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Computer Games and Their Effects on Children

Research Proposal · November 2008

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.31000.39686

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 Aksoy 1

Selcan Aksoy

Katie Elliott

English 112

12 November 2008

Computer Games And Their Effects On Children

Computers are renewable and developing technological gadgets nowadays. They change

in astonishing ways everyday. There are always new versions of computers in stores and people

want to buy the newest types of them. Some of their parts are changeable such as the color,

shape, and some of the programs inside them. In fact, the common parts are the same, and there

is not much of an idea to change them. Only their programs and shapes are changed to attract

people. Computer and video games are also changing over time. Some of them are useful, but

some of them are dangerous for children. For example, Pacman was one of the first common

games on computers. There were also Adventure Island, Super Mario, different kinds of Tetris

and other games like these. I was playing these games when I was young. Now, there are a lot of

new games for children like soccer games, fighting games, and war games. Especially, boys are

fond of war or fighting games. Because of their nature, they are interested in violence and

aggressive games. Girls play softer games like puzzle games and chess. Girls are more romantic

than boys, and their games are different because of that. Actually, the games which different

children play may not be similar because of their personalities. Everybody plays his or her own

game according to his or her interest.

In developing countries, children try to follow the changes in games. A lot of children are

playing these games in internet cafes. Their parents can’t do anything for them, because they are

lying to their parents about how they spend their times. Although their parents don’t give
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permission, they go to these cafes secretively. They lose both money and time instead of

attending their school and studying their lessons. Their parents can’t control them because of

their jobs or other reasons. Most of them can’t help getting addicted to the games. I am a witness

of these kinds of addictions. In my country, poor children can’t buy computers and internet.

Because of this, they go to cafes and play till night. They don’t have anything to do. Of course,

they become useless people when they grow up. They can’t earn a living and they become

dependant individuals in their older age. They don’t learn useful things in internet cafes. Instead,

they encourage each other to act to their environments as harmful individuals.

“Computer gaming has become part and parcel of children's lives. Played at home or at a

friend's place or in cyber cafes, gaming has grown in popularity as a form of entertainment.

There have been numerous debates about the ill-effects and positives of computer gaming”

(Parenting). There are both bad effects and good effects of computer gaming on children.

Computers have a great importance for education and quality of life in this century if they are

used in good ways. They make life easy and sometimes reduce the need for human power.

Computers are used for education, school assignments, and sometimes entertainment, too.

Students use computers to communicate with other people. However, they tend to play computer

games often and sometimes it can be dangerous for their developing brains. Although there are

negative effects of computer games on children, if parents are aware how to choose them

correctly, it is obvious to see that there are some positive effects. Because of this, parents have

the responsibility to explore the proper games for their children. They have to take some

precautions against the negative effects of computer games and get advice from their doctors or

physiotherapists to restrict the bad effects.

Some of the negative effects of violent computer games on children are aggressive
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behavior, physiological arousal, and antisocial behaviors.

The name of the behavior which is intended to harm another individual who is motivated

to avoid that harm is aggression (Anderson, Crag, A. and Bushman, Brad, J., 2001). This

definition rejects accidental actions that lead to harm, such as losing control of an auto, and

randomly killing a pedestrian, but includes behaviors intended to harm even if the attempt is not

successful, such as when a gunshot fired from a gun doesn’t kill its human victim.

Violence refers to great forms of aggression, such as physical damage and murder. We

can use violence instead of aggression, but generally we can’t use aggression instead of violence.

Violence includes aggression, but aggression doesn’t include violence, because violence is

stronger than aggression. If a person is demonstrating aggressive behavior, he or she can commit

a crime. So, this aggressive behavior turns to violence. On the other hand, we aggression doesn’t

need to be a violence. A person who is aggressive may not commit a crime. An individual can be

a cartoon character which is not real, a real person, or anything like these. Because of this, some

traditional weekend cartoons are filled with violence (Anderson, Crag, A. and Bushman, Brad, J.,

2001).

According to research, the violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children

and young people. It is a fact that, young children need role models to improve their feelings and

thoughts to develop their personalities. Because they need to fill some blanks in their minds, they

continuously observe their environments to learn things. Computer games play a big role for

these children, just as some TV stars do. They perceive some imaginative characters as heroes

and they try to be similar to them. Especially, children around five or six years old try to do

similar actions as some cartoon or computer characters. These behaviors may cause some

dangers for them. For example, they take themselves for some heroes and try to demonstrate
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similar behaviors. In fact, computer games are fiction, but these children may not be able to

separate the truth from fantasy. So, when they see their role models killing somebody, they are

more likely to try to kill somebody else. Or, when they grow up, they become aggressive

individuals. They can be threats to their surroundings.

Moreover, violent video games increase physiological stimulation and aggression-related

thoughts and feelings. Children are curious and can demonstrate some negative behaviors if their

parents don’t care for them. Because of this, they need their families to choose which is good or

not. They are too young to decide. For example, some video games include killing other people,

and they can feel strong when they kill somebody on the screen. They may not understand the

real world if they play these games too much. Their brain is programmed for aggressiveness.

Plus, some games are too long and hard, it can be impossible to beat the computers. As I

observed in some children, they really become angry, especially boys, and they throw everything

when they get angry with the computer. They even attack the computer for revenge.

Finally, violent video games increase antisocial behaviors. Generally, children prefer to

play alone against the computers, because they may not be able to find friends all the time, but it

is easy to find a computer whenever they want. Even at night, they have the chance to play

games if their parents don’t control them too much. Or, some parents are flexible and give

unlimited permission to their children. For example, they promise to let them to play as much as

they want if they finish their homework. So, they don’t need other friends and they become

antisocial individuals. They can’t communicate with other people in schools or have social lives

when they grow up.

Although computer and video games are popular for many children, there is very little

research on how these games affect children’s health (Better Health Channel, 2007). Computer
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and video games cause obesity in children and can cause some injuries on their hands or palms.

Because children have to sit on chairs while playing, electronic games could also increase the

risk of developing muscle and joint problems such as back and neck pain and headaches. It is

clear to see the negative effects of computer games on children’s health. These negative effects

are overuse injuries of the hand, obesity, muscle and joint problems, eyestrain, and rarely,

photosensitive epileptic attacks.

Pressing buttons on a computer or video game controller over and over causes overuse

injuries to the hand. The type of injury depends on the buttons or playing performances. For

example, a game that requires the player to press a button with his or her thumb risks injury to

the thumb’s muscle. There are some suggestions to reduce the risk of overuse injuries, such as

setting sensible time limits on game playing. It can be a good way to choose some kinds of game

controls regarding children. So, parents have to remind the children to push the buttons gently

and to take frequent breaks to shake, flex and relax their hands. Different games often require

different controls. Parents should also encourage the children to mix up their game play.

Obesity is one of the risks for children while playing computer and video games. If they

spend more hours in front of the computer, the risk of obesity will increase. The reason is that

they don’t have the opportunity to exercise while playing these games. There are suggestions to

reduce the risk of obesity such as setting sensible time limits on game playing. Parents can offer

healthy snacks and drinks while the child is playing, encourage them to pursue other hobbies and

interests, particularly sports and other physical activities, be a good role model by participating

in regular exercise and limit their own electronic game playing.

There are few studies on muscle and joint problems. According to research, adults who

work at computers for long periods of time are exposed to a variety of muscle and joint problems
 Aksoy 6

that can cause back pain, neck pain and headaches. Children get experiences how to use

computers by playing games, but researchers believe that the impact on a child’s posture and

spine may be similar. The risk of child developing problems can be reduced by encouraging him

or her to take regular breaks during the game, encouraging to walk around and stretch,

rearranging the furniture to suit the child’s height, adjusting the chair so that their feet rest flat on

the floor, providing an ergonomic chair, encouraging correct posture, and ensuring child has

enough time each day for physical activities (Better Health Channel, 2007).

Another risk concerns eyes. Eyes that are focused at the same distance point for lengthy

periods of time become exhausted. Symptoms include fuzzy vision and headache. To reduce the

risk of eyestrain, the screen must be adjusted properly for contrast and brightness, the furniture

must be rearranged if possible so that any light source, such as a window does not shine into

child’s face or onto the monitor, child must be encouraged to take frequent breaks, such as

looking at distant objects to change the principal point. Parents can also consult with an

optometrist if their child complains of unclear vision and headache, because they might have eye

problems (Better Health Channel, 2007).

Photosensitive epilepsy is a comparatively infrequent condition characterized by seizures

in response to flickering light. A small percentage of children may be exposed to some games

that feature rapidly flashing graphics. The risk can be reduced sitting at least one or two meters

back from the screen. It is useful to have a high resolution screen, because they are less likely to

generate negative effects in sensitive individuals than low resolution screens (Better Health

Channel, 2007).

Besides negative effects, if people take necessary precautions, it is clear to see some

positive effects of computer and video games on learning, motivation, memory, three
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dimensional skills, development for special groups such as attention-deficit children, elderly, or

patients, intellectual skills, and conventional skills (reading images or diagrams).

The effects of educational computer games on learning are mixed. In general, teachers

don’t use computer games too often in their classes. They can use these games in first education

classes like primary and secondary schools. For example, they can teach a language to children

easily with computer games. It is more permanent for children and they have the opportunity to

record their sounds or write their homework with computers. While they are learning with

computers, they are entertained and don’t get bored during classes. They can prepare some

models for their projects for some classes with computers. In math classes, they can learn how to

solve problems with computers. Likewise, they can draw graphics in physics classes and create

some basic models in computer classes. They can also play puzzles which contribute their

development.

There are three aspects of computer games related to motivation. They are challenge,

fantasy and curiosity. To make an instructional environment more challenging, there must be

goals for people whose talent is uncertain. Specifically, a good aim must be meaningful, obvious,

and easy to produce. For a good result, feedback is very important for students. Students can

realize the uncertain talents by using different difficulty levels and multiple level aims in an

educational game environment. The instructional environment can be made more interesting with

emotional fantasies or metaphors. Last, the curiosity of the learner is important. A game mustn’t

be too complicated or too simple for the learner. If it is too complex, a child can’t adapt to it. On

the contrary, if it is too simple, the child gets bored and doesn’t want to play this game.

Memory can be made stronger than before by playing some games. Children repeat the

same actions by playing the same games over and over. Because they challenge themselves
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while playing, they go forward each time. Then, their talents and memory improve, because

while they are repeating the same game, they follow the same paths. As a result, they develop

their memory step by step.

Computer games enable the students to develop three-dimensional skills. They can obtain

some different graphics, geometric or three dimensional shapes with computers. For example,

some children are weaker than others in spatial skills. Computer games can be used to reduce the

differences and improve spatial skills for them equally.

Computer and video games are also used for special groups such as children with

learning disabilities and mentally impaired elderly people to cure their disorders. Moreover,

some children who lost some skills by an accident or depression can earn their skills again with

special computer games. For example, children who have learning disabilities develop their

brains step by step. Some children who lost their skills due to an accident or random event can

obtain their skills again by playing games. They start easy games at first, and then they continue

to learn by playing different difficulty levels in order to reach their past skills. Each time, they

improve their skills and get lost skills back. So, computer games can be used to improve some

weaknesses of some special groups.

Playing computer and video games enables the users to have certain intellectual skills,

such as practical and self repeating thinking. Playing computer and video games can help

children improve cognitive skills. There is a lot of empirical evidence supporting that cognitive

skills obtained in playing computer games can be transferred to other tasks. For example, if a

child plays soccer or tennis games on the computer, he or she may have skill to play in real

soccer or tennis matches. If he or she play chess, it is possible that he or she may have excellent

skills to play chess with other people in a real competition. Another example is about their
 Aksoy 9

school lessons. They can understand difficult science classes because of their experiences with

games, and solve the problems easily.

Conventional skills like reading images or diagrams can be improved, too. Children are

exposed to unknown diagrams or graphics while they are playing games. Because they are

curious and excited for new games, they tend to learn difficult and interesting things for these

games. Each game forces them to learn new skills if they want to play. If they can’t learn, they

can’t play. So, they do their best to start a new game. They even can learn foreign languages. For

example, my younger brother decided to learn English because of the games. He bought an

English dictionary to learn unknown vocabulary, because he didn’t like playing without

understanding some of the sentences used in the game.

Computer games refer to different aims such as education and entertainment. When it

comes to entertainment computer games, more often than not, negative effects such as alienation,

addiction, and violent behaviors are discussed. However, there are a growing number of

empirical studies indicating that non-violent entertainment games can also bring positive

impacts. Because I mentioned education before, I want to talk about its entertainment roles.

Children are affected positively by entertainment computer games. They enjoy playing, tire their

brains and this effects their practice skills. They have the chances to train and improve their

academic performances with games.

Computer games enable them to exercise with their hands and brains in a good way.

Games, brain, and hands have a correlation. Children see with their eyes, use their brains, and

then they use their hands in sequence. They train for certain activities with their brains. They

become cleverer by playing these games. Their academic thoughts are also improved by these

games. They can be more successful in school projects, because these games fasten their
 Aksoy 10

academic thoughts. They are easily adapted to changes and it is easy for them to use computers.

So, they reach their goals without getting help from anybody. It helps them in their social lives,

too. They can use their hands quickly efficiently when they intend to do a job. They can

communicate with other people more easily than people who generally don’t use computers.

Parents have a responsibility to take some precautions to reduce the negative effects.

There are a lot of ways to limit bad effects. Parents can set sensible time limits on computer and

video game playing, encourage the children to take regular breaks during the game, ensure them

to have enough time each day for physical activities, make some schedules with them, encourage

them to be aware of sitting distances from computers, use these games as a reward after their

homework in time limits. Advices like these can and should be increased like these. The result is

both useful and effective. Children also learn about their bodies and they become careful how to

control their body positions while playing games.

Despite the growing popularity of computer and video games, academic researches on

games are somewhat limited. Among those existing studies, most of them are focused on the

violence in games and its negative effects. Computer games can be dangerous if the necessary

precautions against the negative effects aren’t taken by parents and children become addicted to

them. Then, children can’t do anything else except the games. They don’t realize how the time

passes. So, they can’t adapt to their environment and an unsuccessful life waits for them in the

future. In spite of this, it is not true to think that computer games have only bad effects on the

children. There are a lot of useful games when children know how to get benefits instead of

harm. They can choose these games regarding to their interests. All of the children don’t play the

same games. Girls and boys have different hobbies. They can get a lot of skills while they are

playing these games. They have different perspectives and shapes about the world in their minds.
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And, they improve some ideas in their minds easily whenever they meet with difficulties in life.

It is important to distinct harmful and beneficial games, so the children may need help from other

people besides their parents.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Craig, A., and Brad, Bushman, J. “Effects of Violent Video Games On Aggressive

Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, And Pro

Social Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological

Science 12 (2001): 353-359.

Anderson, Craig, A., and Brad, Bushman, J. “Violent Video Games and Hostile Expectations:

A Test of the General Aggression Model.” Society For Personality and Social

Psychology (2002): 1679-1686.

Brand, Jeff. “Don’t Criticize The Effects of Video Games on Kids, Exploit Them!” 26 May

2003. Australia’s e-journal of Social and Political Debate

<http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=366>.

Better Health Channel. October 2007. Victoria.

<http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Computer_games_healt

h_issues?OpenDocument>.

Calvert, Sandra, L., Cocking, Rodney, R., and Jordan, Amy, B. “Children In the

Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development.” Praeger Publishers

(2002): 101-119.

Gentile, Douglas, A. “The effects of video games on children: what parents need to know.”

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Horie, Y. “Psycho-Physiological Reactions in Children Using Computer.” College

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Parenting, India. “Computer Games and Children” 23 June 2007. Buzzle.com

<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/computer-games-and-children.html>

Peng, Wei. “Is Playing Games All Bad? Positive Effects of Computer and Video

Games In Learning.” 27 May 2004. All Academic Incorporated 8 October 2008.

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