Rant

Video games are really, really terrible devices. They can harm people, physiologically and psychologically. They can cause brain cancer and they are known to be a major contributing factor to ADHD. Now, the thing that really gets me, is that most people know this, but still choose to play them anyway! Why? They allow the person playing to escape from reality, take a break and enjoy, even if just for a moment. However, is a bit of pleasure worth risking someone's physical and emotional health? I don't think so. It's terrible what video games do. Not only that, but the Marine Corps even uses them to train soldiers. I think that if the Marine Corps can realize the potential of video games as a murder weapon, then they really should not be in the hands of the general public. It is outrageous! Especially what video games have done to the popular culture. They have turned people into mindless video gamers that need constant fast-paced action that just doesn't exist in real life. It exists in video games, though. So they go to that, after they get addicted and their brains start to function in flight-or-fight mode all the time. This is why video games are dangerous. It is even worse that people realize this. It just shows what our culture has done to people. Now, instead of trying to change this terrible catastrophe, people are actually trying to incorporate and fuse it into the educational system and others. In fact, in some states, dance video games are Incorporated into the P.E. program. Some public libraries even have video game arcades in them! Now, that is just wrong. It is just unbelievable to see what is going on today. Everyday I wake up and just feel miserable when I see all these people around me, lost in this technology driven, mindless, consumerism society. It is terrible to see how video games have been incorporated into this. And the advertising industry knows that it is a money-maker as well. That is why video games and video game consoles are released to the public in a strategic manner, usually a year or two after, or several months consecutively. The technology to create advanced graphics in video games, or other advanced technological things, exists. However, as part of an advertising technique, it is not released to the public, so that way, the industries can make money. Well, if it isn't bad enough the way video games hurt people physiologically and psychologically, the way advertising turns it into a money-making business, takes advantage of its addictive properties. That, that is just sickening. Sickening to see what this society has become. What really needs to be done, is to make a change now, before it is too late. Don't embrace this horrible stuff and incorporate into everyday life in every way. What needs to be done is to get rid of it. Get rid of this mind washing, unnecessary garbage. Something needs to be done now. Just get rid of the video games, the technology. One will see that all of these problems in society will vanish. One does not need to be surrounded by all this stuff. What good is it to have all this stuff in the world, to have and to want. It is all pointless. There is no point to our consumerism society. It just distracts people from what people know is eminent. Well, it is time to stop being distracted, and to start looking toward what one knows what is meant to be and to happen. It is time to take away the garbage technology that has infiltrated our society and turned it upside down.

Just the Facts

1. The Marine Corps uses violent video games like Doom to train soldiers.

2. In South Korea, a man died after playing video games for 50 hours straight!

3. About 8 to 12 % of the population are chronic users of some kind of substance or activity (including video games).

4. 13 % of young children aged 6 to 11 and 14 % of adolesents aged 12 to 19 are obese due to sendentary lifestyles (video games).

5. On average, 10 to 15 year old boys spend 3 1/2 hours watching TV or playing video games, and girls spend 2 1/2 hours. This means that, for children who sleep 8 hours, half the day is spent virtually motionless, watching TV or playing video games.

6. The Columbine High School shootings show the negative, violent effects that video games employ.

7. According to Professor Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr., video games teach children about violence, and how to be violent.

8. The people who create first-person shooter games do not realize how dangerous they are. John Carmack, creater of the video game Quake, thinks of his video game as a game of Cowboys and Indians with visual effects.

9. With first-person shooter games, it leaves the player free of responsibilty and consequence of their actions.

10. Both Interent and console video games are found to have equal negative psychological effects on the brain.

What the Experts Say

"[F]ilms and video games not only teach children about violence, but also how to be violent" (Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. -- Professor of Education at the University of Miami and author of Children and Hyperreality: The Loss of the Real Contemporary Childhood).

"[Video games] are murder simulators which over time, teach a person how to look another person in the eye and snuff their life out" (Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman -- former Professor of Psychology at West Point).

"Video gaming produces brain waves that are the opposite of what is desirable for healthy fuctioning....[V]ideo gaming is actually 'neurofeedback therapy' that produce negative results" (Ron J. Swatzyna, Ph.D., L.C.S.W. -- psychotherapist for the Tarnow Center for Self-Management; Clinically Certified Forensic Counselor and Certified Anger Resolution Therapist).

"Thrilling video games create disruptive patterns. Through much repetition, those changes become deeply embedded in the brain" (Ron J. Swatzyna).

"Even the most ardent defenders of gaming culture...have to admit that video games have an addictive power....You sit down to play Halo after dinner for a few minutes, and the next thing you know, it's midnight" (Steven Johnson -- author of Everything Bad is Good for You).

"Yes, you can get addicted" (Charlene Wilson -- mother of video game addict).

"Every person has the potential to become an addict" (Michael Loos -- Associate Professor of Counselor Education at the University of Wyoming).

"Video game addiction is similar to gambling addiction" (Michael Loos).

"[Video] games can be both habit-forming and addictive, and stopping may bring on some of the same withdrawal symptoms as quiting smoking, drinking, drugs, or alcohol" (British Psychological Society).

"As Gameboy, or another video game device, becomes an obsession, then an addiction, the child becomes increasingly inert" (C. Ellis Fisher -- pediatrician of Gastonia, N.C.).

"Because of media fed concern/hysteria over child abduction, many of today's parents would rather their kids stay in the house watching TV or playing video games" (C. Ellis Fisher).

"We have developed into a society that relies on fast food, a poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle" (Whataburger -- regional fast food restaurant that specializes in burgers).

"[Kids are] playing video games -- they're getting obese, and they're not getting outside" (Shane Mize -- area chief of Texas Parks and Wildlife).

Second Strongest Argument

My second strongest argument for my topic on video games is that they increase violent behavior. Since video games actually do retrain the player's brain, they can also teach the player how to be violent. Many school shootings have resulted from too much video game playing. For example, the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, committed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were a result of their addiction to video games. They had released a video to the public on the Internet prior to the shootings. One of them, during the video, is holding a rifle with the top sawed off. The person is rocking with the rifle back and forth as if they are nurturing it. This is an extreme example of how video games can cause violent behavior. The fact that video games can produce violent behavior, is relative to the amount of violence present in a game. Many games nowadays have an increasing amount of violence, which thus makes violence seem a normal part of everyday life. Video games like Doom are actually used by the Marine Corps to train their soldiers to kill.

Part of the reason why video games are so violent is actually because their creators do not realize their violent potential. One video game creator, John Carmack, thinks of his video game, Quake, as "a game of Cowboys and Indians with visual effects." Another problem is that, with video games, the player is not held responsible for their actions, thus the violent behavior executed in video games has no consequences. Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman, former Professor of Psychology at West Point, states that video games "are murder simulators which over time, teach a person how to look another person in the eye and snuff their life out." So, video games have an incredible potential to produce violent behavior, and thus increase the amount of violence acceptable in everyday life situations. Something needs to be done about this now, before it is too late (and it may already be).

Strongest Argument

For my research paper, my strongest argument is that video games are addictive and cause ADD/ADHD (which I shall, from this point, refer to as ADHD). Dr. Ron J. Swayznia, a psychotherapist in a self-treatment center in Texas, says that video games are like neurofeedback therapy, with negative results. Neurofeedback therapy is where someone goes to retrain there brain. It is usually done in 60 minute sections for 60 weeks. What Dr. Swayznia is saying is that video games have the same effect as neurofeedback therapy, except the opposite of what would be considered a "normal," healthy brain. When someone plays video games, they usually play them for more than an hour a day!!! This means that the rate at which someone negatively retrains their brain is increased at a faster rate, and gets worse over time. What the person is doing, is retraining their brain to resemble someone who suffers severe ADHD. Hence, video games do not help with ADHD, but can only worsen the behavior.

Video games have also been found to have addictive properties. These addictive properties are due to how the brain reacts to the video game. When someone plays a video game, adrenaline is rushed to the brain, increasing the person's drive to continue to play the game and achieve higher in it. Since playing a video game is akin to increased ADHD-like behavior, this can only have negative psychological effects on the brain. Actually, a survey done at a Virgina high school found that there is no difference between the negative psychological effects of Internet video games and console video games. Both have the same addictive properties. Also, even "hard-core" gamers will admit that video games can be addictive. Michael Loos, a strong supporter of video games, says that anyone has the potential to become an addict. So, it is not just people who are against video games that are saying they are addictive, it is even people who love them! A 12-year old hard-core gamer boy, Jimmy Williamson, said that you can get lost in these games; they are just that addictive. To add, people have died from addiction. A Korean man died several years ago from heart failure after playing 50 hours straight of a video game. Video games are a danger to the human mind.

To conclude, the power that video games have on the mind is immense. Video games not only have strong addictive power, they are also the cause of ADHD. It is this that makes video games so dangerous. The power and potential of video games to be a medium in which anyone could do anything with is there. Since people get addicted to these games, it would be very easy to influence people through them.

Pros and Cons

With video games, as with anything else, there are pros and there are cons. Video games have been used in a variety of ways in this day and age. However, those that mean that video games are right?

For example, today, specially designed video games can be used to correct ADD/ADHD. In this process, the video game does not allow the player to succeed in the game unless they are paying attention. There are also some arguments that say that playing regular video games actually increases attention span, and that video games are helpful in teaching children, especially preschool age. However, some of these positive effects that video games employ, does not outweigh the serious negative effects.

For example, in a study, it was found that children who played one hour or more of video games daily were more likely to have ADD/ADHD than children who played less than one hour daily. Also, video games have been found to have addictive properties. In a study done, it was found that people who incisively played video games and then stopped "cold turkey" experienced withdrawal symptoms. The addictive power of video games is akin to that of alcoholic beverages and gambling. Also, most frightening of all, video games can cause excessive violent behavior. For example, extremely violent video games, like Doom, are actually used by the Military to train soldiers. However, the effects that violent video games and non-violent video games has on the brain is equal, and both cause ADD/ADHD. In the study that found a pattern with video games playing and ADD/ADHD, it also found an increase in inattentive behavior in its subjects, and a drop in school grades of one letter grade for those who played one or more hours of video games daily.

So, video games have some positive effects, but the negative is so much more than the positive could ever offer.

Overview

My topic for my research paper is video games and the negative effects on the brain. Many people today play video games, but are unaware of its negative effects. Or, even if they are, they still play anyway. This could be because, that although videogames do have negative effects on the brain, it also has positive effects, accordingly.

A prominent negative effect that video games has on the brain would be how it would re-wire someone's brain. When playing video games, the brain is constantly being forced to react to situations. It is not given enough time to think, and to plan. Some people say that video games are good strategy builders. Well, in reality, they are not. Since, in video games, the person playing needs to constantly be reacting, they do not have time to form strategy. They only are able to see what works and does not so they can progress in the game.

Another problem with video games, is that they decrease a person's ability to concentrate. Some people would say this is unfounded, however, studies do show, that when someone plays video games for extended periods of time, it actually re-wires the brain, as stated above. This re-wiring causes the brain to be in a mode where it can only function well in react-type situations. Look at police officers, for example. They are trained to just react to situations, not think. Video games, do the same think. Thus, a person who plays video games excessively, will have difficultly concentrating for extended periods of time, and (I believe) is the root of where ADD/ADHD comes from. Video gamers would say, "Well, everyone has ADD." This statement is true, but it is because virtually everyone in America plays video games. As I continue my research process, I will look more into this and come to a conclusion.