~EffeCts VidOe gaMeS tO cHildrEn~

                                                    => VIDEO GAMES <=

>>Video games have been popular since their introduction in the United States in the 1970s. In the early days, video games were basic, animated interactive games. More sophisticated graphics were introduced into the medium in the late 1980's. Nowadays, the term "video games" includes video games, computer games and hand-held electronic games.

Video games are a ubiquitous part of today's world, being the more preferred leisure activity for more people, including youths and adults. There is also a rising trend of movies being converted into video games to target a wider audience. For instance, Enter the Matrix the video game, was released together with the film, Matrix Reloaded. Video games are also often used in training. Both Singapore and the US army modified available video games to hone the strategic and decision-making skills of officers. The US army version was also released into the mass market.

Accompanying these trends is the underlying concern of the effects of video games on children or youths, especially with the move towards increased violence and realism in these games. Though the impact of video games is not yet as evident in Singapore, studies, in particular the United States, have shown that video games can affect youths both positively and negatively.

Positive Impact of Video Games 
Researchers have found that video games are invaluable in health care settings. Some mental health professionals felt that in playing video games, certain children can develop a sense of proficiency which they might otherwise not achieve. Some adults also believed that video games offer benefits over the passive medium of television, these include:


Advantages of Video Games:
a. Offer the potential to foster creativity; 
b. Provide a fun and social form of entertainment; 
c. Make kids feel comfortable with technology; 
d. Increase children' s self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games; 
e. Develop skills in reading, math and problem-solving; 
f. Promote pro-social behaviours, such as helping and caring; 
g. Teach eye-hand coordination and visual spatial ability; 
h. An important medium for self-directed learning, health promotion and disease management; 
i. Facilitate language development in autistic children and 
j. Provide play therapy for inhibited children

Negative Impact of Video Games 
However, it is found that video games could have more negative effects on youths. Despite its apparent value in the area of health care and learning, video games are overwhelmingly used for fun. Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practising aggressive solutions to conflict situations. The active nature of the learning environment of video games suggests that this medium is potentially more dangerous than TV and movie media.Performing violent actions in video games may also be more conducive to children' s aggression.Research have also shown that there is a short-term relationship between playing violent games and increased aggressive behaviour. It was indicated that the more children practise violent acts (in video games), the more likely they are to perform violent acts. Hence, for youths, the possible negative effects are:


Possible Disadvantages of Video Games
a. Playing aggressive games display more verbal and physical aggression to inanimate objects and playmates; b. Exhibiting more aggressive thoughts among the youths; 
c. More likely to attribute hostile intentions to others; 
d. Correlation between aggressive delinquency and behaviour; 
e. Reduction of empathy for victims, leading to higher possibility of youths becoming more violent individuals; f. Desensitization to violent behaviour; 
g. Less trust and increased fearfulness; 
h. Fall in academic performance; 
i. Induction of additive behaviour resulting in possible truancy and even stealing to get their "video game fix " ; j. Results in greater sedentary lifestyles, poorer eating habits and increased obesity; 
k. Reduction in physical fitness with possibility of later heart disease; 
l. Affects youths' attitudes toward gender stereotypes; 
m. Stresses autonomous action rather than cooperation and thus does not encourage or promote teamwork and 
n. Excessive or addictive use of gaming, which may be at the expense of active pastimes.
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