Virtual Violence Effects

Does virtual violence lead to actual violence? As we all know at this age of sophisticated technology and information, children are more exposed to video gaming compared to the past decades. As a result, video gaming industry has gained tremendous growth since coming into the market in the 1980s. This is because of the increased number of its consumers, especially children and teenagers. Research shows that at least 83% of children in the US aged between 8-12 years are involved in video gaming once a month. This elevated number of video gaming has had its fair share of effects on its consumers. For instance, video games have positively influenced children to work together in completing various tasks, and often improve a child’s thinking capacity,

This is because at a tender age a child is not able to dissociate himself or herself from virtual things such as video games. Violent video games, being aggressive in their content, children are at risk of copying acts from these games involuntarily, leading to some serious long-term challenges. For instance, a child who is more exposed to violent games is often rebellious to parents and teachers, and in most cases tends to resort to violent behaviour whenever they are agitated. Moreover, these children often put their virtual lessons from video games into real life situations, ending up mistreating and bullying peers at school. In short, it is important for parents to monitor what their children are up to, to prevent such behaviours that in the end might cause mental

Firstly, video games improve a child's ability to follow instructions, especially because many games entail completion of tasks (Gentile et al, 2009). Besides, children improve their problem-solving capabilities because these games have tasks that require quick thinking and use of sound strategies to move from one level or quest to another. Lastly, gamers improve their multitasking capabilities, because many gamers have to juggle different patterns and connect them at the same time to complete tasks (Ryan et al, 2006). Despite these advantages, the weight of violent video games negative effects is alarming, especially because of its long-term effects such mental ill health and