This is something I wrote for Speech class, the
assignment was to incorporate elements of story-telling to make the speech more
interesting than just spouting off research. So, I give you, (Drum roll….) The
Plight of Little Johnny: the tragic story of how video games affect children.
HOW
VIDEO GAMES AFFECT CHILDREN
Johnny is a 9 yr. old boy growing up in America. He does well in school, he has
lots of friends, he is a star member of the baseball team, he spends time with
his family, finishes his homework, and is the model of a well behaved little
boy. Until the day he unwrapped an Xbox given to him by Uncle Bob. It was an
innocent gift until Johnny’s days become absorbed by playing video games. He
is becoming violent from playing gory games. He is getting fat, because he quit
the baseball team, to have more time to keep playing video games. And worse of
all, he is becoming addicted to the games.
The reason Johnny is becoming so violent after hours of playing gory video
games is because constant violence will alter your brain. The brain’s neurons
are always changing, constantly adjusting to your situation and surroundings. If
the brain is exposed to violence on a regular basis, the frontal lobes of the
brain are affected and activity in those lobes slow down. The frontal lobes are
responsible for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior. One study show
that even 20 mins every day raises dangerous behavior from gamers. The young
the gamer, the more the violence affects the brain. Surveys found children ages
7 through 12 routinely play games rated M for mature audiences. 71% of all
videogames contain violence and 25% percent have extreme gore. Studies have
found that young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions
after just one week of playing violent video games.
Because
Johnny quit the baseball team to keep playing video games, he consequently
gained too much weight. Decrease in exercise and physical activity is one
of the leading causes for child obesity. Research done by the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention said that kids from the ages 8-18 spend an hour
and half every day playing video games. A recent study suggests every
hour children play video games may double their risk of obesity. Every week, there are 3 billion hours
spent playing video games globally. This means that video game usage is
displacing the time children could spend in more physically demanding pursuits
such as playing baseball in little Johnny’s case.
Quickly,
Johnny's life starts revolving around playing video games. When he isn't
playing the games, he is thinking about playing them. It has consumed his young
life. Although, it's not too surprising, because research shows that the
younger the gamer, the easier it is to become addicted. Subsequently, Johnny's
grades in school begin to fall, because he isn't turning in his homework. He can't
concentrate during class because his thoughts are on winning the next level of
the game. The definition of Addiction is "persistent compulsive use of a
substance known by the user to be harmful." He knows that when he plays
video games, instead of doing homework, his grades fall. But as hard as he tries
he can't resist the games. Which leads to depression. Now Johnny plays the
games to escape the hole he has dug himself into, to forget about his failing
grades, to escape his growing depression. And all of this was predicted
by Professor Gunter Schumann, from the Institute of Psychiatry. Professor
Schumann, who did research on internet addicts, discovered more
patterns of “abnormal white matter" on brain scans of internet addicts,
compared with scans of non-addicts. The research showed that the "white
matter" was blocking pathways related to emotions, decision-making, and
self-control. And other studies said, once addicted to video games, children
were more likely to become depressed, which leads to more addiction. Johnny’s
future looking closer to the classic video gamer, living in his parent’s
basement, playing video games 8-12 hours a day.
Now,
the once future Ivy League student reduced to a violent, fat kid who is
addicted to video games. Is there any hope for poor little Johnny? His parents could
send him to China, where they have over 200 military- style boot camps for
overcoming video game addiction. Or his parent could start reducing the time he is
allowed to play the games and have
interact with other people to start reversing the damages done by violent
games. To help him lose the weight gained from inactivity, he can re-join the
baseball team. Then Johnny’s parents can give him another hobby to fill his
time to help him get over his addiction. It will take time, up to two years for
severe addiction, but there is hope for little Johnny.
