Since 1970, violence becomes part of video games. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), consistent use of violent video games is the leading cause of heightened aggressive behavior.” Let’s discuss how do violent video games have a social, physical, and mental impact on adolescents?
Since the First World War, the race for technology has started. We create more and more powerful and influential machines. It is the same for video games and their manufacturers (Sony, Nintendo…!), which produces increasingly efficient game consoles. Therefore games are more realistic. With this rapid development, scientists are asking questions about the impact of violent video games on players and especially teenagers.
We can, therefore, wonder what impact these video games have on youths. In particular physical, moral, and social effects. Are these impacts harmful or positive for adolescents?
The moral impact of violent video games on adolescents
For years, video games have been more and more realistic and, for some, more and more violent (GTA, for example). In this type of game, the player can kill all types of people (civilians, police, etc.). On certain players, especially young people, this can cause significant moral impacts.
Only young people with strong moral escape the adverse effects of the GTA game on their behavior.
April 10, Italy, two 15-year-old girls have, “for fun”, beaten and killed a 67-year-old man who had taken a ride. One of them said: “I like playing GTA. It was like I was the hero of the game.”
Alessandro Gabbiadini told a story that occurred three years before this incident. He is a social psychology researcher at the Italian University of Valle d’Aosta. He said, “I was in a store, and I saw a father buy Grand Theft Auto (GTA) to his 10-year-old son, while the seller dissuaded him for his age. But GTA is a violent game, but with something different compared to other violent games, he told the BBC.
It shows immoral scenes and offers immoral acts. ”Because in this game, it is possible to steal or kill almost with impunity… Just for fun. “GTA is the first game to introduce behaviors that go beyond aggression. Since then, others have followed, such as Saints Row, Mafiaou, The Godfather, “he said.
Tests have shown that out of 172 young people aged 13 to 19, those who played a GTA video game for half an hour displayed more aggressive behavior. Further, they show worse immoral behavior than those who played a non-violent video game. This study shows that 4 out of 5 young people have seen their behavior change.
Other studies have been done in the United States. These studies show that violent video games reduce the responses of brain areas (self-control and reasoning).
Cut to the chase. If a young player plays a violent video game regularly, their behavior can change, and it can become aggressive and violent.
The physical impact of video games on adolescents
Excessive gaming can be considered an addiction. This is a serious problem because a young person affected by this addiction may have physical problems due to excessive playing time. For example, an addicted player will isolate himself, and therefore, will have a very unbalanced or even zero diets. These impacts can be much more severe and can be considered a disease. Player addicts no longer go out and see their bodies melt into muscle but gain a lot of fat. This sometimes leads to cardiovascular disease.
Yes, video games have a significant physical impact on people indeed.
We certainly do not see it right away, but studies have shown that it could even become very serious for the health of players and more precisely for those who play with excess.
The social impact of violent video games on adolescents
Violent video games can push the player to be aggressive towards their family, friends, teachers, and those around them. This causes isolation and creates serious social problems.
If adolescents play the game all day, they find themselves alone. They no longer understand their surroundings. They have no friends, and nothing interests them anymore. They cut themselves off from all social ties. Finally, in this part, the video game is the only cause of isolation and social problems. As sociologists recommend, teenagers should not be allowed to play video games every day. Otherwise, they will be isolated and addicted.
We have seen through these three parts the impacts of video games, whether they are
- Moral (aggression or murder),
- Physical (eating problems, reduced physical activity …)
- Or social (isolation, family problems).
These problems have often been proven by scientific studies, tests on players. Their results show that violent video games made us aggressive and more. But how far do video game creators go to please customers, will we ever realize that the risk of violent video games is real?
