negative effect

1. EFFECT OF CHILDREN PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES
In the age of information and technology, the presence of computers has become
essential to the people from all walks of life. Nowadays, children are exposed to
technology at a very young age. Children in the current generation is enamored with
technology. They rely on technology for the majority of their entertainment. Due to their
high exposure in technology, children learns fast and they are able to install a variety of
computer games from the internet through some exploration. However, all the games
available in the internet is not of the same type, each game will have its own effect on the
player especially children. The technology which is just now beginning to be manipulated
and harnessed is affecting the minds of small children in ways that could be harmful.
Research has shown violent computer game play leads to aggressive cognitive, attitudes
and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Computer games can be dangerous for our children
causing aggression. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video
games, but there have been many studies to prove these statements. Studies has prove that
boys seem to be more attracted to computer games than girls are; while adolescent girls
played computer games for an average of 5 hours a week whereas boys averaged 13
hours a week (D.A. Gentile, 2004). The effect of computer game violence in children are
worsened by the game’s interactive nature.The problem with all these type of games,
children are rewarded for being violent, and the act of violence is done repeatedly. For
instance, many games involve children playing characters who kill, kick, stab and shoot.
This may lead to an increase of aggressive feelings, thoughts and behavior. This active
participation, repetition and reward are indeed effective for learning behavior. That is
why, computer games like this gives a great impact to the children. Children are innocent
souls. They might not be able to differentiate between the fantasy and reality world. It is
vital that parents pay more attention to their children, to ensure that they are not exposed
to all these negative elements in the video games.
Other than that, a child who plays computer games for a long period of time could build
up social wall, that makes children socially isolated. Computer games are a factor to anti-
social behavior, primarily because computer games are replacing normal social activities.
Young children can have a game addiction, but it is becoming more common this days.
Some children would rush home and immersed themselves in the computer games rather
than playing outside with friends, or interacting with their family. As a result, children are
less likely to go out and participate in physical activities like sports which stops them
from meeting new people and making friends. Children are isolating themselves from the
'real' world with the excessive use of computers. They are only knowing the games world.
It is important for children to interact with other children in order to develop their social
skills, which is important for them when they grow up and enters the society. Long hours
of computer games cause children to be addicted to it and not be able to see the other
beautiful things about the outside world. Children will be missing out a lot about the

2. current issues that are happening surrounding them, that is much more important than
giving his time and attention to the computer games.
Lastly, the obvious reason why the exposure of computer games are not beneficial to a
child’s development is their health concern. By spending long hours playing computer
games will cause bad effects on some children health, including obesity, video-induced
seizures, and skeletal disorders, such as tendinitis, nerve compression and carpal tunnel
syndrome. Besides that, children are spending too much of their free time on computer
games, children are not going out and participating in activities that will keep them
physically fit and healthy. The computer games has become a child’s excuse for not
exposing themselves to the outside world. At the same time, children will have a lazy
mindset. They refuse to do anything else other than playing their computer games. As a
result, the children take for granted of the other important things in their lives.
As we can all recognize, the variety of computer games today is vastly growing.
What we do have control over is the types of computer games we expose our children to.
It is up to the parents to monitor and react to the suitability of a computer game played by
their children. This may not seem very serious to some parents, but we start to see more
and more children reenacting the violent actions, and bringing it them from the fantasy
world to the real world. This is because they played too many violent games growing up,
or felt like an out-cast due to a social-anxiety disorder which caused by isolating
themselves with computer games. Children might be physically affected in terms of their
health when they spend most of the time focusing on the computer screen, playing with
computer games. Therefore, it is a parent’s duty to be responsible in taking note of their
own child, to ensure their children are not overly attached to their computer games, but
being rather balancing their life with other activities.

3. References
1. Tumbokon, C. (n.d). Raise Smart Kid. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-
of-video-games
2. Gentile, D. (2004, January 1). The effects of violent video game habits on
adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Retrieved
April 28, 2015, from
http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/DH101Fall12Lab4/archive/files/c1f5d81cba85404ac2a2
919f5cb8d58b.pdf
3. Gentile, D. (2004, January 1). Can spending too much time playing video
games hurt my child? | BabyCenter. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from

4. http://www.babycenter.com/404_can-spending-too-much-time-playing-video-
games-hurt-my-child_71259.bc