Are Video Games the Best Thing for Kids

Parents always get mad at their kids for being behind a screen playing video games all hours of the day. Kids use video games to work on their personal lifes. Kids are able to meet new people, become more social, and escape from reality. Added by developing cooperation skills as players work together to form alliances and create teams. Many parents think of video games as negative and unhealthy for their kids because they are always looking at a screen and spending their money on the game instead of going outside. Video games create a fun and engaging way of connecting with other people and can act as an important reaching tool in developing social skills. 

Teenagers have a lot of stress and anger issues that they don't know how to deal with. They use video games to find a way to get away from all the stress by escaping reality for a couple of hours. In an article I read it stated “Gaming allows many of them to do things in a virtual space they could only dream of in reality. It also helps them connect and overcome social anxiety and feelings of depression. “It's my escape,” said Brian “Wheely” McDonald, 31, who has arthrogryposis, causing the normally elastic tendons in his hands to stiffen.” Being a teenager isn't the easiest thing these days. They have to overcome depression, stress, anger, and feeling alone. Gaming helps many to deal with depression and stress. But feeling alone is helped by playing with others, creating friends online and being able to connect with others who have the same passion as others do. Video games have a number of social and psychological benefits. People who play massively multiplayer online games report a stronger sense of social identity, higher levels of self-esteem and decreased feelings of loneliness. There is a study that shows that video games can even help with anger issues. “that if you have the goal to vent your anger, then playing a violent video game can actually help you to achieve that goal.” Instead of fighting and getting in trouble kids are able to go online and be able to release that anger into a game. Video games are a way for teenagers to learn to problem solve while they play.  Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as Angry Birds, can improve players' moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety. A study from the University of Toronto finds that people who regularly play action video games, like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed, are better able to learn new sensorimotor tasks, improve hand-eye coordination, than people who do not play video games. But are video games all that good, they can also have negative effects for teenagers.

Most of the bad effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain. Children who play more violent video games are more likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreased prosocial helping, according to a scientific study. Video games have some violent content, having violent content can make teenagers more violent and more aggressive to others in the real world. One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may be especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated exposure to violent games. But playing video games can also interfere with doing homework and getting good grades. Teenagers get sucked into gaming and forget that they need to get their school work done that due the next couple of days. With playing games they would get into it and usually wouldn't get off gaming until they have to go to bed to wake up early for school the next day. With playing video games so late it would have them forget that they have school work to get done and that work would never get done. Also playing video games till late in the night also affects the amount of sleep they get. The more sleep they get in the night will help them be more focused for school the next day. But usually teenagers go to bed very late and are tired in the morning. Parents especially don't like their kids playing video games all the time because they are always looking at a screen. Looking at a screen for hours can hurt their eyes and take away from being with their family and spending time with their family. Many people think that playing video games isn't too expensive but to get upgrades and new guns teenagers have to spend money but without them having a job they would have to go as their parents for that money. This makes parents not too happy because they would be spending hundreds of dollars on then teens to buy them new things for their games. Lastly, video games keep kids indoors instead of having them go outside and get fresh air. Teenagers would rather stay inside all day and play instead of going outside and playing football or other games outside. Being away from video games would get kids to make friends who they can play outdoors with and still be able to get sunlight into their skins and vitamin D. Video games their good and their bad but that bad shouldn't be forgotten about they are still important and should be taken seriously. 

Video games have multiple sides to it. Video games are a form of media that is often associated with negative health consequences. The amount of play time is also an important factor in the effects of gaming. Although excessive playtime can have negative consequences, gaming in moderation can be healthy, fun, and educational.