Video Games And Children

8 Pages 1892 Words

Videao Games and Chilren
By: Sue G.
A recent survey found that 92 percent of U.S. kids, ages 2 to 17 play video games. Parents bought 225 million video games last year. (“Virtual”) These numbers show how many people are affected today by the technology of video games. More and more people are buying and playing video games. Although children are not the only people playing video games, they do make up the largest percentage of players.
Video games are a very controversial subject. There is both good and bad in video games. Video games can help improve hand eye coordination and strategic skills. However, I have also heard of the vibrations from the controller causing damage to children. Many believe that video games lead to violent behaviors. They also could be a cause of obesity in the children of today.
As a child, I spent my days outside playing games. During the summer, I was found at the swimming hole or at the park. Other times I was with a group of friends on the street corner playing baseball. During the winter, sledding and snowball fights were the sport. Everywhere you went there were kids playing outdoors.
Today when I walk out my door, it seems as though there are less kids found outside. The children of today are often found indoors playing an electronic game. They have their eyes glued to the television set watching for where the next hit or miss will be. When walking, they are not always watching where they are going because they are busy pushing buttons on their game boy. Children are interacting less with each other and more with their electronic games.
As stated by Brent Stafford, a recent graduate of the masters in communication studies program at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., the $17-billion a year video game industry has become the number one form of entertainment for children. Parents, he says, should know what their kids are playing. The parent should also recognize when a game becomes a c...