The Arts

Celebrating arts & culture

Game Plan (Video Games)

Computer games are great ” in moderation.

Video and computer games have come a long way since the days of Space Invaders. These days the technology is so advanced, playing a game is like experiencing a virtual reality in another world.

There are lots of good things about computer games. For one, they’re heaps of fun! It’s also believed that they may improve hand-eye coordination. Games can help with problem solving, and are great way to familiarise yourself with new technology ” in the future, games will probably be used a lot more as training and educational tools for jobs and study.

But there are also problems with video games, particularly with games that contain violence ” and it’s estimated that approximately 89 per cent of games contain some kind of violent content.

Not only can games like this teach young people to become violent, it’s been shown that violent games can increase aggressive thoughts and emotions and make people less compassionate towards others. It can also desensitise people towards violence, and teach young men that it’s acceptable to treat women badly.

Studies have also shown that spending too much time playing computer games can affect a child’s performance at school, can make them become isolated from their peers, and can lead to obesity ” sitting for hours at a time in front of a computer screen means that you’re not getting any exercise.

But this doesn’t mean that computer games should be cut out all together. A healthy mix of exercise, social contact, study time and game time should avoid any problems. Supervising what type of game your child plays, and for how long, can also help.

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