Agencies – Writings:
Chases, fistfights, shootings, burning cars, aimless killings, blood everywhere… This is the state of the teenager who sits behind the screen and plays a video game, exposing his mind to all these bloody events in which doses of adrenaline mix with excitement and fun, Then, with the push of a button, it all ends, and he returns to his real world again.
Therefore, many psychological and educational experts warn of the negative effects of video games with violent content on children’s behavior, and these warnings usually rise after the random killings that occur frequently in American schools, which according to a study prepared by the University of Miami School of Medicine; The Ohio University Department of Sociology; The “United States of America” is a new phenomenon during the past fifty years, and caused during the period from: 1990 to 2013; In deaths: 363 cases, in separate shooting incidents at: 215 schools.
Video games..Virtual violence in the accusation circuit..
With every random school shooting, violent video games are automatically blamed as the main culprit in fueling violence and transforming virtual violence into real aggression on the ground, and although this issue has been discussed for a long time in the past; Yet it resurfaces with every random incident of violence, as when: 19 children and adults were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in southern Texas; in the United States of America; On May 24, 2022, by an 18-year-old boy in possession of a handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Researcher Gwen Dewar explains; She holds a PhD in Comparative Psychology from the University of Michigan; In an article published on the educational website (Briting Science); The reason video games are always in the accusation circle is the absence of studies that follow the long-term results of the effect of these games on children’s behavior. It is associated with long-term behavioral problems.
Dewar added that studies that focused on monitoring the long-term impact of violence on behavior; The results were conflicting and difficult to generalize, but mostly deny the existence of a relationship between playing violent video games and mass shootings.
Scapegoating: Does science exonerate video games?
A report published on the website (National Health) on public health; To a study published by the University of “Oxford” on a sample of 1,000 teenagers and their parents, with the aim of measuring the aggressive behavior of young people according to the video games they played, and the study found that playing violent video games has no tangible effect on aggressive behavior in real life.
This was confirmed by Christopher J. Ferguson, professor of psychology at Stetson University, in an article published on the Conversation website. Interested in research and academic opinions, Ferguson referred to a report of the American Psychological Association he participated in preparing, which recommends stopping the link between aggressive behavior represented in mass shootings and violent video games, so why then are video games accused of being responsible for the killings collective.
political interests.
Many policymakers tend to blame violent video games; After the mass killings, which are dangerously repeated, and in the midst of the ongoing debate in American society about the reasons for the spread of this phenomenon in the “United States”; Apart from the whole world, a debate is taking place between the various political parties about whether the extreme ease of acquiring weapons in “America” is one of the reasons for this phenomenon, as liberals believe.
Conservative Republicans, who are known for their fondness for guns and their defense of the right enshrined in the US Constitution, are looking directly for a “scapegoat” to hold him responsible for these incidents, and video games are often one of the victims of this campaign, with the accusation of causing an increase Level of violence among young people and adolescents.
Racism trap.
The perpetrator’s race usually plays a large role in determining the causes of shootings, and media and political leaders tend to push video games as one of the main reasons for shootings in the event that the perpetrators are white more than African American perpetrators, possibly due to stereotypes that Minorities are linked to various violent crimes.
A group of research conducted at Villanova University indicates; And its results were published on the American Psychological Association website, that by analyzing: 200,000 news articles about approximately: 204 mass shootings over the past four decades, video games were mentioned in: 6.8% of school shootings; When the perpetrators were white, compared to: 0.5% when the perpetrators were African American.
Another research published in the same study revealed the racist aspect in explaining the causes of crimes. When a group of white students were asked to read a fictional account of a mass shooting by an 18-year-old described as a video game freak, half of the participants’ stories included a picture of a white young man and the other half a picture of a black young man, and the students were asked to vote on Statement: “The offender’s history of playing violent video games has a role in his commission of the crime: with (strongly disagree) and (strongly agree).” The results indicated that the choice changed from: (strongly disagree) to: (strongly agree) by changing Phantom offender’s photo.
What is the real impact of violent video games on your child?
01 – Simulation of violence.
Social learning theory suggests; that the child learns through observation and simulation of his social environment, according to a report on the Harvard Medical School website; The child learns violence by simulating the scenes of violence he sees in video games.
However, according to the (Very Well Family) website; Not everything a child learns turns into behavior, so violence does not necessarily turn into violent behavior on the ground, especially since there are a number of factors that control the transformation of what a child learns into behavior; Including the child’s personality and motives.
02 – A defect in cognitive skills.
Video games use moving images and exciting sounds to increase the suspense and control the child, who over time feels like the real hero of the game, and all of these techniques and tricks affect the child’s mind, according to a study published on the “American Library of Medicine” website. He’s part of the game and is under real attack.
The body begins to activate the escape mechanism, and pumps large amounts of the hormone “cortisol” and “adrenaline”; In response to the stress that the body is going through, and with continued exposure to video games without controls, the body is always in a state of stimulation and under the influence of stress hormones, so the child suffers from chronic stress, which leads with time to an imbalance in mental functions and various cognitive skills of awareness, attention and remembering.
03 – A false feeling of happiness due to addiction.
According to Screen Strong, one of the sites specialized in eliminating screen addiction, video games stimulate the brain to release the hormone “dopamine.” (happiness hormone); Which leads to stimulating the reward system in the brain, as the expectation of reward increases the levels of the hormone “dopamine”, and the continuous flow of “dopamine” forces the neural structure in the brain to change and adapt due to the rapid stimulation that the child is exposed to during play, which pushes the child to wanting to play again to feel the same way; Which makes it more addictive in the game cycle.
How to protect your child from video games?
Video games largely dominate the lives of a large segment of children and adolescents, which has prompted many parents and caregivers to search for ways to reduce the excessive use of video games; Here are some suggestions that may help you:
01 – Determine the hours of play.
Determining certain hours to play helps to a large extent in reducing the impact of video games on the child’s behavior; Especially if the child begins to fall into the trap of addiction to play, a report published on the Child Mind Institute website indicates; concerned with mental health; It is best to limit the number of hours of play according to the child’s age, which the American Academy of Pediatrics has set at no more than: 60 minutes on school days and two hours on school days for children over six years old; Approximately: 30 minutes for children under six years old.
02 – Break the cycle of addiction.
Video games become addictive when the child finds no other way to occupy his time than sitting behind screens for long hours, so try to occupy your child’s time with other activities such as sports, learning languages or drawing and learning different arts, and encourage him to communicate and play with other children.
03 – Always encourage your child..
One of the attractive aspects of video games is; is that they achieve instant gratification for the child while playing, unlike other skills; that a child can learn, and that requires time and effort to reach the fruit of its achievement, the (EarthEasy) website indicates; To the results of research conducted by a psychologist at “Stanford” University; “Carol Dweck”; The way in which parents support and encourage their children affects the way children learn new skills.
She emphasized that it also affects the degree of their self-esteem and a sense of pride, as the results indicated that: 90% of children were praised for learning serious skills, were eager to do new tasks, no matter how difficult they were, encourage your child to find the motivation to continue.
04 – Be a good role model.
Children learn through simulation and gain a lot of experiences and experiences through their social surroundings. Be a good role model and stop addiction to screens. You don’t have to be a video game addict, but different social media is an addiction of another kind. Pay attention and regulate the number of hours you expose to different media.
05 – Refer to the specialists.
Determine whether or not you need professional support, especially if your child becomes aggressive or violent. In this case, it is best for you to consult a behavior specialist and a psychologist to modify his behavior.