The Effects of

on Children

The prevalence of video games in our society is steadily increasing, and shows no signs
of stopping. Today, 94% of children play video games, and in a society where video games are
so commonplace, their effects of video games on children are more than just noticeable, but a
serious concern. So what are these effects? Should parents worry about their children playing
video games? And what can be done today to help video games contribute to a better world
tomorrow?

The Effects of Video Games on Children

Introduction
Video games are the youngest addition to the family of games. Card games have been
around since the 9th century, sporting games have been recorded since 776 BC, and board games can
be dated back to as early as 3100 BC, but the first entirely electronic game didnt appear until 1947,
less than one hundred years ago.
However, video games didnt need more than one hundred years to evolve, integrate into
our society and influence entire generations to an extraordinary extent. Earlier arcade video games,
such as Pong, Space Invaders and Pac-Man, quickly became an unforgettable icon of their time. But
these video games are hardly frowned upon;
video games were a fun, light-hearted
activity that werent any cause for worry. So
what changed? The most likely answer is
technology. Technological advances quickly
lead to more realistic and more complex
games that, for many people, became more
of an obsession than a leisure activity. Much
less often can someone pick up a game in
less than a minute; much more time and
effort must be dedicated towards video
games. Today, 95% of Australian households
own at least one device used for playing
Image 1
video games, a huge increase from 75% in
2005. Additionally, 57% of video game players, or gamers, play video games on a daily basis, for an
average of about an hour. While the average age of gamers is increasing, and 75% of gamers are
over the age of 18, 94% of Australians aged 6-15 years of age play video games, making video games
(Image 1)
the most popular among this age group
.
These statistics certainly dont go about unaccompanied by some criticism. The prevalence
of video games is steadily increasing, and shows no signs of stopping, and in a society where video
games are so commonplace, the effects of video games on children are more than just noticeable,
but a serious concern. But what exactly are these effects? Should we truly be worried about what
video games are doing to our society? And what can be done to help video games contribute to a
better world tomorrow? This makes for a broad discussion whenever the topic presents itself, but
my essay will focus on three key questions:

Why do children play video games?

What are the effects of video games on children, and just how serious are they?
What can be done to help video games contribute more positively to society?
Furthermore, I have devised some research questions to help me answer these questions:

Why are video games perceived in such a negative light?

The Effects of Video Games on Children

What game genres are most popular among children, and what different influences do they
have?
Do the positive and negative effects of video games balance out, or does one outweigh the
other?
Is the video game issue something weve seen before in another form, or is it something
brand new?

My aim is to simply give an informed, educated review into the effects of video games on
children, not skewed by the largely negative portrayal of video games in popular media. I hope those
reading this who dont have much experience with video games can take away an extent of
understanding on the topic, as well as formulate some informed opinions, and those who do have
experience with video games can reflect on the thoughts presented and relate them to their own
experiences and opinions, as I know I will whilst researching and writing this. However, personally, I
would like to simply learn more about a fond pastime in my life, and see my own opinions proved
right or wrong.

My View
I am a child, and an avid gamer. I dont play video games addictively, but I certainly dedicate
a lot of my time and money to video games. This isnt a problem for me; Ive been taught the
importance of prioritisation and I always put school in front of video games. But, as a leisure activity,
I gladly enjoy this hobby of mine, and have no plans on giving it up in the near future.
Now imagine I had just stopped at I am a child, and an avid gamer. Chances are you dont
think as highly of me as you would if I had continued. Ive had plenty of experience with this; once
people learn this about me, they fit me into a stereotype created by Big Media. If youre a child
gamer, youre ignorant. Youre apathetic. Youre a troublemaker. Youre antisocial. You do poorly in
school. Youre violent. Youre desensitised. And the list goes on. This has become a bit of a problem
for me, to a point where I feel the need to hold back on telling people about my hobby, to avoid
being judged in this way.
For example, very often whilst doing my homework, I decide to give my mind a break and do
what I enjoy; play video games. But in the middle of an online match, my dad will walk by me, and
ask something along the lines of Dont you have homework to get done? Why are you playing your
games? Of course, Ill tell him that Ive done my homework or am working on it, and I was just
taking a quick break, but my dad, more often than not, is clearly still sceptical, and, not believing me,
asks me to show him
Figure 1
what Ive done. I
believe seeing me
playing a video game,
rather than perhaps
reading a book, is what
put my dad in a
mindset to not believe
me, influenced by the

The Effects of Video Games on Children

stereotype I mentioned earlier.
I believe there is also a common misconception about video games themselves, as I find that
many individuals who dont have much experience with video games believe that all video games
contain violence, gore, sex, drugs, and really everything we want to
avoid exposing out children to. Once again, I believe this is due to
portrayal of video games by the media in this manner. While this is
true for some video games, a very small percentage of video games
are heavily based on these sorts of subjects. I, personally, much
more enjoy games that are heavily based on strategising, eg. Portal
(Image 2)
2
, Half Life 2 and Minecraft, and Im not alone in my
opinions; almost 50% of gamers (Figure 1) say that puzzle and strategy
games are their favourite game genre, making it the most popular
game genre.
Additionally, a study conducted by the Ohio State
University and the University of Amsterdam found that children
Image 2
with a lower academic level preferred violent games significantly
more than the boys at the medium or higher levels, while those with average and above-average
academic skill prefer puzzle and strategy games. The fact that only a fraction of gamers prefer
violent video games over puzzle and strategy goes to show that this stereotype against video games
and those who play them is rather unjustified.

Local/National opinion
To learn what my local community thought on the topic of children and video games, I was
active in gathering data through two means. The first was a quick, simple survey conducted online,
which gathered over 40 responses across a number of different demographics. The second was a
series of interviews with three people, with knowledge relevant to the topic:

Meredith Stevens, a science teacher at Huntingtower, who, being a teacher, has much
experience working and interacting with children, as well as being a science teacher, has
substantial knowledge of psychology and other sciences relevant to the topic.
Dr. Jamie Magidan, a freelance writer with a PhD in psychology, specialising in the
psychology of video games. Dr. Magidan has written for a number of scientific journals,
presented at many conventions, and is currently writing a book on the psychology of games.
He also runs a blog, www.psychologyofgames.com, through which he frequently posts short
articles on his field of expertise.
Rebecca Simandjuntak, my mother, who has seen me grow up with video games, and
played a huge part in how they affected who I am today, and who I will be in the future. She
has seen the effects of video games on children first-hand.

The Effects of Video Games on Children

Figure 2

Why do children play video games? (Figure 2)

Games provide immediate and very exact feedback about competence that kids are hard wired
to pay attention to, mentioned Dr Madigan. This is unlike many other aspects of life, where its
either unclear if youre succeeding, or the feedback is greatly delayed. Similarly, Ms Stevens
mentioned that video games provide instant gratification and sense of accomplishment, and the
survey showed that this belief was rather common among the general public as well; video games
tap into the psychology unique to children and work with it in a way that no other aspect of life
easily can.
Figure 3

The Effects of Video Games on Children

What are the effects video games have on children?

(Figure 3)

Desensitisation, violence, and antisocial were words that came up often in my research, but
so were coordination, education, and dexterity. I would have expected the results to be more
weighted towards the negative effects, but it seems that both positive and negative effects were
quite well balanced out, both in the survey and interviews. Statements suggesting that video games
increase spatial imaging skills, problem solving, manual dexterity, etc (Dr. Madigan) really
contrasted with statements like games normalise antisocial behaviour, eg. it is OK to disrespect
women and smash up cars (Ms Stevens) to show the true broadness of the topic, and by extension,
the communitys beliefs. My initial thoughts are already beginning to be debunked.
Figure 4

Do the positive and negative effects balance out, or does one outweigh the other? (Figure 4)
This was a question that brought up the answer it depends quite often. While there were some
that had strong opinions one way or the other, all three interviewees as well as about 50% of the
surveyed followed up their answer by mentioning that there is no one answer for every case out
there. More specifically, the reasoning behind this answer was that video games are mostly positive

The Effects of Video Games on Children

in moderation, or that it depends on the genre/nature of the game, ie. puzzle games are obviously
beneficial, but shooting/violent games, not so much. What interests me about this is that in the past,
before video games were as widespread as they are today, the belief that video games are a huge
drawback to a childs development would have largely prevailed, whereas now, the question is being
recognised as representing a much wider and more complex topic.

Figure 5

What can be done to help video games contribute more positively to society?

(Figure 5)

One thing that I noticed here was that it seems that demographics played a big role in opinions.
Unlike the results from the other four questions posed, the responses from each age group were the
result of what they had experience with at that age. Children that responded almost exclusively
mentioned that integrating video games with education would be the best solution, while the older
age groups mentioned things such as reduced violence and more restrictions by parents.
Video games are a way of life now, theres no point in denying it. Now its up to us to deal with
it, mentioned Mrs Simandjuntak. I found this very interesting, the thought that much of the older
generation, as people that grew up without video games, still think that video games can be changed

The Effects of Video Games on Children

to be eradicated, as if it would be the best move, and the results of the survey and interviews go
hand-in-hand with this idea. Perhaps unfamiliarity could be at the core of the negativity that the
majority of the older generation have towards video games, and as more and more people will have
grown up with video games as time goes on, this negativity will diminish.

Global situation
Global situations and studies are rather limited, in that the vast majority of the video game
market, both producers and consumers, are based within first world (and some second world
countries. Video games are a luxury; that is a fact. As such, the issues surrounding the effects of
video games on children are only visible in countries where video games are widespread.
How the effects of video games on children affect the world as a whole has both a negative and
positive side to it, and so has been the midst of controversy since their appearance on the market.
The main influence that the topic of has in the world concerns education. Video games are a fairly
new form of media, and they have proven a uniquely competent tool in tapping into the psychology
of children, keeping them interested and mentally stimulated. Recently, video games have been
discovered as a useful educational tool and attempts have been made to incorporate them into the
traditional classroom model, with largely positive results. Statistics also show that video games are
becoming increasingly trusted by gamers and non-gamers alike (Figure 6). However, a secondary, more
negative issue that arises with the
Figure 6
topic concerns how video game
violence provokes aggression in
children that play them, and how
this influence can be carried out
later in life. Several infamous cases
of child aggression, particularly
school shootings, can be noted here
and linked to simulated video game
violence, and a number of case
studies have produced results to
support this.
One case study, conducted by a handful of teachers across the United States, demonstrated how
useful video games could be as an educational tool by incorporating
(Image 3)

the video game SPORE

by Maxis, a game based on biology and
evolution, into their biology classes. SPORE was used to assist in
teaching students about the evolution of species by stimulating higherorder thinking by the students, as well as focusing the centre of
learning on the students themselves instead of the teacher.
The consistent engagement that the video game provided, as well
as the discussions surrounding the game and what students had
learned, lead to students spending an average of 3 extra hours on class
material outside of class time out of their own will, and students
Image 3

The Effects of Video Games on Children

scoring an average of 5% higher on examinations than those who didnt use SPORE. The study found
that video games can indeed be an educational tool worthy of investing some time and effort into
incorporating into the classroom.
However, on the other end of the spectrum, a 2001 case study published in the Psychological
Journal analysed 105 college students who were given a violent video game to play, such as Call of
Duty (Image 4) or DOOM and 105 college students who were given a non-violent video game. After
playing these games, the college students were paired up and given a simple reaction test game
which would put the two players against each other, and the winner of the game would be allowed
to play an unpleasant noise as loudly and for as long as they wanted through the opponents
earphones.
The study found that those who were given a violent video game to play decided to play the
noise louder and for longer than those who were given a non-violent game, and the gap between
the two groups grew bigger as they were given more time to play the game. The study found that,
both over the long term and the short
term, video games can work with the
natural psychology of the child brain to
increase defensiveness, aggression and
general hostility, traits that pay off with
rewards in violent video games.
These case studies demonstrate the
sort of situation that video games create
globally, but also demonstrate how the
Image 4
effects of video games are mostly
dependent on how they are used, not on the video games themselves. As an educational tool, video
games can be utilised in a positive manner for a positive global impact, while unregulated exposure
to violence can make for a negative global impact. Overall, to society, video games are a great step
in the fields of entertainment, media and technology, but whether it is a step forwards or backwards
is up to us; it is what we do with them that counts towards how they will shape the future.

Solutions
Based on the local, national and global cases made and presented, there is no longer debate
over whether or not video games have an effect on children; the answer is yes, backed up by the
global case studies discussed, expert opinions, and the survey analysis. However, the question of
what these effects actually are comes down to a number of variables, particularly age, background,
and the nature of the video games in question.
This means that the issue must be brought around to one factor that all children around the
world have in common: education. Although they are relatively new on our shelves, video games
have already been proven to be a brilliantly powerful learning tool for children, by utilising creativity,
imagination, interactivity and immersion in a way that no other learning tool can. Children are much
more capable of taking in information and behaviours from an interactive video game than they are

The Effects of Video Games on Children

from, say, the words of their teacher or their parents. However, only if video games are utilised
correctly can we reap their full benefits.
This is what makes introducing video games into the classroom as an educational tool an
idea with extreme potential. Not only will this increase academic performance in children that learn
with video games without sacrificing learning time, but it
will truly engage children in their education in a way that
lets them enjoy learning, rather than forcing it. I had the
luck of being able to learn with video games during my
schooling with Mathletics (Image 5); I know firsthand just how
invaluable the enjoyment aspect of learning is, both to my
education and my attitude towards education, and video
games have been enjoyable to me in a way that no other
means of education have. Implementing this will take some
time, effort and money, as with anything, but I believe these
issues arent too prominent to make the idea infeasible, and
Image 5
the long term benefits will be extremely worth it.
Of course, although video games are a tremendous learning platform, this doesnt mean that
children cant take in the wrong thing from video games. Violence, sex, drugs and crime are all topics
that many game developers arent too worried about promoting, even when children are concerned,
leaving the children that play video games extremely exposed to these taboo topics. However, I have
noticed that this situation is nothing new; just like the concern with violent and taboo television
when the television was still a young and developing media platform, the solution lies in restriction
of advertising and availability. Harsher age restrictions on video games based on their content,
assisted with parental restrictions (eg. blood and gore toggle options), will dramatically decrease the
excessive exposure children get to these sorts of games. In addition, appropriated advertising on
violent video games (eg. only advertising during late night and prime time television) would make a
strong contribution to the solution.

Conclusion
The topic of this essay was The Effects of Video Games on Children, and discussed the
different effects video games specifically had on children, why they influence children the way that
they do, and what can be done to help reinforce the positive effects of video games while countering
the negative ones, allowing video games to contribute more positively to the future of society.
Why do children play video games?
Because video games employ a combination of features that children are hard wired to pay
attention to (Dr. Madigan). Children naturally have shorter attention spans than adults, and video
games provide them with constant action and excitement, as well as instantaneous feedback on
whether they are succeeding or not, both of which are things that cant be obtained in the real
world. This is understood based on expert opinions and professional information from psychologists
and scientists specialising in the field, as well as public opinion from a survey conducted on the topic.

The Effects of Video Games on Children

What are the effects of video games, and just how serious are they?
The effects of video games are based on what video games teach children. Both the first and
second case studies discussed in the global section proved that children are extremely capable of
learning from video games, regardless of whether or not it is what they should be learning. If a video
game presents violence and aggression, the effect that the video game will have on children will be
increased aggression. If a game required concentration and coordination, the effects will be
improved concentration and coordination. Video games are a powerful tool in influencing child
psychology, but what exactly they influence upon children is dependent on the games they play,
which comes down to us as a society.
What can be done to help video games contribute more positively to society?
Two courses of action can be taken to help negate the negative effects of video games, as
well as reinforce the positive ones:
Image 6

Utilise video games as an educational

tool
. Video games, as previously
discussed, are a learning tool the potential of
which cannot be underestimated. Utilising
video games as an educational tool allows us to
harness the capabilities of video games for the
tremendous benefit of students and teachers
alike, by bring imagination, immersion and
hands-on engagement into the classroom,
things that the child mind is designed to pay
attention to. In addition, this would open up a
new market for education video games for use in the classroom. Educational video games such as
EcoQuest and Miniconomy have already been successfully developed and released, and even online
multiplayer video games such as Mathletics and Spellodrome have proven a huge success. The
academic and social benefits of this would be evident at first, but increasingly evident over the long
term.
(Image 6)

Enforce harsher age and advertising restrictions on video games, as well as implement
more parental restriction options. To prevent children from being exposed to things that they are
not yet prepared to deal with, including violence,
(Image 7)
drugs and sex, harsher age restrictions
must be enforced, similar to guidelines enforced in
television and film. Additionally, appropriate
advertising (eg. only advertising during late night
and prime time television) for violent video games,
and more attempts to implement parental
restriction options by game developers (eg. a
toggle option for blood and gore), would obviously
assist towards solving the issue at hand. This
Image 7

The Effects of Video Games on Children

would certainly limit the number of children who get their hands on these types of games and take
on board the effects that they inflict on them, as well as encourage game developers to work on
more educational games that promote and influence more positive effects on children, rather than
video games where the rewards are centred around killing and violence.
Almost all of the evidence discussed in this essay culminates to this answer. The survey
showed us how important both harsher age restrictions and more educational utilisation of video
games was to the public, and the expert interviews and case studies backed up these opinions with
fact. This solution directly addresses the facts and opinions of the question simply and effectively.
In conclusion, video games are a great example of how susceptible our minds are to external
influence, under the right conditions. Video games do, and will continue to, a particular power in our
society, which is something that we cant change. However we can change what that power does for
us, and a lot of the negativity surrounding the effects of video games on children is the result of said
power being wrongly used. It is up to us to steer that power in the direction that is best for our
future, and only once we have successfully done this will we all be able to, firsthand, understand the
positive side of the effects video games have on children.

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