Video games comprise a major part of most kids and teenagers lives. The advent of technological advancements has seen an exponential proliferation of video games implying that teens today have a wide array of video games to choose from. Approximately 90% of teenagers in the USA reserve their time to play video games. Children under 8 year’s spend an average of 57 minutes playing various kinds of video games for example console, computer or mobile gaming (Rideout, 2013). More than 85% of video games have been said to contain some aspects of aggression. Some videos classified as violent such as the ‘Call or Duty or Grand Theft Auto’ have become popular among teens and kids globally. There has been an increased apprehension and assertion among adults such as parents that watching video games is making kids develop violence in real life. Previous multiple analysis report existence of a strong link between video game aggression and real world teenager’s violence (Ward, 2010). It is logical that continuous video game watching leaves an enduring effect on kids and teenager’s brain. The long lasting impact influence how kids act in real life. Video watching therefore makes teenagers and kids develop an aggressive behavior over time.
Discussion
A meta-analysis research on effect of gaming on teen aggression reported a positive relationship between teen exposure to violent video games and development of aggression. The sampled teens came from Australia, China, United States and Germany. The study reported that exposing kids to video games led to adolescent aggression. A study by Shao and Wang (2019) , reported that exposure to video gaming indicated a 0.05 mark, equivalent to 5% variation in adolescent violence. The consistent findings confirmed the adverse effect that video games have on teenagers in their later stages of life. As, Arriaga, Monteiro and Esteves (2011) explained, video games depicting aggression make teenagers acquire repeat and violence related knowledge spheres which include aggression desensitization, violent beliefs and attitudes as well as aggressive perceptual schemata.
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The research confirmed that consistent playing of video games promotes an aggressive personality and reinforces the likelihood of aggressive demeanour. The meta-analysis study validated the claim that exposure to too much aggression in video games makes it easy for a teenager to become accustomed to violence (Saleem, Anderson & Gentile, 2012). The teenagers and kids who are exposed to violent video games develop emotional apathy towards the detrimental consequences of violence. According to the research, teenagers who watch video games for a protracted duration reach a point where they consider violence an acceptable way of solving problems (Shao & Wang, 2019 ) . Binge playing of video games instils normative believes about aggression, hence with time, the teenagers are more likely to become violent.
A study conducted on video games and adolescent fighting claimed that violence depicted in the context of video games has a high probability of heightening physical and emotional reactions that denote antisocial attitudes, aggression and criminal tendencies. The evidence obtained from the research findings also reported a positive relationship between gaming and fighting ( Happ, Melzer & Steffgen, 2013) . ‘First person shooters’ is a video game which prompts the player to shoot other characters by viewing the action through the perspective of a protagonist. A study on the effect created by the game indicated that this particular genre of games stirred a reduction of empathy and heightened aggression related behaviours among children and teenagers ( Anderson et al., 2010) . New evidence on consequences of first person shooter showed that the aggression portrayal on the video acts as a hindrance to formation of wellbeing among teenagers and kids.
In a certain study, some students were requested to play violent games whereas another group was asked to play non-violent games. While the two groups were playing, the researchers depicted a Good Samaritan scenario. A few meters from where the groups were playing, a fight was simulated where one person was hit and the assaulter other escaped, leaving the victim injured and needing assistance. The group that had been asked to play a violent game took 450% longer than the students playing a non-violent game to respond to the alarm raised by the injured victim. The study confirmed fears that playing video games that depict violence inculcate anti-social behaviour and apathy towards consequences that result from violent actions ( Happ et al., 2013) . Video games such as the first shooter lures the player into a certain state of mind such as a hypnosis which makes them susceptible to aggressive images and themes.
A research study by a team in Brick University in Canada was carried on four school years students aged 14 or 15 at the onset and 17 or 18 at the conclusion of the research. The research findings obtained gave a clear link between a sustained duration of playing video with a violence context and an increase in hostile behaviour. The study reported that violent video games have similar adverse effects on boys and girls. The research results raised concerns due to their significant correlation on violence. The sampled participants were seen to incline to the argument that aggression is an effective method to employ when dealing with provocation and conflict ( Hasan, Begue, Scharkow & Bushman, 2013) . The study by Canadian researchers suggested that players who were exposed to violent video gaming had a higher likelihood of reacting aggressively to subtle provocations such as being bumped on accidently. The publishment on the Journal of Development Psychology was carried on 1492 participants, 51% of them male while 49% being females. The students gave individual responses on questions such as the number of times they pushed or reacted aggressively to someone who provoked them. The psychologists used the answers given to assign each an aggression score level.
Analysis results showed that teenagers who played video games portraying aggression over a long period recorded a steeper rise in individual violent tendency during the study. The control group that played non-violent games over a number of years exhibited no signs of increased aggression. The aggression trend among the participants still prevailed after researchers factored other considerations that could precipitate aggression such as marijuana use and parental divorce. Professor Teena Willoughby, a lead researcher termed the study as the first to establish a correlation between sustained violent video playing and development of violent behaviours.
Vast majority of studies have found a strong direct relationship between exposure to video games that portrayed violence and growth of anti-social tendencies in teenagers and kids. Playing video games that depict aggression has convincingly shown evidence pointing to exertion of influence on social behaviours ( Anderson et al., 2010) . Continued playing of violent video games has an immediate implication on change of behaviour among kids and teenagers. For example, participants in undertaken studies were found to be more likely to ‘punish’ unseen rivals for instance through loud noise bursts (Shao & Wang, 2019). The participants also indicated a psychological desensitization as indicated by measurements of heart rate and skin conductance. Individuals who played video games were noted to be less likely to hear an altercation simulated outside the laboratory. The participants judged the fight as less serious and responded slowly than their counterparts who played non-violent games when they were called to offer assistance. After playing the violent video game, the children participants were noted to be more likely to use real disabled hand guns ( Arriaga et al., 2011) . The studies made a conclusion that individuals who engage in violent video playing experience a steeper increase in aggressive behavioral tendencies.
The adverse influence of video games on behaviour change on kids and teenagers is undeniable in the long and short term. The discussion has shown a striking evidence that links violent video playing to development of aggressive behaviour in teenagers. Violent games where aggression is portrayed has a high potency of producing negative effects that relate to violence. Multiple meta-analysis researches have provided current and compelling evidence that playing of violent video games lead to development of physical aggression. Consistent video gaming among teenagers and kids contribute to an increase in deviance and multiple risk behaviours associated to violence. A vocal carder of researchers’ associates gaming to increase in aggression behaviours among teems such as pushing and hitting. The above analysis is evidence enough to implicate video games to aggression over time. The effect size of the carried studies has a real world significance which implies that children may develop errant behaviours for example criminality and aggression. Parents ought to take caution on the calibre of video games that kids play by reading ratings, limiting access by age and maturity and setting time boundaries to protect their children from the likely negative side effects.
References
Anderson, C.A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E.L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A., Rothstein, H.R., & Saleem, M. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151-173.
Arriaga, P., Monteiro, M. B., & Esteves, F. (2011). Effects of playing violent computer games on emotional desensitization and aggressive behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(8) , 1900-1925.
Happ, C., Melzer, A., & Steffgen, G. (2013). Superman v. BAD man? The effects of empathy and game character in violent video games. Cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking. 1-7.
Hasan, Y., Begue, L., Scharkow, M., & Bushman, B. J. (2013). The more you play, the more aggressive you become: A long-term experimental study of cumulative violent video game effects on hostile expectations and aggressive behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 224-227.
Rideout, V. (2013). Zero to eight: Children's media use in America 2013. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.
Saleem, M., Anderson, C. A., & Gentile, D. A. (2012). Effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on children's helpful and hurtful behaviors. Aggressive Behavior, 38(4), 281-287.
Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). Effect of Violent Video Games on Adolescent Aggression: Moderated Mediation Effect of Family Environment and Normative Beliefs. Frontiers in psychology , 10 , 384.
Ward, M. R. (2010). Video games and adolescent fighting. The Journal of Law and Economics , 53 (3), 611-628.
