing Games (RPGs), the battle between the two sub genres (Western RPGs and Japanese RPGs) have taken over the mass media discussions on which is “better” than the other. Despite this, the nominated RPGs in 2017 of Best Role-Playing Game of the year has shown that split in the society with great games such as Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Persona 5. However, in the past Western RPGs such as Mass Effect (2008) and Dragon Age: Origins (2009) have both won this award, dominating in the market through pandering towards the gaming community with precise implementations and uses that draw towards the market better than Japanese RPGs.

Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, it doesn 't take long before society suggests violent video games might be to blame. Video games have been culprits of crime today to many eyes in America. Just about anyone in most modernized countries has heard the claim before, placing the blame on a video game, music or television for the violent acts seen in their youth today. There is no link to violence on video games. Typically, these trends seem to pop up when we are referencing school shootings, gang related crime and other domestic terrorist acts done by our youth. It is too easy to quickly blame something like a violent video game for their behavior.

There are many causes and effects on what makes one video game more popular than others. Some video games become popular for no reason; they become public sensations just because people like them. However, most popular video games have key features that make them appealing to the public.

“many parents and teachers complain about the short attention spans of their kids; but those same kids seem to have more than adequate attention spans when it comes to gaming” (249). This is one common method of encouraging children to learn and to also stay focused while they learn. However, in essence, online gaming is still filled with many distractions, which can significantly alter the brains of the users, causing them to think more fragmented and non-linearly. As mentioned by Carr before, similarly to surfing the Web, while playing video games “we focus intensively on the medium itself, on the flickering screen, but we’re distracted by the medium’s rapid-fire delivery of competing messages and stimuli” (Carr 118). Therefore, while video games do captivate the user’s attention and they can also help and improve certain cognitive and brain functions, they necessarily do not improve attention spans, in fact, they actually harm them.

In this day and age when you ask a child what they would like as a gift they can give you a list of a million things and this list changes every day. It should come as no surprise though with the way the toy market aggressively advertises towards children. They base the continuation of certain television shows based upon the sales of certain products, they create video games based around toys to generate interest on two fronts, and they even use food as a way to get toy names out. But what does that really do for our children? Kids from impoverish families know that they won’t be able to ever get money for the latest game console that all the other kids are excited for. They won’t don’t get to live the fantasy that the commercial projects.

From the inception of Pong to the latest chapter of the video game series Assassin’s Creed, virtual gaming has been scorned and shunned as a detriment to society. Older generations speculate that incessant gaming in young children insinuates violence, antipathy, lack of creative initiative, and develops an unhealthy isolation from the real world. However, in recent years, these postulates have been put to the test; a number of scientists have conducted experimentation in order to discover whether not virtual gaming affects children in negative ways, and the results could not be farther from their original hypotheses. These studies have shown that videogames can be used for educational purposes, as well as for conducting psychological and medical research and advancements, and that speculations regarding their destructive nature and violence-inspiring tendencies result in no conclusive evidence. In fact, video games may even be developing into the newest art form, as many provide insights into political and philosophical discussion using gameplay and graphics. In other words, the development of virtual gaming over the past twenty years is not detrimental to the upbringing of adolescents in our society, and can actually be beneficial in a multitude of areas.

Video games have been the subject of objections, controversies and censorship because of depictions of violence, sexual themes, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, propaganda, profanity and advertisements. Critics of video games include parents ' groups, politicians, religious groups, scientists and other advocacy groups. Sarah Smith, author of Children, Cinema and Censorship : From Dracula to the Dead End Kids, claims that comic books, rock music, computers and video games, all have been cited as threats to children’s safety, health, morality, and literacy, and have been blamed for increases in juvenile delinquency (Smith 2). Because of these groups video games have developed a negative stigma in today 's society that scapegoats them as the reason behind acts of violence and tragedy as well as antisocial tendencies among young adults and preteens. Despite the work of detractors, advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an expressive medium, arguing for their protection as an educational tool and for helping children develop cognitive skills.

Video games have drastically altered since the 1980s, they are now more visual, alongside technological advancements, they have become more immersive, so immersive that video games have become an obsession—in fact a deadly obsession. On a Wednesday night in early February 2012, Chen Rong- Yu ”a binge gamer,” was found dead “in the chair from which he’d been engaged in a marathon gaming session.” What makes this case extreme is that he was slumped in his chair with both arms stiffened in a posture that indicated that Chen was still struggling to reach the keyboard and mouse while undergoing an alleged cardiac arrest (Parkin). Chris Staniforth, 20, died from a blood clot after spending more than 12 hours at a time playing on his Xbox (Twomey). A three-year-old South Korean girl died of neglect when her parents spent most of their time playing Prius Online, seventeen-year-old Daniel Petric murdered his mother and injured his father after they refused to let him play Halo 3 (BBC). Video game addiction exists and it’s a serious problem in various parts of the world. Most players are able to constrain their usage in means that do not interfere with their daily lives, however there are others who turn this passion into a deadly addiction. Video game addiction has resulted in pathological behaviors resulting in detrimental effects.

“In 1972, the Surgeon General issued the following warning on violent TV programs: “It is clear to me that the causal relationship between televised violence and antisocial behavior is sufficient to warrant appropriate and immediate remedial action. … There comes a time when the data are sufficient to justify action. That time has come.”” (Steinfeld, 1972). In the decades since hundreds of studies have been done on the effects of violent media exposure and violence. 1972 was an age of censored television violence, and violence on television was still seen as detrimental too many people. Here now in 2014 with television shows seemingly being uncensored with the amount of violence shown and the language used,