Sumagang 1 Joshua Sumagang Professor Kosowski ENG 1A-5017 December 17, 2021 As an individual who has been involved with video games for almost the entirety of my childhood, the question of “How have video games affected my development?” always seems to intrigue me. In today’s society, video games are nearly omnipresent in the lives of every individual. With how much technology has developed throughout the 21st century and how far widespread it has become, it is an undeniable fact that technology such as video games and other such entertainment media have a major impact on the lives of today’s youth. A large amount of today’s children have been influenced in their development and behavior from video games and the various social, technical, and developmental aspects that games have. Entertainment technology and media is rampant in today’s modern world and it is not a surprise that children can be utterly engrossed with such technology. Smartphones are one such technology that can have a multitude of different psychological effects on developing children according to studies recorded in the Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing. This source provides the outcomes of a research experiment on a random sample of children. These children who played mobile smartphone video games on a regular basis were tested on a behavioral rating scale. It was found by the researchers that these children who played mobile video games had inhibited mostly negative effects such as; increased anxiety, communication problems, disruptive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and decreased prosocial activity. This shows how much of an impact games can have on the psychological development of children. Sumagang 2 Video games that have an emphasis on teamplay can have positive effects on the developmental stages of adolescents. Popular video games series such as Fortnite, League of Legends, and Dota are games that have amassed a great number of players who have created niche communities of their own that connect together in a way that is special as an online community. These games bring together young people from all kinds of different backgrounds and have become a cultural phenomenon. (Gera, Emily) These games are played professionally around the world–and like every professional game there are always players who are idolized by their community. One such player in League of Legends who goes by the tag ‘Faker’ has a larger following and is more influential than his country’s most famous sports athlete. (Gera, Emily) The way that these popular games are played can also heavily influence behaviors in the children that play them. Fortnite, which is arguably the most popular video game and is played by many adolescents worldwide, is a game where communication with teammates is crucial for success. This type of teamplay in video games creates the same positive prosocial behavior influence that playing physical team sports does for children. Video games can also have an influence on development on a more technical level. According to a study by UCLA professor Patricia M. Greenfield, video games can teach children developmental skills from understanding embedded rules, processing information, performing inductive reasoning, and building family relationships. According to Greenfield, “Video games have helped account for the steady increase in IQ scores since the 1970’s by sharpening nonverbal thinking skills”. In general, video games help children to develop visual and spatial skills by processing the information that is displayed on the screen. The games that these children play have basic rule sets that are to be followed and are rewarded by the game. This Sumagang 3 sense of reward helps children to develop an understanding of rules and can be easily applied to the real world. Creativity is an aspect of development that can be explored and nourished through certain types of video games. A specific type of game known as Minecraft is popular amongst many young children and adolescents and can give children the experience of exploration and creativity by exploring the open-world nature of Minecraft and by creating 3d structures of anything that comes to mind. According to Rey Junco, an associate professor of library science, “Not only does the open-world nature of Minecraft give children the opportunity to be more creative, it allows them to feel like they have a sense of control over themselves and their environment.”. Playing Minecraft, a game where one is allowed to create anything imaginable with 3d blocks allows children to develop their creativity by spending time in the 3d space. Also according to Junco, “It’s an implicit way for them to develop self-regulation skills”. In the game, time management is important for survival as it is necessary for the player to allocate resources to build a shelter before it becomes night-time. Children learn how to manage time and how to determine what are important tasks that need to be completed. On a technical note, playing a game such as Minecraft can teach developing children “visuospatial reasoning skills” by manipulating the three-dimensional objects to create complex structures. Also as a multiplayer game, Minecraft can provide a child with an aptitude for prosocial behavior as it is beneficial to collaborate with another player in order to achieve the goal of survival and prosperity. Video games in general provide a world with set rules and boundaries that must be followed in order to succeed. Michael Rich, MD is director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital and he comments that videogames are a force that powerfully affects child development, health, and behavior. Video games introduce children to Sumagang 4 “behavioral scripts” which are defined literally as a sequence of expected behaviors for a given situation. Essentially children develop reasoning through the rules of games by understanding that doing well in a game will reach a certain outcome and doing bad will lead to a worse outcome. Due to the current pandemic situation that has been occurring for the past two years, many outdoor activities have been replaced by sedentary activities, most importantly gaming. A research document by Daniela Smirni, who has graduated from the University of Palermo, Sicily with a PhD, covers the effects of videogames on cognition and describes them from an objective and complex standpoint. For example, children and adolescents with attention problems are more attracted to video games-- in turn they find it less engaging to focus on activities such as educational activities, homework or household chores. As an individual who has grown up playing video games, I have learned a lot of essential skills from playing them such as reading skills, logical and reasoning skills, and most importantly social interaction. I have met my lifelong friends through sharing interests in video games and playing with my friends online. Introducing children to videogames can have its multitude of benefits. However, it is important to remember to properly limit the amount of time children spend playing video games. Sumagang 5 Works Cited Singh, Pankaj; Mujawar, Nilofer; Moharkar, Rupali; Kaur, Harshdeep. “Effects of video and mobile games on children’s behavior. ”Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing . 2016, Vol. 7 Issue 5, p488-492. 5p Gera, Emily. "Don't fear the rise of Fortnite and other video games – they bring young people together." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BFSZRJ852310273/OVIC?u=cclc_hart&sid=bookmarkOVIC&xid=5a0bda40. Accessed 16 Sept. 2021. Originally published as "Don't fear the rise of Fortnite and other video games – they bring young people together," The Guardian, 9 Oct. 2019. Guilfoy, Christine, and &. G. S. TELEGRAM. "Value in Video Games // Children's Obsession may Actually be Teaching Important Skills: [ALL Edition]." Telegram & Gazette, Sep 22 1998, p. C1. ProQuest. Web. 30 Sep. 2021 . Junco, Rey. “Tell Your Kids to Play More Video Games.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 Apr. 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/beyondscreen-time-what-a-good-game-like-minecraft-teaches-kids/361261/. Sumagang 6 Rich, Michael. “How Do Video Games Affect Behavior? - Youtube.” Youtube, Boston Children's Hospital, 16 Sept. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsMFsdS3aqU. Smirni, D.; Garufo, E.; Di Falco, L.; Lavanco, G. The Playing Brain. The Impact of Video Games on Cognition and Behavior in Pediatric Age at the Time of Lockdown: A Systematic Review. Pediatr. Rep. 2021, 13, 401–415. https://doi.org/10.3390/pediatric1303004
