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Concerns about PC Games

PC games are the fastest growing industry and it is second in terms of profit next to the music industry. The sales of video games or PC games are increasing dramatically and kids are finding it very entertaining and fun. According to a study, it is found that 90 percentages of children plays PC game occasionally. The PC games are not only popular among children, but also adults are very much attracted to it. The research and studies conducted on the effects of the video games claim that the PC games produce huge impact on the youth culture.

Until now, only few effects of the PC games have been found, and it has major effects on children socialization and development. While there are few positive aspects of playing PC games, there are many negative effects such as violence, excessive playing, racial stereotyping, and gender stereotyping. Some children are heavy users of this game and this leads them to neglect their school work, and even avoid going to schools.

Not only schools, children even neglect other activities in their day-to-day schedule. This also increases many health problems like obesity among children. Therefore parents should control their time while playing the PC games. Young children cannot differentiate fantasy and real life, and this could lead them vulnerable to the violence in the games. Children will become fearful or over aggressive.

Also, studies show that PC games increase the racial discrimination among children and even children will get negative portrayals of people from other culture or ethnic background.

The Effects of PC Games

Computer games are very popular among people especially kids are very much addicted to these games. The addiction to these games is not a mental illness or a physical disease and it just the behavior that has become popular with the advent of new technology. Kids with this addiction set aside all other work or activities to play the computer games endlessly. The PC games addiction does not have any objective diagnosis or any physical component, but the consequences of this addiction is very much similar to drug addiction and alcoholism.

Some kids even allow their academic to collapse to spend more time in playing their favorite PC games. The kids who have become addicted gamers forget most of their other works and even feel very difficult to make room for other things in their life. The most dangerous effect is that the kids with this addiction often isolate themselves from rest of the world. Mostly these kids have problem in mingling with the people and have difficulty in face-to-face or human contacts.

The increased amount of time spend for playing PC games may lead to poor academic performance and even the adults who are addicted to play these games lose their job. Some kids spend late nights and waste most of their daytime in PC games, and these lead them to perform very bad in other activities. Besides these effects, children addicted with PC games also spend less time with their parents and they even neglect to understand their role in the family.

Parents should understand the computer games addiction is an ingrained habit, not a true addiction and this can be easily controlled by following some guidelines. This addiction should be controlled very early to avoid some of the health problems.

Filed Under: Computers, Games Tagged With: Games, Personal computer game, Portal 2

Positive Effects of PC Games

PC games are very popular among the youngsters and children in all over the world. Though PC games are considered unhealthy, promote violence, and even cause addiction problems, there are positive effects of playing PC games. Studies suggests that playing PC games produces positive effects on children and even encourage high level of thinking. The online PC games that most of the children play require abstract thinking skills to win the game.

Some of the positive effects of playing PC games among children are spot thinking skills, multitasking, and resource management skills. The video or PC games require children to have hand-eye coordination, mathematical skills, and spatial sense. The battles and quests in the online PC games also have positive effects on kids and most of these games require controlling the character’s movement in the game. To control the characters movement, children require good decision making skills and good coordination.

Also, the quest games help to improve the memory skills in the children and also develop logistics thinking among children. The children are highly persuaded to reach their goals in the games and they develop good reading skills. The games that require others help to complete the task build good team work culture and cooperation skills among children.

Also, games in which the total family can play provide excellent time for bonding with the children and this help more parents to bond with their children in this fast paced age. Most games help children to build up various skills to reach higher levels or grades in their life.

Filed Under: Games, Internet Tagged With: Games, Personal computer game, Portal 2

Interactive Games: How they Compare to Real-life Exercise

Gaming consoles have successfully found a new market that even parents are getting involved in. The Nintendo Wii first made an impact, offering interactive sports games for users to play. As a result, users are forced up off of the couch and will burn more calories than playing traditional games. Since, there are a plethora of interactive games to get you moving on nearly every console, from dancing, aerobics, golf, and running.

These types of games are without a doubt much healthier for your child than traditional sit-on-the-couch-for-five-hours-until-you-beat-this-level games. But are interactive video games really that healthy? They certainly are not the same as exercising or playing sports outdoors. Here are a few things these video games lack:

Fresh air. Unless you are playing video games in the backyard, you will not gain the benefits of being in the great outdoors. At the same time, interactive sports games are an alternative for times when you cannot play outside, such as a blizzard or heat wave.
Sportsmanship. Sure, you can play these games with your friends and things can get competitive. However, real sportsmanship is gained from playing a game consistently through interpersonal communication. Having a computerized characters playing against each other on-screen just doesn’t have the same impact.
Professional guidance. Playing a workout game is not a bad thing. However, the safety of such games are questionable, particularly if you are using them to lose weight or gain muscle mass.

Interactive video games are not completely bad and you do not have to necessarily discourage them in your household. However, you should encourage some form of balance. Your child should have more outdoor play than video game play. Sports are not for everyone, but they should be encouraged, especially if your child shows interest through a video game. This way, he can make more friends and test his physical limits out on the field. If you are concerned that your child spends too much time playing video games, have a heart-to-heart talk. Talking down will only make matters worse.

Filed Under: Games, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Video game, Wii

How to Recognize the Signs of a Gaming Addiction in Your Child

Video games are part of the western culture. Children are being raised surrounded by technological advances that your parents and even you may not have had exposure to. It is only natural that children want to partake in technology, particularly video games. Video games are fun and rewarding, but can also be addictive.

Before you panic, know that it is normal for a child to want to play hours on end, particularly on the weekends when he doesn’t have responsibilities related to school or work. It is normal to want to play games. It is not normal when video games overtake your child’s life. There are signs to look for when determining whether or not your child has a gaming addiction:

Your child becomes enraged when he cannot play video games. He will likely get upset if he can’t but there is a fine line between being irritated and being over-emotional about the lack of gaming time.
He hides gaming time from you after you have laid out guidelines for play time. You will find that he will play at a friend’s house when they are supposed to be studying or calling off of work so he can finish a level.
His friends don’t call as often and you notice a lack of social time. Most children will have video game time and time outside the home with friends. If your child is increasingly becoming more of a home-body, it is time to talk to him.
Gaming interferes with school work. It is easy to procrastinate about homework and play a video game. Children usually turn around when their grades start to slip or after a parent-teacher conference about their grades. Addicts won’t care about grades.

If you have difficulty determining these signs, seek the help of an addiction specialist.

Filed Under: Games, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Video game, Video game addiction

Tips on Limiting Video Game Usage in Children

Video games are a fun form of entertainment. There is nothing quite like them. Advances in technology have made them more interactive and more realistic-looking than ever. This is a common way for a child to unwind after sitting in class for hours on end. Video games may seem harmless at first, especially if they do not contain inappropriate material such as sex, profanity, and violence.

Still, there are other points to consider. Do you find that your child plays for a long length of time both after school and on weekends? Does the only interaction with friends consist of playing a game online? The fact is that video games in themselves are not directly harmful, but playing them too often can potentially affect your child emotionally and physically. He may have difficulties dealing with real-life situations and may face health problems from a lack of physical activity.

The best thing to do is to limit your child’s video game usage early in life. It may be easy to let your child play for a while, especially if you have a million chores to do. If you let this type of routine continue, It is not too late to limit your child’s video game play time. Here are a few tips:

Encourage outdoor activities. This may take some work at first, because you will likely need to be the leader and play outside as well. Do not consider this a burden. Outdoor play is a great way to bond and a way for both of you to burn some calories.
Enroll your child in group activities, such as a sport he might be interested in. This will encourage interpersonal skills and teamwork.
Talk to your child about the video games and explain the importance of setting a time limit. Explain your reasoning and do not tell him “Because I said so” or anything else condescending in manner.
Set an example. Adults like to play games too. Do not encourage your child to do something else while you sit there and play games on your own.

Filed Under: Games, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Game, Video game

Violent Video Games Can Leave Long-Term Impacts

Violent video games are generally rated “T” for Teenagers, “M” for mature people 17 and older, and “A-O” for adults only. The level of violence increases in severity and prevalence the more mature the video games are. This is only one of the reasons why video games are rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The ratings are used as guides to help parents decide if a particular game is suitable for their children. Also, games rated M and A-O are not available for purchase without proof of age. Still, some parents purchase violent games and some children sneak these games into the home from friends.

Video games are fake, but are increasingly made to appear realistic. Advances in gaming technology also rely more on the player’s actions and direct involvement in the game. You do not simply push a button on a controller anymore. Systems can detect movements, so children now sometimes mimic what it’s like to shoot a gun, use a knife, and other violent methods.

There is evidence suggesting that children who play violent video games are more likely to be aggressive in real life situations. This is understandable for a child that plays hours of violent video games a day. However, there is no indication that playing a video game will make your child violent in real life. In some cases, aggressive behavior is blames on violent games when there could really be an underlying problem, such as a mental condition or a disruptive household.

You may be able to discourage violent video games from your child’s pastimes but it is unrealistic to believe that you can shelter him completely from them. Follow the ratings systems and do not purchase a video game that is not deemed appropriate for his age group. Set at time limit for playing video games so that your child isn’t completely swept up in them. Encourage other activities such as sports or helping you with chores. Finally, talk to your child. Ask about the games they play to gauge whether a particular game makes any impacts.

Filed Under: Games, Parenting Tagged With: Entertainment Software Rating Board, Video game, Video game controversy

A Guide to Video Game Ratings: What do They Mean for Your Child?

Video game ratings help guide parents during the buying process. Since 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has reviewed every video game before the creators are allowed to sell it onto the market. In some cases, your child will not be able to buy certain video games on his own. This helps give you, the parent, control over the content your child uses.

There are six ratings that the ESRB issues: EC (Early Childhood), E (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone ages 10 and older), T (Teens ages 13 and up), M (Mature for ages 17 and older) and AO (Adults only, 18 and up). These ratings are based on a variety of factors, including the level of age appropriate situations, language, violence, nudity, gambling and humor. EC games contain mostly educational material and do not contain any offensive content. AO-rated games, on the other hand contain excessive violence with blood and gore as well as profanity, nudity scenes, and sexual content.

These ratings help determine a game’s appropriateness for your child given his age and maturity level. Some parents feel their older teens are ready for M-rated games and will purchase them for them. If have the ultimate authority in this matter. Keep in mind, however, that this will not stop your child from trying to play these restricted games at a friend’s house.

You might notice that a certain video game has a rating of “RP”. This means that the rating process is pending on the behalf of the ESRB. These ratings are only given during early advertisements a company uses prior to a release date. Sometimes these ads will give you an idea of a potential rating. If the ads indicate a “mature” or “adult” rating, it is important that you relay this to your child. There is no reason to excite him over a game he will not be able to get.

Filed Under: Games, Parenting Tagged With: Entertainment Software Rating Board, Video game, Video game content rating system

Gaming Addictions

Today’s people are very sportive. They keep themselves busy in one way or another. Kids are among them too. The best way to keep one healthy is through some physical work. Physical work means the one involving proper movement of the body and breaking up some sweat. One of the best physical works today is gaming. The term gaming addictions is usually referred to computer games but is also used for the physical type, when one tends to involve in it for too long keeping the rest of the work aside.

Game addictions are too much involvement in any particular game. While some do not care about it and just think of it as fun, there is an evil side to it. Too much of anything is bad. When people get addicted to games too much, their health condition decreases. Too much of sweat causes dehydration and results in some disorders. The muscles also begin to cramp.

There is a limitation to everything. When that boundary exceeds, it causes problems. Game addictions also decreases the useful time required for other works. Various problems arise and it leads to fatigue. So such addictions should be avoided. It also leads to lose of appetite. The other common type of game addiction is found among growing children and some adults. It is the addiction towards computer gaming.

Computer game is a virtual play field. People can control the characters in it with just the press of few buttons. But even though it is lot of fun and entertainment, it often leads to addiction. Kids keep playing it for longer duration. This is problematic as they harm their eyes due to prolonged exposure to the screens. Kids often lag in studies and other co-curricular activities when they are addicted to these kinds of things. Hence it should be avoided.

Filed Under: Games, Internet Tagged With: Addiction, Health, Video game addiction

PC Games

Image by Lord Dane via Flickr

Entertainment is required for every person on this planet. To relieve their stress causes due to heavy work and worries, people need some kind of entertainment. Entertainment can be of any type as long as it takes their minds of their busy schedule. While adults go for some entertainment to freshen themselves, there are some for whom entertainment is a part of life. Kids need entertainment too. Their favorites are TV and play.

Playing is the true form of entertainment. While most people go for various outdoor and indoor games, there are some who tend to play from the comforts of their homes. For such people, PC games are most prominent. A PC game is simply a very large set of computer program designed to operate according to the instruction of the user. It receives commands from the keyboard. These commands are carried out in the form of actions at the same time.

Computer gaming industry is a very popular field with extreme profits. As the number of hardcore gamers increase day by day, sales also increase. PC games may be of different types. The categories of PC games include action, strategy, one person and multiplayer. While most of the games are single player type, where only one player is allowed to operate the game at an instant, there are also multiplayer type, where you connect with multiple players either through LAN or the internet.

Most of today’s games are easy to buy. It can either be shopped online or can be bought from a game store. To avoid piracy, a game CD/DVD will also be equipped with copy protection software to avoid sharing of the game. Most of today’s PC games deliver high definition contents with the progress in the field of graphics technology. While some games can be played at a regular PC, some requires certain expansion cards for the game to operate smoothly.

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Games, Personal computer game