Video Games Influence

Introduction

In America, video games are considered an all time favorite for people of various ages. Throughout the past decades, video games have advanced from basic arcade games to home consoles. As computer scientists conducted simple games as part of their ‘research’ in the early 1950s, it quickly escalated into modern-day entertainment. There wasn’t much variety of games during this time. It wasn’t until the 1970s where video games became a very popular hit. According to Gentile, a developmental psychologist at the Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, “The video game industry's revenues surpassed the movie industry's several years ago, and surpassed the music industry's in 2008” (Gentile & Anderson 2009). Now in the 21st century,

Over the course of 6 decades, video games are rising in popularity, and its presence creates many problems. Gaming can affect young adults’ brain in both a negative and positive way. According to Tortolero, a doctor of philosophy, she states how video games indicate that both short-term and repeated long-term exposure to media violence, including video games, increase the likelihood of aggression and violent behavior (Tortolero et al. 2014). Due to the amount of time young adults play, they become isolated from family and friends. However, video games have been found to attract students to participate more in class. According to Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies in the Psychology Division at Nottingham Trent University, “Videogames can be used when examining individual characteristics like self-esteem, self-concept, goal-setting and individual differences” (Griffiths 2002). Although there are different views on how video games influence anxiety amongst young adults, it is based on the type of video games frequently

According to Jensen, an undergrad at Brigham Young University, many young male adults remove themselves from important social settings to play video games (Jensen et al. 2009). Statistics also showed that young adults that play video games are two to three times more likely to be involved in drug abuse. For young female adults, their self esteem dropped as a result of playing video games for a long period of time. Also, studies show that male gamers play more than females. As Jensen states “Nearly three-fourths of college-aged men in the study played video games regularly. By comparison, just 17 percent of their female counterparts played more than once a month (Jensen et al. 2009).” Aggression can also impact the social nature of young