Video games in teenagers life’s and ergonomics

Issues of Video Games in Teenagers life’s and ergonomics

The video game sector is the fastest growing entertainment industry. Study in 2008 found that 90% of children play video games every single week. Game’s for people above 18+ start to be more popular than before, we know very little about the effects that video games may have on children’s development and socialization. Video Games have many positive aspects, but also it can have many negative aspects.

The postitive aspects include :

Provide a fun and social way of entertainment, cooperation and teamwork while playing with other people, make kids feel comfortable with technology, increase children’s self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games, provide things of common interest and opportunities for socialization, they are also for :

develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem-solving

encourage participation in related offline activities, such as reading or sports

encourage civic participation, improve hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills

A scientist thinks “age appropriate multi-player video games can allow children to learn how other people think – a key aspect of empathy. Games can also help a child become more comfortable with new and ever progressing technology.” Which is in my opinion true. If computers are used properly by teenagers they will have only positive impact on their education.

Parents of teenagers should be aware of :

According to a Harris Interactive poll released in January of 2008, 23% of gamers surveyed reported that they felt addicted to video games.

“ Some teens are heavy users of online role-playing games (RPGs) such as World of Warcraft and multiplayer games such as Call of Duty in which they interact with other players in real time. Students will often neglect schoolwork and other aspects of their daily lives when they become immersed in these games. While it remains unclear whether this can be termed an “addiction,” the American Medical Association has identified “video game overuse” as a behaviour, and may include it in a future edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”

Children who are heavy users of video games may also be getting less exercise and develop eating fast foods. Make sure that your teen is getting outside and not snacking too much on unhealthful food while gaming.

According to the book Grand Theft Childhood by Doctors Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner, children who play primarily M-rated games (whether the rating is due to violent or sexual content) are more likely to be involved in fights or bullying

If you are concerned about the amount of time your teen is spending on video games, keep in mind that it is normal for young people to throw themselves enthusiastically into hobbies. Consider the effect your teen’s gaming is having on his or her life: is he or she socializing less with friends? Are his or her grades declining? Is his or her sleep or general health being affected? .

It’s important to know what the ratings mean on the video games that child plays. rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for the game, content descriptors to indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern. It is important because video games are not all violent, but most of them are, and many of them are pretty gruesome. It has been estimated that up to 89% of games contain some violent content.

I am going to cover following topics due to covering issue

• Violence
• Living Online
• Addiction
• Ergonomics
• Positive Things about games

Violence :

People are concerned that violent games might be causing young people to become violent – and there is some evidence to support this. Studies have shown that violent games can:

• increase physiological arousal (the ‘fight or flight’ response)
• increase aggressive thoughts and emotions
• increase aggressive behaviour
• reduce helping behaviour (where people become less likely to help others).

This effects even stronger on people who attend to be already aggressive. Violent games attract young people that tend to be aggressive or are fascionate about being aggressive.

There is also some evidence that violent games can change the way people think. One study had two groups playing games, one of them a violent game. After playing the games it was found that the group playing the violent game were more likely to:

• think it was OK to use alcohol and marijuana
• be competitive in another task
• think they were being accused of cheating in another task.

Living Online :

This type of Games can subtitute real life and can cause young people to addiction. Studies have shown that young people who spend too much time playing computer or video games do not do as well at school. Computer games may also be linked to obesity (being unhealthily overweight) – and evidence is emerging to support this.

Addiction :

People can become addicted to games. People can start to play games for more than 12 hours per day. They might stop doing their homeworks, stop going to school, forget about their job. The most addicting games are online games like GTA, World of Warcraft or Lineage2. They start to compete with each other, form clans and fight with each other, in the beginning it can be 2 hours per day, but than it becomes more.

Positive Things about Games :

There are also some positive things in cerain issues, and here are also some positive stuff about games. What is it then?

• People get pleasure for playing games
• Hand-eye coordination improvement
• Mental stimulation and require some form of problem solving.
• Enjoyable social interaction.
• Educational games is a good way of learning
• Simulations are good way of training people

Ergonomics :

Screen should be 70 cm away from the eyes. The top of your monitor should be at eye level. Your desk surface should be at roughly belly button level. When typing, your wrists should be in line with your forearms and not bent up. Go for a walk outside at least once a day.