Video Games

Video games
Have you ever heard of Kakuna, Squaddle, Zubat or even about Charizard. Do you know what
Pikachu type is? If you do not, then go and ask kids around your locality you will get the right answer
and perfect explanation that will soon make you believe that all the questions asked above make
pure sense and are not illogical. These are types of Pokémon's in a video game named "Pokémon".
If you interact further with the kids between ages of 3 to 12, a thousand more characters which you
have never heard of will be told with perfect description like Mario who jumps a long way, Packman
who eats ghosts and have berries that give him a power, Andrew whose mission is to save Betty in
game house of death. The list goes on and on.
So here we are talking here about the culture, the gaming culture which is growing day by day and
every age group in some way or other are impacted by this culture. However impact of video games
on children is the most researched and debated topics.
Parents do allow their children to play video games however most of them are of the opinion that
these games do not have any positive impact on their children. Parents feel that traditional games
contribute to the development of their children which video game fails to do. One of the parent said
"that today's children do not know how to play, as a child we use to play variety of outdoor games
like hopscotch, marbles and conker. However nowadays children prefer to play with video games
that makes them lazy because only body part that they use for this gaming activity is fingers. I am
concerned about this but what should I do the traditional games that we played were passed on to
us by children themselves and the adults were never involved in this activity. "
Similarly there were other parents who too did not support children playing video games because
according to them it impacts their behaviour. In fact the parents mentioned that amount of time,
energy and though process children use in understanding the characters of the games and making
the winning strategy is quite high and if this is diverted in learning something concrete related to
real life like mathematics or scientific concept then that will give them better future. Another parent
further said that "children live in imaginary world, with imaginary character and imaginary problems
and they fail to understand the real world".
However Author Andrew K. Przybylski, PhD has different opinion on this topic. Dr. Przybylski
conducted a study entitled “Electronic Gaming and Psychosocial Adjustment,”. There were 2436
male and 2463 female participant of different age groups ranging from 10 to 15 years. The study aim
at analysing the impact of games at different level on the children’s psychosocial development. The
results of his study are quite surprising and will change our thinking about the impact of video game.
The finding says “that electronic play has salutary functions similar to traditional forms of play; they
present opportunities for identity development as well as cognitive and social challenges.”So video
games are at par with any other game that is imaginative.
There are other positive aspects associated with the video games like it improves computer literacy
and hand eye coordination. In fact some of experts say that today fighter pilots are more skilful
because they are used to playing video games. The advanced technology with good graphics and
animation gives a good virtual experience. According to study conducted in 2014 by Douglas Gentile,
Ph.D., who is associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University, if the video game is "pro-
social" and players are rewarded for assisting others, making buildings and saving universe these
activities impact children. Children display more helpful and empathizing attitude in their lives. Many
child psychologists and scientists feel are of the opinion that video game actually teaches high level
thinking that will help child in future. According to University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn
Green" Video games change your brain". The coordination and concentration exercises the brain and
build the brain. It teaches logical thinking, planning, resource management, logistics and effective
decision making. Strategy games like developing the city when unexpected enemy attack happens
makes children to manage multiple objectives, multi task and manage risk.
This certainly does not mean that you allow your children to play video games thorough out the day.
Results from Dr. Przybylski’s also showed that children who spend more than half their daily free
time [playing video games] showed more negative adjustment. Therefore playing video games for
three hours a day is fine however playing beyond three hours have negative impact like it can make
your kid isolated; confuse children between reality and fantasy, and academic achievement due to
spending more time on video games.
As a parent you need to consider your views about video game. They are certainly not the bad and
useless stuff. However care needs to be taken while allowing your kids to play with video games.
There has to be certain rules set for playing video games. Here are some tips to manage video game
consumption of your kids:
1. Monitor the rating of video game and monitor this media the way you monitor television.
2. Observe the behaviour of your child and if it's observed child is getting violent after playing video
games then substitute the video games with video games that are more social and constructive. Like
the game that teaches to bake cakes or farming or lifting weights etc.
3. Ensure that child also plays outdoor games and do not get used to sedentary style of life.
4. Encourage your children to play games that involve multiple players to encourage team work and
group activity.
5. Family gaming is good way to come together and enjoy this activity strengthen the family bond.
6. Share the ideas about games with other parents and help each other with effective parenting.
So now we can video game is not bad and certainly not the waste of time. If appropriately used can
assist in shaping your child's personality. It will develop skills and qualities that will help him to
succeed in future. So embrace this media and enjoy with your kids.
References
Shapiro,J (2012),FreePlay: A Video game guide to maximum Euphoric Bliss
The Benefits of Video Games, available at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/12/the-

benefits-of-video-games/
The good and bad effects of video games available at:http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-

old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
The Impact of Video Games available at: http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-

web/videogames.html
Gentile, D. A. & Anderson, C. A. (2014). Long-Term Relations Among Prosocial-Media Use, Empathy,
and Prosocial Behavior, Psychology Science, vol. 2, 358-368.

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Shapiro,J (2012),FreePlay: A Video game guide to maximum Euphoric Bliss

The Benefits of Video Games, available at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/12/the-

The good and bad effects of video games available at:http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-

The Impact of Video Games available at: http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-

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