Nowadays, there is the banning on the sale of violent video games to minors. The dispute is over whether it is a violation of free speech to ban them. But the issue is really about public health .The health of those who play and the health of everyone they encounter. In my opinion I think video games are punctually good and have benefit. Certainly it is good for children to play in fact, kids are not getting enough free play today, leading to high rates of diminished social capacities. They learn many things through play, especially friendly rough-and-tumble play which helps the brain develop in multiple ways including building social competence.
Some people argue that activities like video game play that on face value seem to be bad for you are really good for you. Playing video games is different from playing positive, constructive games. In fact, video games have an even more powerful influence than television and movies, whose detrimental effects have been documented for years. While violent videogames may promote some complex problem solving and coordination skills as well, they have many negative effects. Here are three related to moral functioning. First, in violent video game play the player learns to associate violence with pleasure rewards for hurting another character. This undermines moral sensitivity. Under normal conditions, human emotional wiring is designed to abhor violence and feel rewarded for helping others. Those who play violent video games build opposite intuitions that they take into the rest of life.
Besides that, children practice over and over the actions available in a game. The player practices violent behavior hundreds if not thousands of times, much more practice than normal activities receive. Whatever a person practices repeatedly becomes an automatic response. Violent games teach children how to behave like a criminal and to intentionally hurt others.
Moreover, video games can be additive because they give immediate rewards for learning. Child and adolescent brains are typically susceptible to addictions as their brains are under development till the middle 20s. Recent brain research is suggesting that any addictive behaviour. So, less empathy, pleasure in the pain of others, well practiced criminal behavior, decreased capacity for mature decision making. These are just a few of the potential side effects of violent video game play. This kind of moral character is far from the character of our foraging ancestors who were presumably avoidant of violence, cooperative and intelligent.
Besides that, violent media should be considered a health risk as great as tobacco use actually, the effects are stronger for the media. And society should have a say about the availability of violent media. It is unfair to put the policing of media products onto the backs of parents when there are so many toxic elements caused by humans to monitor in a child's life today food, air, water, soil, toys, personal products and parents do not receive the information they need to help make decisions. Parents could spend all the time being body guards of their children's every move because of the endless onslaught of harmful products and media.
To conclude, I must admit that I am biased towards virtue development and peaceful coexistence. Violent media do not typically lead to moral virtue or peacefulness because even just watching you are practicing through mirror neurons the opposite. Violent media can have enormous effects on brain and psyche, including delayed long term effects.
By
ZAFIRAH MUTALIB,
SMK ABDULLAH MUNSYI
PENANG
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