America's Youth: Game Over (Gaming Effects On America's Youth)

Essay by btwntxCollege, UndergraduateA-, July 2007

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Who does not like to participate in playing a game? Games are a way to release oneself from the arduous tasks of everyday life. With the rapid advancement of technology, games are being taken to the next level. Electronic games, known today as video games, can take the gamer on a technological roller coaster ride. Gamers can do anything from winning the Super Bowl to conquering an alien force, and video games are therefore becoming the sole entertainment of America’s youth. At first glance this harmless technological beast is a great way to have fun, but this beast seems to be eating away at America’s youth. The social behaviors, psychological effects, and the growing obesity rate of the youths in America all have direct correlations to video games. I believe that video games have an overall negative effect on America’s youth.

According to Sarah Glazer, many of today’s respected academic scholars give video games credit for helping children out with literacy, testing hypotheses, and problem solving.

Few games may offer these benefits but even if they do, why can’t children go outside and read a book to boost their literacy skills? They can play sports, participate in a science experiment, learn to play an instrument; there are so many other valuable things to do with children’s time than become a couch potato. Also, some educators even stretch as far as claiming that video games help young Americans by preparing them for the real-world workplace. If this is true, then I believe our upcoming workforce will be tainted with traits of laziness and procrastination. Again, why not do something more worthwhile with their time?The time that America’s youth spends playing video games has a direct correlation with the escalating obesity problem in the United States. Take Garrett, a fourteen year...