Violent video games cause harm to adolescents as they trigger behavioral changes that are more inclined towards violence. Carey (2013) notes that there is a “relationship between violent video games and violent behavior.” However, this is based on short-term impacts that increase the rates of hostility urges and the level of mild and aggressive behavior by adolescents consumed in violent video games. This creates an adverse impact that exacerbates the intensity of social behavior that children learn from video games (Brandhorst, n.d.). In the long-term, the imitation of behaviors found in violent video games is bound to affect the social skills and values of children as they grow.
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Lessons learned through video games can cause profound effects on a child, and the magnitude of severity in social skills and values affected by the type of video games. This calls to caution parents to monitor and understand what type of video games their children are prone to and potential repercussions they can experience. The development of behaviors such as bullying is a warning sign of the harm resulting from video games among adolescents.
Further, studies conducted in different schools find that “aggressive children are more likely to be drawn to violent video games and show a high likelihood of being involved in schoolyard conflicts” (Carey, 2013). The use of violent video games induces adverse effects on the behavior of children due to their potential to “socialize” them over time. The videos prompt the imitation of the behaviors and characters in the video games culminating in aggressive behavior, rage, and dismissive brutality (Ferguson & Olson, 2014). Arguably, video games, especially violent ones, cause profound harm to adolescents.
QUESTION: How do video games affect the cognitive and creative thinking skills among adolescents?