Miller English 618 March 2002 Are video games a step in the right direction?Video Games made their first appearance in the 1970s however did not develop popularity until the 1980s. By the end of that decade, video games had become a preferred childhood leisure activity; psychologists urged many with the concerns of the ill effects of video games. Even The military has long been aware of some of the side effects of video games Some of the best fighter pilots in the world grew up playing these games. (Sullivan) Primitive video game research proved inconclusive on the overall effects of video games. Video games provide positive effects including a friendly method to introduce children to computers and may increase childrens hand-eye coordination and attention to detail. However, advancements in video game technology have had an extensive range of negative effects on the next generation including suggestive themes, physical problems and psychological disabilities.Many video games negatively utilize the advancements in video game technology in order to show more sexually explicit games and scenarios. Those video games and many others have received very little attention from adults. (Sullivan) The social content of video games may influence childrens attitudes towards gender roles. Hundreds of video games on the market have women depicted, helpless and unable to defend them selves, rather than initiating action. (Cesarone) One study found that the covers of the forty-seven most popular Nintendo games depicted 115 male and nine female characters; among these characters, twenty of the males played a dominant role while none of the females did. (Provenzo, 1992) women found themselves in need of rescue, in thirteen out of the forty-seven game scenarios tested. Many children have difficulty agreeing to themes presented in video games, leading to confusion and misunderstanding of the content. Secondly violence, another suggestive ...
