For or against video games?

[MosterOfficial ☆]

Different experts present their arguments on how these games affect children and adolescents

With the technological advance of recent years, there has been a profound change in society, which affects almost all areas of life. Specifically, a debate has been opened around videogames, since in one way or another they influence families, the education of children, their leisure and the distribution of their time.

In this sense, Sonsoles Vidal, lawyer and author of different studies on minors - such as «Violent minors, a minor issue? Filioparental violence and misuse of technology-, and the spokesmen of the Spanish Association of Video Games (AEVI), present different arguments about the influence of the use of videogames in the behavior and learning of children.

In favor of video games

On the one hand, AEVI spokesmen are committed to the use of video games, as they improve children's abilities and skills and even are useful for regenerating educational methods. The spokesmen of this association are convinced that the combination of the game with education favors the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills. "It has been shown that the brain is predisposed for faster learning with games than with books," experts say.

- Video games improve children's cognitive abilities; They develop their inventiveness, creativity and intellectual and analytical capacity.

- They motivate them to overcome challenges, which increases their motivation and commitment.

- Frequent use of them enriches the ability of logic, deduction and reasoning, increases their spatial orientation and, in addition, better results are observed in mathematics of adolescents who use them.

- You can take advantage of its educational and recreational part to stimulate children, so they are optimal tools for their immersion in any type of activity.

- They are useful in order to accelerate and improve the content acquisition process.

- Enhance mental agility, decision making and the ability to resolve conflicts. In addition, they allow comparing different strategies and consequences of the decisions made.

- Help increase reflexes, coordination and trust.

Against videogames

On the other hand, Sonsoles Vidal says that video games are one of the agents that separate children from the family, at such a decisive stage for their education. In addition, «video games, like any other type of game, create addiction. It is not only about the game itself or the contents, but about the time spent, which is no longer invested in other things. This has negative consequences, especially in people who are still developing, ”explains Sonsoles. Even so, the expert indicates that the main problem lies in the lack of parental control and that many of these games can increase different abilities and skills in children.

- Video games are detrimental to school duties and, in many cases, influence school failure, since there is a rejection of the school by the adolescent. - They are addictive and can cause evasion in the child and even favor irritability, anxiety and aggressive reactions due to the dependence that these games generate. - They affect children leaving less of their rooms or, directly, enclose themselves. They may end up losing interest in other types of activities, which implies a decompensation in their priorities, customs and relationships. - They generate bad communication with parents and make the child get used to not explaining and not expressing their emotions in family. - They can cause a hostile environment and rises in the tone of voice at home. - Also, they affect friendships, which can be neglected or damaged. - The child may suffer daytime fatigue and drowsiness. During the day, you may not be able to face productive tasks because of the lack of concentration and attention. - In addition, inhibitions and traits of insecure personalities are accentuated, and difficulties in social competence are generated. - Video games create problems to comply with the rules and limits established by parents, precisely because of the immersion in the game and the addiction they generate. - Currently, these games are presented in online format. Each time, parents have less information about how their children are entertained because they are no longer the ones who buy them.

Violent video games

On the games in which the violent images are constant, Sonsoles explains that young people can fall into the desire to occupy the roll of the protagonist, due to the morbidity that causes harm without pain, which can confuse them. In addition, he adds that it is a totally gratuitous violence, that it overstimulates them and that, although it does not have to have a direct consequence, it influences aggressive reactions. «Teenagers live a stage of their life in which they dare much more and want to try all kinds of things. In addition, violent video games are not typical of irritable or aggressive people, but are available to everyone. Care must be taken because it has been shown that violent images influence the behavior of minors, ”says the lawyer.

For their part, AEVI spokesmen agree not to allow children to use video games that are not recommended for their age. The PEGI Code is used to adapt consumption recommendations to different ages. «We have self-regulation on this subject and we are very strict with the ages at which certain games must be acquired. This works the same as other types of audiovisual content, where the appropriate age to watch a movie is reported, for example », the spokesmen of the association point out.