Video Games and the Negative Effects They Have on Children in Todays Society

In the lives of children, the average number of hours spent on the small screen more than 25 hours per week. Kayser Foundation, which produces research reports on the influence of media on young Americans, believes that this average is more around 35 to 40 hours per week when you include TV shows, video games, movies and computer (internet chat).

Notice of the Board of Education of Quebec published in February 2001 confirms that the number of children with behavioral problems has increased by 300% between 1985 and 2000. Three factors combined are responsible for this increase: the more fragile family structure that generates a lot of anxiety in children, an inadequate parenting, which also generates anxiety in children and massive exposure to violent entertainment. The amount of violence that goes into the brain of a child today is huge! One that is broadcast on TV private rose 432% between 1994 and 2003. It is not only physical violence that has increased, but also emotional abuse, especially by public broadcasters. Studies have shown that the correlation between time spent watching TV and the risk of violent behavior is higher, including those between:

lead exposure and brain activity;

calcium intake and bone mass;

homework and academic success;

exposure to asbestos and cancer;

exposure to secondhand smoke and lung cancer.

These data are from the professor Craig Anderson, who testified at hearings of the Senate of the United States in 2001 on behalf of the Association of Pediatricians. His research can make three conclusions:

short-term effects: aggression increases immediately after exposure to a program or a violent movie, and lasts at least 20 minutes;

long-term effects: children who watch a lot of téléviolence become, as adults, more violent than they would have been without exposure to violence on television;

short-and long-term affects boys and girls.

It is for children in kindergarten and first year that violence has increased most rapidly in recent years. By combining the three factors that caused the increase was obtained for children who, at school or daycare, hurt others for fun and without regrets. As we age, the number of children with behavioral problems decreased because the school staff is able to socialize many of these children. But their successes are not able to compensate for the increasing number of new disturbed children who arrive at school each year. The school is not responsible for the problems of violence, but where it occurs. More and more children arrive with no social skills and their imagination is full of anti-social fantasies. You'd be surprised how many children 7-8-9 years have seen the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! The massive exposure to violence on television has desensitized many children.

The day after the murder of a young 17 year old daughter in a store, it was stated that some young people, following the overuse of video games, could experience atrophy of certain brain regions and an inability to manage their impulses.

Many elementary school children ...