Video Games Vs. Teenagers
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Video Games vs. Teenagers
In recent years there has been a debate regarding the negative effects of gaming on
youths behaviors. On average, children play video games two hours a day with 64 percent of all
American children playing at least one hour a day(“cite”). In particular parents and scientists
have been increasingly concerned about the effects of violent games and players behaviors.
For example, a news article states that “two thirds of those aged between 12 and 15 said that
violence in games had more of an impact on behavior than violence in television or
film”(“cite”). My friend Cesar is addicted to video games and is now overweight, dropped out of
high school and is literally cut out of society. Although video games are very fun and
entertaining, they leave teenagers open to health, academic and social difficulties. Most of us
love video games but we dont let them interfere with our lives.
The health of youth is majorly targeted by the violence in video games. According to the
latest study on the digital entertainment medium, violent video game play leads young men to
believe its acceptable to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol (“cite”). Based on what Brady and
Matthews offer what they consider positive proof that violent video games negatively affect a
players blood pressure and lead to uncooperative behavior, permissive attitudes toward
violence, alcohol and marijuana use, sexual activity without condom use and hostile social
information (“cite”). While this negatively affects a teens mental health it also affects their
physical health. By teens playing video games frequently they dont get enough exercise and
start to gain weight. For instance, before Cesar became a gamer he was a high school football player, and was also very athletic. His addiction became severe and all he wanted to do was
play video games. Consequently, he became over weight and ended up getting kicked out of
the football team.
Playing video games has been proven to drastically increase teenagers chances of
failing their classes. Gaming easily becomes an addiction, therefore, other priorities such as,
homework and assignment deadlines are not met due to excessive gaming. According to the
study of Lemmens and Bushman the amount