Effect of Violent Video Games on Teenager Behaviour

Effect of Violent Video Games on Teenager Behaviour Maria Alejandra Urroz Gaità ¡n Topic: What Effect Does Playing Violent Video Games Has on Teen’s Behavior Introduction: â€Å"No other sector has experienced the same explosive growth as the computer and video game industry. Our creative publishers and talented workforce continue to accelerate advancement and pioneer new products that push boundaries and unlock entertainment experiences. These innovations in turn drive enhanced player connectivity, fuel demand for products, and encourage the progression of an expanding and diversified consumer base.†[1] (Gallagher, Michael D.; President and CEO, Entertainment Software association) One of the major problems society is facing today is the addiction kids are developing towards electronic devices such as television, computer and video games. Parents complain about their kids getting distracted with those machines, start thinking it’s only their son or daughter, and later realize it’s something that most people at school does. Some see it as normal and now it’s common. Violent video games can lead to, from small changes in behavior to in the worst of all cases, killing someone. How are teenagers reacting to playing video games, and does it affect their behavior even if there’s not an addiction developed. Violent video games can’t be that bad, right? Video games have also proven to have health benefits, and psychological benefits. But what are video games? According to the Oxford Dictionary they are: â€Å"(N.) a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a monitor or other display†[2 ]. The engaging aspect of video games is that they allow the player to become whatever he wants to be. The player is able to become their fantasy, and to experience a life he doesn’t have. The video games allow the player become what they are not, this also makes them feel powerful. People are able to express who they truly are; meaning they are free to do anything they please, even if it’s not considered correct. â€Å"Hard fun is, of course, the idea that we take pleasure in accomplishing something difficult: the joy in meeting and mastering a challenge. As a result, when someone is doing something that is hard fun, moment by moment it looks more like work than fun, but the net effect is pleasurable overall.†[3](Williamson Shaffer, David). The harder the video game is the more interesting it turns out to be for the public, the greater demand it has. People like what challenges them, what makes them think outside their comfort zone and look for brighter ideas that they portray through their reactions and solutions to the situations they face. Are there reasons to start playing video games? Teenagers are the ones who tend to play video games in extended periods of time due to their feeling of lacking control of situations in their lives, so they use video games as a way of controlling what will happen. This essay focuses on violent video games, because those are most teen’s preferences. Playing violent video games have shown to have more and faster influence on its players than educative video games have; they have turned out to be more engaging. The former have shown to have both, good and bad, effects; external situations are what define as to whether teens reflect either effect. The violence in video games can be categorized in different aspects, as to whether the characters are representing people or are fantasy characters, violent video games also have different context in the plot of the video games. There are violent video games which present a justified type of violence, or if it’s killing just for pl easure. What is the story based in how does it begins and ends; some video games have no context of that at all and merely show a story, only reckless killings. Through the essay external factors which affect the reaction teens have to those games. How Video Games Begin: Teens are generally introduced to the violent video games by their friends; they consider it the cool thing, since the media has promoted the game as such. Then they constantly play when they are bored, or with friends. Generally they tend to choose to play violent video games because they are a way for a teen to have control over something, which is what teens are mostly looking forward. They are also looking for a distraction, or an activity so that they can have fun. They start playing violent video games, not because they are looking forward to becoming serial killers, but because they are appealing a way by which they feel they can release their anger without actually being violent; because they can be stressed because of different reasons such as school, or a discussion with their parents and getting to do something where they are the ones that control the actions, relaxes them. Addiction: Teens begin playing video games as hobbies, which then become habits and in no time they become addiction. What differentiates hobbies with habits is that hobbies might be performed eventually but habits are constant making them harder to change. Habits are behavioral patterns developed by repeating the action constantly, so that eventually the brain does it automatically. Habits can be controlled or modified, they tend to become addictions when the person begins feeling the necessity of performing the action but addiction requires professional help and motivation for a change. Playing video games has become an addiction in many cases. ‘Addiction’ comes from the action of being addicted to something; which is being physically and mentally dependent on a substance or behavior. Addictions affect interactions within the structures of the brain, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and accumbens[4], such that a person’s motivation switches to those addictive behaviors; it also affects interactions and neurotransmissions between the cortical and hippocampal circuits which are the sides of the brain in which the rewards are stored, and the person begins to constantly perform actions that were normally a reward[5]. In this case video games are played for many hours on a daily bases, instead of being played for fun becomes the main activity in the person’s routine. The addiction causes, behavioral, cognitive and emotional changes. Behavioral changes are the first symptom to be noticeable to others, such as excessive engagement in video games, and narrowing the actions of the day to end up playing. Cognitive changes become obvious to others when the person begins having difficulties because of the addiction, but continues blaming his problems to the addiction. Emotional changes are those such as an increase in anxiety, and increased sensitivity to stress. A person will present certain symptoms when an addiction is being developed such as: preoccupation, time loss, lack of control, making excuses, and defensiveness. The teen starts to show preoccupation as they do daily activities, and he doesn’t enjoy the activities he is doing, he is worried about continuing playing, or thinking about new strategies to use in his game; the teen stops enjoying outdoor, family or any other type of activities, only worrying about his virtual life. Time loss happens when the person has other activities to do but chooses as a priority to continue playing video games, that also shows lack of control and lack of organization; it might be normal for it to happen once or every once in a while but when it happens repeatedly it’s a sign of an addiction. The individual also makes excuses for postponing more important activities, choosing to play video games instead. Making excuses such as those shows the full engagement the teen has with the games and the lack of interest he has with reality; so the teen is becoming less capable of managing his own time, he may be playing ten minutes more, three hours or as long as the teen is able to keep up playing the game. Positive Aspects: â€Å"I find that many professionals simply havent even considered the alternative arguments. They just go with the mainstream studies, or theyre so wrapped up in their own part of the field its not a consideration. I work hard to try to draw comparisons to the things that they love and feel passionate about. We all have those things that are important to us, but stupid to other people. It becomes easier to discuss gaming when I draw those comparisons.[6] Says Dr. Steve Kuniak, he uses violent video games as a way of having a connection with his patients, since he is a player, he understands why they like video games so much. He has found out that video games have the benefit of coping and wellness. Players of video games, especially when they are young, are able to develop their own world and their own personality. Teens also develop the habit of following instructions, and of analyzing situations better. Many psychologists also contradict the theory of teens isolating themselves from the rest of the world; instead they say that teens have the possibility to socialize more through the possibility of interacting with other players that the video games propose. They will also be able to develop coordination and agility skills. Coordination, between hand and eye, in shooting games the character is able to run and shot at once, this requires coordinating the brain’s interpretations and reactions with the player’s movements and thoughts. Research has also shown that players can learn spatial, iconic and visual attention from the skills on video games. In the game the player needs to pay attention to the different situations and the different objects that are on a scene because they might need them later on; the player should be able to notice all those little details as well in the real world. Teens are able to make guesses and test their hypotheses about the different situations presented. They start taking more risks, through those gaining experiences, which in the psychologists’ point of view is good because the consequences they could be having in real life they are experiencing them through a video game. Experiencing the games it’s better than them taking those situations to r eality; it would be dangerous to people. Violent video games also help with team work, especially those online games in which the player is able to create alliances or teams to accomplish a mission. The player learns how to play their role in the team work and how to distribute work. They learn how working as a team can be better than working alone, how it makes things simpler. The player is also able to view situations from a different perspective; they may switch roles and experience harder jobs than theirs. They are realizing how hard accomplishing something, because there are always different obstacles that get in the way. Video games are also a way to release stress, especially for kids who don’t practice sports. It gives them a type to deviate their attention from what could be going wrong in their lives. Video games may have a positive aspect, this also depends on the orientation teens have from parents if parents guide kids in order for them to understand that video games are not reality and that they can’t do all the things they do in video games, like killing someone, teens will react appropriately to violent types of video games because they’ll know to differentiate right from wrong; it may even help them to react to certain situations better. First Changes: The most known change in behavior is an increase in aggressiveness. â€Å"Playing video games may increase aggressive behavior because violent acts are continually repeated throughout the video game. This method of repetition has long been considered an effective teaching method in reinforcing learning patterns.† (Anderson Gentile, 2003) [7] This reaction may not mean that they will be provoking fights, in the weaker of the cases the teen will react harshly to situations, such as a lecture from their parents or an insult from anyone. In a stronger case the teen might react violently to strong situations he or she might be facing. How much is enough? External factors Does it affect the family? Possible solutions Brands which are considered the most addicting Bibliography: American Society of Addiction Medicine. Definition of Addiction. (2014). http://www.asam.org/for-the-public/definition-of-addiction>. Web. (Jan 24, 2014). Goldstein, Jeffrey. Violent Video Games. PDF. (Feb 23, 2014). http://intra.iam.hva.nl/content/1213/propedeuse/maatschappij_en_interactie/lesprogramma/Jeffrey-Goldstein-Violent-Videogames.pdf> Norcia, Andrea. Parents and Teachers: The Impact of Video Games.August (2013). http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html>. Web. (Dec. 28/2013). Runge, Paul. Video Games Represent The Most Powerful (and Potentially Dangerous) Era in Storytelling. (Oct. 21/2013) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-runge/video-game-violence_b_4067069.html>. Web. (Feb. 23/2014). The Entertainment Sofware Association. Sales and Democratic Usage Data: Essential Facts about Computer and Video Games Industry. (2013). http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf>. PDF. (Feb.22, 2014) f) The Oxford Dictionary. Video Game, meaning. Web. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/video-game>. (Feb. 23/2014). g) Violent Video Games: Psychology Expert Finds Numerous Health Benefits in Gaming. (September 24, 2013). http://www.examiner.com/article/violent-video-games-psychology-expert-finds-numerous-health-benefits-gaming>>. Web.(Jan 29, 2014). Jenkins, Henry. How Computer Games Help Children Learn: An Interview With David Williamson Shaffer.. Interview. Web. (Jan 25, 2007).http://henryjenkins.org/2007/01/an_interview_with_david_schaff.html>. (Feb. 23/2014). [1] Entertainment Software Association ®, Essential Facts, 2013 http://www.theesa.com/> [2] The Oxford Dictionary, Video Games [3] Jenkins, Henri. How Computer Games Help Children Learn: An Interview With David Williamson’s Shaffer [4] American Society of Addiction Medicine.http://www.asam.org/for-the-public/definition-of-addiction> [5] American Society of Addiction Medicine.http://www.asam.org/for-the-public/definition-of-addiction> [6] Kuniak, Steve. http://www.examiner.com/article/violent-video-games-psychology-expert-finds-numerous-health-benefits-gaming> [7] Gentile, Anderson. http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html>.

Assess the View That Factors Within Schools Are the Greatest Influence on Social- Class Differences in Educational Achievement Essay

Assess the view that factors within schools are the greatest influence on social- class differences in educational achievement. (20 marks) I am going to be looking at the view that schools and the education system determine how successful each individual student will become; sociologists have very mixed opinions about whether the education system is beneficial to all pupils. There are some sociologists that believe labelling and stereotypes affect the way a student achieves within the education system. To label a student means to attach a meaning or make a presumption about their behaviour, labelling can be detrimental to a student while at school, for example, if a student isn’t focused in one of their lessons and isn’t as successful as they could possibly, the teacher will label the student as distracted and possibly lazy, not doing as much work as they should be; if in meetings teachers discuss this with other teachers it could possibly influence their opinion on the student and realise they are not reaching their full potential. When teachers first meet their pupils they automatically make an assumption about them on how they look and how they carry themselves, if a student comes in to a classroom with a hood on, baggy trousers and with a bad attitude it can be quite easy for a teacher to suggest the student isn’t going to be intelligent or an asset to the class room. Once a teacher sees a student dressed inappropriately for school and carrying themselves in a certain way, it’s almost natural that they begin to question the social class of the student, in this case they would assume the student is working class, and that education isn’t something of a priority to the student. Becker (1971) studied labelling in secondary schools, using interviews of 60 high school teachers; he found that teachers stereotyped students based on their work, conduct and appearance. Teachers saw middle class children as the closest to their stereotype of the ‘Ideal pupil’ and working class did not come close to this ideal. These stereotypes lead to ‘The Halo Effect’ this is the idea that when a middle class student is entered in to the education system they succeed based on their social class, it gives them an instant advantage over all of their peers who may be of a lower class. Differentiation refers to the way teachers categorise students regarding their abilities, their appearance, mannerisms and general behaviour; setting and streaming are other forms of differentiation. Setting is when you organise pupils into sets regarding their ability in that subject, however sometimes if a pupil is good at a majority of their subjects, they will be placed in high sets for all, just because they clearly have the ability is a number of other subject, they are seen as generally intelligent. Ball (1981) believes streaming can have negative conseq uences for pupils, in his study of beachside comprehensive he found that it was in fact phasing out and replaced with mixed ability teaching, which means groups are formed with pupils of high ability’s and low abilities and the aim is that the high ability students will encourage and influence the other students to achieve and become more proactive with their learning. This can have a reverse affect and in some cases students with high abilities underachieve with the disruptive students in the class. As middle class students are seen as the perfect type of student, polite, cooperative, and generally higher achievers, teachers appreciate and warm to this more than the typical working class student. A working class student is seen as talkative, they look scruffy and education isn’t as much of a priority or an enjoyment, it’s something they have to do. Working class pupils require a lot more encouragement and time from teachers to understand basic points and knowle dge that middle class pupils would typically understand easily. The middle class do suffer as well, just because they are seen to come from a good background and supportive parents, that does not necessarily mean they are going to do well in every subject, they can be forgotten about and glide though school years with the assumption they will get the grades they need by the end of the year. The working class do demand a lot more attention and if they do not see success in their work or exam results, they will become frustrated and ‘Resistant anti-school subcultures’ that oppose the values and norms the education system encourages; therefore finding rewards and status within their group of friends. The two subcultures that the education creates are ‘The pro- school subculture’ filled with positivity and rewards, expectations are high and positive stereotypes; If we look at the opposing subculture ‘The Anti- school subculture’ filled with negative stereotypes, labels, low sets and streams and low expectations. These subcultures show two opposite ends of the spectrum, with high achievers and low achievers, however, it’s the ones in the middle who receive the most attention and support, as teachers accept that Pro-school subculture will achieve anyway and ‘the anti-school subculture’ will fail, neither receive a gre at deal of attention or time but are left to their own devices. Overall the education system is the biggest influence on social class differences in education; they have two extremes, the successful ones and the ones who will just go menial jobs or manual labour for the average wage. The education system idolises the middle class as a whole and don’t take people for individuals, the education appears to care more about their reputation and their place in the league tables than they do about their students. The social class of students sets them up for success for failure, assumptions are made as soon as the student walks through the door, every time it’s a parents evening or an event students are always being judged. The education system doesn’t promote equal opportunities for everyone, they know who is going to pass or fail, the ones in-between are the ones they focus on to bring up the percentage of pass rates on the school, not for the good of the student. Ma ny sociologists such as Marxists believe the education system ignores wider problems, they assume all teachers label pupils and that it will have a negative effect upon a pupil.

The Realist Versus Liberalist Debate - 1432 Words

Studying the world â€Å"as it is† or â€Å"as it should be† is one of the pre-eminent questions in the field of IR theories. After all, this question could be seen as a different way of formulating the Realist versus Liberalist debate, or the â€Å"First Great Debate† in IR theory. If we look at history, as Dr. Hirst explained in one of her lectures, Liberalism, or Idealism as some may call it, was the founding theory in IR. It offered an optimistic view of the world inherited from enlightment philosophers such as John Locke and Immanuel Kant. Liberalism is based on the belief that nation states will end up cooperating and that there will be peace amongst them. On the other hand, Realism, inspired by the works of Machiavelli and Hobbes, offer a†¦show more content†¦The Second World War is actually the reason why today, Realism, a theory that focuses on the world â€Å"as it is†, dominates in the field. Its domination started at the end of the Sec ond World War and increased during the Cold War as Stephen Walt explained in â€Å"International Relations: One World, Many Theories,† . The pessimistic vision of the world portrayed by Realism dominated during the Cold War for more or less obvious reasons such as the fact that the world was bi-polar with the Communist bloc on one side and the Capitalist bloc on the other and people feared the possibility of a nuclear war just a few years after the end of WWII. It was therefore understandable that people tended to be more pessimistic. So, based on this assumption, we could think that whether we study the world â€Å"as it is† or the world â€Å"as it should be† fully depends on the geo-political context in which we live in, but also on how we approach these events. For instance, our political world in 2017 has been dominated by events such as Brexit, the election of Donald Trump or even North Korea’s nuclear program. Now, I personally find these events a s being negative and therefore would tend to go towards Realism in order to understand how we got here and try to make our future better. However, I also acknowledge that some people would see those events as positive and would tend to be more optimistic about the future and start thinking about the for the future. It is a world â€Å"as itShow MoreRelatedFree Trade And Its Effects On The Prosperity Of Countries1744 Words   |  7 Pagesas a helpful tool to increase the prosperity of not only individual countries, but also the global economy as a whole. Through substantial research and application of realist and liberalist theories, both sides of the spectrum will be presented along with supporting evidence in order to better understand the intensity of the debate over free trade and my take on this issue. The sequence of this paper will be simply organized into the pros then cons of free trade, followed by my regard to its effectivenessRead MoreImportance And Depth Of Internation al Relations1858 Words   |  8 Pagesneutral throughout the war the Athenians were fighting. The Melians still wanted to remain neutral but the Athenians thought it would make them look weak in the eyes of other nations. Many of the ideas presented in this text are similar to many current debates today and it reflects on how a nation can have a need for power and what nations will do to achieve that power. Moving toward current international relations we first need to understand that countries are in groups of nation-states or states. InRead MoreImpact Of The World Trade Organization ( Wto ) On The Environment Essay5898 Words   |  24 Pagesdiscipline ? international trade law runs counter to that construct and in significant ways acts to undermine it.?[footnoteRef:33] [29: This marks a progression from the situation in 1971, when the Soci?t? Fran?aise de Droit International held a debate on whether international economic law was even a part of international law at the Colloque D?Orleans, Aspects du Droit International Economique (Editions Pedone, Paris 1972).] [30: Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations

Using the Spanish Preposition Tras

The Spanish preposition tras, usually meaning behind or after, isnt a particularly common preposition. In fact, you could probably get by without even using it at all, as the prepositional phrases detrà ¡s de (behind in location) and despuà ©s de (after in time) can usually be used instead. Tras is more common in writing than in speech. Even so, tras has significant use in journalese (its a shorter word to use in headlines) and in a few phrases such as uno tras otro (one after the other) and dà ­a tras dà ­a (day after day). Here are the most common meanings of tras, along with examples of its use. Tras Meaning After (In Time) Tras is sometimes used to mean after (in time), as in the following examples: Se degradà ³ la libertad de prensa tras la eleccià ³n. (Freedom of the press was diminished after the election.) El restaurante abre de nuevo tras ser cerrado. (The restaurant is opening again after being closed.) Tras Meaning In Pursuit Of Tras can also mean after (in the sense of advancing toward or being in pursuit of), as in these cases: Iba  tras  las riquezas.  (He was after riches.)   El perro salià ³Ã‚  tras  ella.  (The dog went after her.) Tras Meaning Behind It can also be used to say behind (in location), as in these examples: Tras las puertas cerradas puede haber violencia. (Behind closed doors there can be violence.) Necesita contraseà ±a para participar en las conversaciones tras la pared de proteccià ³n corporativa. (You need a password in order to participate in conversations behind the corporate firewall.) Tras- as a Prefix Tras- also is commonly used as a prefix, where it is a shortened form of trans- and often the equivalent of the English prefix trans-, as in  trascendental (transcendental), trascribir (to transcribe), trascontinental (transcontinental).