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Essay!
On-line Essay 1510HUM
Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people
The growing popularity of computer/video games has started a debate among parents, researchers, video game producers and policymakers concerning their harmful and helpful effects on young people (Prot, McDonald, Anderson & Gentile, 2012). Today’s games are much more multifaceted and stimulating, and the technology has advanced to the point where the gamer can become drawn into a multimedia-enabled alternate world. This essay will argue the positive and negative effects of the extensive use of computer/video games on young people’s health. It will firstly discuss the psychological issues of violent games and how gaming can create physical health disadvantages and contribute to unhealthy behavior. Secondly, it will discuss the educational and social benefits of video games and how this has a positive effect on young people’s health. The essay will end with a brief conclusion on whether games are good or bad.
In America, The Pew Research Center reported in 2008 that 97% of youths, ages 12 to 17 played some type of video game and that two-thirds of them (majority young males) played action and adventure games that tend to contain violent content (Harvard Health Publication, 2010). Studies have shown that violent games can increase aggressive thoughts, emotions and behavior,
decrease empathy and desensitize players to violence. Video games compared to violent movies, are particularly harmful because they are interactive and encourage role-playing. Young adults, who develop aggressive behavior, may start exhibiting it among their peers and become desensitized to the real world violence and become fearful of being victimized by violence (Teen Health, 2012). However, these video games tend to influence young people who already show aggressive behavior. Many studies of the effect of violent video game has not considered the effects in context with other influences on youth violence, such as family environment, peer delinquency, and depression (Ferguson, 2011). Given the prospect of individual variability, it may be useful to consider the impact of video games within three broad domains: personality, situation, and motivation (Harvard Health Publication, 2010).
A large majority of children and young adults in Australia exceed the recommended gaming time of maximum of two hours per day (Martin, 2011). This has resulted in a decline in the time children and youths spend playing outside and in contact with nature (Martin, 2011). This has developed great concern among parents as gaming is associated with obesity, attention problems, poor school performance, and gaming addiction. In contrast, physical activities, time outside and in contact with nature are associated with positive health and learning outcomes (Martin, 2011). However, the heath concern of young people relates to the family lifestyle and
situation. Parents provide the opportunities for children to access and play video games and can therefore limit gaming (Skoien & Berthelsen, 1997). Furthermore, Parents who use computers and other technology frequently may introduce computers in an early age to their children. Generation M2 found that in 2009, the proliferation of mobile devices, including handheld video games, mobile phones and MP3 players also impacted on young people’s engagement with video games (Australians Communication and Media Authority, 2010). Although, some video games are for educational purposes and it is the potential negative impact of excessive gaming time during leisure, which requires examination (Martin, 2011).
Well-designed video games set clear objectives, provide feedback, reinforcement and actively involve the player (Martin, 2011). These video games teach young people everyday skills and knowledge and show real-world improvements on attention span, accuracy, vision and multitasking after playing certain titles (Dorman, 1997). As Ian Bogost, associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology claimed in ABC News 26 December 2011, young people who are playing World of Warcraft are learning to delegate responsibility, promote teamwork and steer groups of people toward a common goal (ABC News, 2011). However, one major finding from MCAF 2007 was that there is a significant increase in the popularity of electronic gaming, such as World of Warcraft, among Australian boys, due to online gaming, against other players (Australians Communication and Media Authority, 2010). Even though the gaming teaches skills and knowledge, it is easy for young people to develop addiction and therefore increases health issues. However, today’s motion-controlled games, such as Nintendo’s Wii increases social benefits and helps young people to get a combination of physical and mental exercise.
A number of experiments published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, exhibited that participants who had just played a “pro-social” game, in which characters must work together to help each other out, showed a decrease in aggressive thoughts, feelings, and
behavior and increased positive behavior (Prot, McDonald, Anderson, & Gentile, 2012). Many games today also emphasize the co-operative aspects of game play, in which two or more players need to work together in order to reach a common goal. These video games have a positive impact on young people’s health as they bring friends and families together. Furthermore, new game zones and bars have opened to meet demand of computer/video game play. It is a benefit for teenagers to communicate and interact with other teenagers who have the same interests. However, many young adults may start to prioritise game play before friends, family and work and may lose themselves in an alternative world of gaming which can result in psychological issues.
In conclusion, the positive and negative effects of computer/video games clearly show that computer/video games can educate, but affect the individual in different ways. Whether video
games are good or bad and how they impact the health of young people depends on the type of game, time spent playing, individuals personality and the parents. Some effects are harmful, for example, aggressive behaviour in violent video games and addiction, whereas others are beneficial (learning and social activities).
References:
ABC News. (2011). The Benefits Of Video Games. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/12/the-benefits-of-video-games/
Australians Communication and Media Authority. (2010). Trends in media use by children and young people. Australians Communication and Media Authority
Dorman, S M. (1997). Video and Computer Games: Effect on Children and Implications for Health Education. The Journal of School Health, 67(4), 133-138. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/215680091/fulltextPDF?accountid=14543
Ferguson, C J. (2011). Video Games and Youth Violence: A Prospective Analysis in Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence, 40(1), 377-391.doi: 10.1007/s10964-010-9610-x
Harvard Health Publication. (2010).Violent video games and young people. Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/October/violent-video-games-and-young-people
Martin K, (2011). Electronic Overload: The Impact of Excessive Screen Use on Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Department of Sport and Recreation, Perth, Western Australia.
Prot, S. McDonald, K. Anderson, & C. Gentile, D. (2012).Video Games: Good, Bad, or Other?. Pediatric clinics of North America, 59(3), 647-658. Retrieved from http://www.mdconsult.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/das/article/body/362504209-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=25276239&sid=0/N/1080451/s003139551200017x.pdf?issn=0031-3955
Skoien, P & Berthelsen, D. (1997). Video Games: Parental Beliefs and Practices. Retrieved from http://www.aifs.gov.au/conferences/aifs5/skoien.html
Teen Health. (2012).Computer games. Retrieved from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=295&id=2375
Essay plan
I’ve been collecting information online about the positive and negative aspects of video games and its impact on young peoples health. Below is a sketch of my essay structure so that it helps me to organise my essay much easier. This also include the 5 references that will support my essay.
5 academic references:
Prot, S. McDonald, K. Anderson, & C. Gentile, D. (2012).Video Games: Good, Bad, or Other?. Pediatric clinics of North America, 59(3), 647-658.
Dorman, S M. (1997).Video and Computer Games: Effect on Children and Implications for Health Education. The Journal of School Health, 67(4), 133-138.
Ferguson, C J. (2011). Video Games and Youth Violence: A Prospective Analysis in Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence, 40(1), 377-391.
Martin K, (2011). Electronic Overload: The Impact of Excessive Screen Use on Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Department of Sport and Recreation, Perth, Western Australia.
Australians Communication and Media Authority. (2010). Trends in media use by children and young people. Australians Communication and Media Authority
Essay topic
The topic for my essay is:
Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people.
A lot of research shows that the extensive use of video games can lead to aggressive adolescents, psychological problems, issues of morality, eating disorders and body image problems, obesity, and dwindling performance/participation in school, social and familial situations. I agree with this research but I also believe that the extensive use of computer/video games can have a positive effect on youth culture. It brings people with the same interest together and it is also a way to socialise with friends and new people. The usage of computer/video games is today useful technology in student learning and it is a part of our everyday life.
Political participation via the Internet
This video illustrates how politicians are dependent on social media to communicate and influence people’s interests and actions. For example, Barack Obama has signed up for Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Spotify and Instragram. This personal activity in social networks allows Barack Obama to quickly get the word out across multiple platforms and that is the key that political participation via the Internet wants to achieve (Web Trends, n.d., para. 4).
Other political action groups who want to send out a message worldwide to influence people and increase support about a specific issue can also use the Internet to quickly raise awareness. For example, StopACTA.info (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), this agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet.
Web Trends. (n.d.). How Barack Obama Is Using Web 2.0 to Run for President. Retrieved from http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/obama-web.htm
Social Networking Is Revolutionizing Politics [Video] (2010). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/9DtTTB-Njgk
Stop ACTA Today! [Video] (2012). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/cH-RweAOGjQ
Should the Government censor the Internet?
The Australian Government has announced it will proceed with controversial plans to censor the internet for all Australians by introducing a legislation to force Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to filter the Internet, to block access to websites that would be “Refused Classification” under Australia’s classification laws. This so called ”blacklist”, featuring material such as child sex abuse, sexual violence and instructions on crime, would be compiled using a public complaints mechanism, Government censors and URLs provided by international agencies (Moses, 2009). Now, this sounds great doesn’t it? The Government takes actions against all criminal groups and prostitution in our society.
The problem is, will it stop these kinds of people? And what about the rest of the society that actually never logon to these kinds of websites classified in the “Blacklist”? Introducing this legislation will waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and will not make anyone safer. For example, the way people distribute illegal child sexual material is not always through the Internet but can be in peer-to-peer networks, where the greatest majority of material is traded (No clean feed, n.d., para. 2). By introducing Internet censorship legislation, the Government will increase their control over society. What happens if they go even further and start banning social media networks to make the society safer? There are always different ways for people to get around it and we live in a democratic society and not in a dictatorship, such as China where Facebook actually is banned.
Moses, A. (2009, December 15). Internet censorship plan gets the green light. The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/internet-censorship-plan-gets-the-green-light-20091215-ktzc.html
No clean feed. (n.d.). Stop internet censorship in Australia. Retrieved from http://nocleanfeed.com/
Facebook or no Facebook?
Facebook is everywhere these days, in our everyday life, in business, in schools and on our phones. It has become a big part of our life and the way we communicate with each other. So what happens if you choose not to sign up for Facebook? Will you be seen as a strange person, who might just want to be alone or who doesn’t care about the latest news in school, at work or in your circle of friends? A lot of young adults and teenagers feel that they have to sign up to not be left behind. How else are they going to find out about a birthday party or find out about gossip? Even in relation to work, employers are interested in your Facebook account to be able to look you up. Employers can also start to wonder who you are if you don’t have a Facebook account and this has become an issue for applicants (Goessl, 2012, p. 1). What if people choose not sign up due to security and privacy reasons?
When signing up on Facebook, users give away a lot of information about them self which they are not aware of. It can make it harder for people to reinvent themselves and when you sign up you agree that it’s Facebook that owns the rights to do as it pleases with your data, and to sell access to it to whomever is willing to pay (Rowan, 2010, p. 1). The question is should you sign up or not? If we could live a life without Facebook before it came in to action, what makes us believe that we can’t do the same today?
References:
Goessl, L. (2012). Does staying off Facebook make you a suspicious person? Retrieved from http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/330704
Rowan, D. (2010). Six Reasons Why I’m Not On Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/business/2010/09/six-reasons-why-wired-uks-editor-isnt-on-facebook/
Social Media survey
This survey has been on my Facebook page for a week and from my findings, Facebook is the most popular social media tool with a 100% usage followed by Youtube, Twitter and Instagram. The average age for this survey was 15-25 and the three main reasons to have a social media page were to stay in contact with friends and family, to share music, videos and photos and to make professional business contacts. In the last question about the future of Facebook, 75% did not believe Facebook will decline in number of users but 50% answered that Instagram will be the new social media network that might take over Facebook.
What is Cyberspace?
What is cyberspace? Do we live in a cyberspace world or does it belong to another world beyond humans? Is it robots or something more advance that has the ability to control and live on its own? What exactly is cyberspace? I think we can look at cyberspace from a real and non-real perspective. For most people, cyberspace is something unreal, advanced technology interacting with humans and controlling our world, such as the movie Terminator, Blade Runner and Transformers. Are these movies showing us the future? Are we moving into a world where humans and advanced technology go hand in hand? Will humans be able to connect their brains to the cyber network as in The Matrix movie and therefore access unlimited data? One definition of cyberspace is that it refers to the nonphysical environment created by joined computers interoperating on a network. (Wisegeek, n.d., para. 1). It is the idea that humans can interface with machines and that computers interact in a similar way to the real world, except cyberspace interaction does not require physical interaction (Ottis & Lorents, 2010, p. 1). Information in cyberspace, such as the World Wide Web, can be exchanged in real or delayed time, and people can share, shop, research, work or play.
The cyberspace environment such as the Internet is existing and real. In the video below, Captain Scott Hinck from Barksdale Air Force Base in LA, U.S. explains the importance of defending against cyberspaces vulnerabilities. The video shows that cyberspace is something real, a world we are living in right now, and how simple a person can hack into military systems with a computer. Is the movement of human interaction with technology and machines starting to develop a new world that some of us will be a part of while others will be left behind? Just like the move Hunger Games.
References:
Cyberspace [Video] (2010). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/OL2IORXwg2E
Ottis, R & Lorents, P. (2010). Cyberspace: Definition and Implications. Retrieved from http://www.ccdcoe.org/articles/2010/Ottis_Lorents_CyberspaceDefinition.pdf
The Hunger Games – Official Trailer [HD] [Video] (2011). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/OgssLmsOa2s
Wisegeek. ( n.d.). What is cyberspace?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cyberspace.htm
Key moments in cyberpunk history
Cyberpunk is often associated with high tech, future, darkness and the interaction between humans and machines. Something that seems to be the real world in the future, but yet we see cyberspace as a world of its own. Films like Blade Runner and The Matrix are based on humans connecting with technology and how technology is starting to replace humans. Is cyberspace and cyberpunk another world or does it exist in present time?
Check out some key moments in cyberpunk history in this timeline.
Linnea Langberg 