Effects of Video

Games on
Teens

ii

AIM:
The aim of this research project is to find out more about the effects of video games on teenagers living in Suva
area.
 iii

METHODOLOGY
The following research methods were used to compile information needed for this project.
1. Primary Research-Fifteen questionnaires were handed out to collect information from teenagers who have
been playing video games for 3 or more years. The participants were students from Indian College and some
young people residing in Nasese. The selection of participants was done in such a way that there was balance in
terms of gender and ethnicity. The teenagers who responded to the questionnaires were aged between 12 – 18
years.

2. Secondary Research-This was conducted using electronic sources (internet)

 iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following people are acknowledged for their contribution to this project:

• My parents-for providing me the necessary resource and guidance.

• My English teacher, Mrs Hakimul Dil -for advising on the format of this project.
• Those friends who answered my questionnaires.
The support and co-operation of the above mentioned people enabled me to successfully complete this research
project.
 v

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITYy
I, Ajsan Aje, hereby, declare that this project was of my own work. All secondary sources have been duly
acknowledged and referenced.

Signature______
_
Date :
10/06/10
 vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page number
1. Cover Page i
2. Title Page ii
3. Aim iii
4. Methodology iv
5. Acknowledgment v
6. Declaration of Originality vi
7. Table of Contents vii
8. Introduction 1
9. Background of Survey Area 2
10. Secondary Research 3-4
11. Primary Research 5-8
12. Recommendation 9
13. Conclusion 10
14. Reference 11
15. Appendix 12

vii

INTRODUCTION
The chronicles of technology in video games are increasingly becoming more advanced than ever before.
Video games such as Xbox, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 are the most popular among youngsters and adults
alike. Video games developers are constantly developing a long list of cool features and effects to attract more
consumers to buy their latest products. Not to mention that the video game itself is a fast growing, multibillion
dollar industry. Most hardware used in game consoles and personal computers are getting faster and cheaper
as demand increases in time. There are even specialized courses or programs that offer a comprehensive
approach towards learning what is required to become successful in video game development. These programs
are for those who are keen to become video game developers in the near future. Courses are usually taught by
industry video game developers themselves. Big companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and ATI
Technology are pumping millions into research and other recent developments in video games as the industry
becomes more competitive. Video games provide a medium that engages a person for long period of time.
Gamers will often return to the same game many times. Research has proven that video games are having
huge impact on the lifestyle of young people today (Wisegeek 2010).

People are often addicted to playing video games in their spare time. It is therefore, very important that one
should play video and computer games in moderate amounts so they are able to live a balanced life. However,
if these video games are used in the right manner, they could inspire learning, especially for young kids. A
growing number of video games are designed for multiple players. Gamers are usually played with friends or
with another person they knew from the internet. Some hardcore gamers prefer to go for video games which
can be a real challenge for them to tackle. Often times, video games often place the gamer in a fantasy or
science fiction setting and drive the game play via a prominent storyline. Other video games are not suitable for
young children as they contain a lot of violence. As computer graphics and special effects become more
realistic, violence is one of the major concerns among many parents. Whichever way this may seem to others,
many experts have to claim that the child's violence behavior is related to playing video games. (Gamespot
2010)

In Fiji, Video games are becoming a regular source of entertainment and spending pastime. And this is all
evident with the increasing number of gaming centres in and around Suva area.

BACKGROUND OF SURVEY AREA

A map of Gardiner Road
Some residents of Gardiner Rd, answered the questionnaires. The age range of these residents that answered
the questionnaires are 12-17.

A map of Indian College.

Some students of Indian College answered questionnaires and live mainly around Suva City. These students
age group are 15-17 years of age.

SECONDARY RESEARCH
The effects of videogames is an argument that has been waged by politicians, game developers, parents,
gamers, etc. Many say that just simply being exposed to violent videogames means the gamer would resort to
violence when interacting with others in the community whereas others say that gamers are not that stupid that
they would turn into a maniac after playing a violent videogame. And than there are arguments against
videogames one of the many is that videogames decreases a students learning curve. In 2002 a concept called
the GAM model was presented by Anderson and Bushman than explained the relationship between
videogames and the gamer:

Until the recent resurgence in interest in video games in the past decade, research on the topic was minimal.
The greatest recent contribution has been Anderson and Bushman's general aggression model (GAM), which
explains both the development of aggression and individual differences in susceptibility to the influence of
violent video games. Because of the many biological and physical changes that occur during puberty, exposure
to violent games should affect the processes that operate within the GAM. In order to control the effects of
video game violence, one must first understand the effect it has on the brain, including in the areas of
aggression and hostility.

In the past 30 years, video games have had a major impact on how people spend their leisure time. The first
generation of video games were nothing more than simple geometric shapes, one or more of which could be
controlled by the game player. Each generation of games always uses the newest technologies available,
leading to more impressive graphics and realism. Along with these new technologies come more realistic
violent acts and situations. Also with each new generation of video games, people are spending more time and
money on them. In this article the term video games will be used to define any interactive multimedia in which
the human game player has control over the main "character" in a simulated game world. This can include all
types of video games such as those played on arcade machines (like the Tekken series), home consoles (like
Sony's Playstation), hand-held consoles (like Nintendo's Gameboy) and personal computers (like the Doom
series). The video game industry has grown by leaps and bounds since it's inception in the 1970s. One of the
industry's giants, Nintendo, sold an average of three games every second from 1983 to 1995. That adds up to
over one billion games. That is equal to one game for every teenager on earth, or enough games that, laid end
to end, scan the entire equator two and a half times ("Nintendo sells one billionth game," 1995). An industry war
has begun to see who can build the newest, fastest, most popular game.

The explosion of the video game industry in the past decade has had many people questioning the content of
the games being released. The main concern is that of violence and violent acts within the games. The newest
generation of games is so realistic that the line between "simulations" and video games has greatly been
blurred. They are so realistic that the United States government has even released a game, entitled America's
Army, to help train the next generation of military specialists. In the late 1990's a large number of high-school
shootings were blamed on violent video games, the most devastating being the shooting at Columbine High
School in Colorado in 1999. These shootings raise a valid concern that violent video games may be affecting
the aggression of children and developing adolescents.

The General Aggression Model

The GAM attempts to explain both the development of aggression and individual differences in susceptibility to
the influence of violent video games. According to the GAM, both situational and personological variables
interact to affect a person's internal state (Anderson & Bushman 2002). The internal state contains cognitions
(thoughts), affects (feelings) and arousals (physical). All three of these items influence each other, and each
has and effect on an individual's interpretation of an aggressive act. Once the brain's interpretation is complete,
decision-making processes start to occur.

The GAM also states that violent video games have both short term and long term effects. In the short tem, the
games are a situational variable, causing an increase in aggressive cognitions, affects and arousal. The long
term effects are just hypothesis, as insufficient research has been done to test its effect's.

This is due to the fact that research on this topic is fairly new, so no longitudinal data is yet available. Anderson
and Bushman (2002), as cited in (Gamespot 2010) hypothesized that violent video games influence behavior
by promoting aggressive beliefs and attitudes, thus creating aggressive schema, aggressive behavioral scripts,
and aggressive expectations. They also claim that it desensitizes individuals to aggression. This can be seen
on a large scale if one looks at the progression of violence in video games over the past 20 years. When Super
Mario Bros. was first released in the 1980s, it was considered a violent game. Even though the game was
highly fictitious and featured a very cartoon-like look, the main character broke blocks and attempted to destroy
his enemies by jumping on their heads. The Super Mario Bros series hardly seems violent by today's
standards. Recent games such as Mortal Kombat feature realistic graphics and controls, but also extreme
blood and gore. In this game you fight a human-like opponent in attempt to wear him down. The match is
finished with a "Fatality," a move which kills your opponent in a very graphic fashion. Common "Fatalities"
include burning opponents alive, cutting their heads off, and even ripping out their spinal cord using the skull.
Games like this have greatly affected today's standards of a violent game.

The GAM helped to show how complicated of an issue the relationship between violence, video game, and
aggression really is. Gentile claims it has an additive effect. This means that those whom already are high in
certain factors, mainly hostility, are much more at risk to become more aggressive due to influence by violent
video games. Those subjects who are rated as low in hostility have been found to have almost no affect on their
aggression levels when influenced by playing violent video games.

Formulation of the GAM greatly helps us in understanding this complex relationship between aggression and
violent games. Kirsch was the first to apply the GAM specifically to adolescents. Because of the large amount
of biological and physical changes that occur during puberty, exposure to violent games should affect the
processes that operate within the GAM. These processes are already in place at adolescence, but during this
time they are still influenced by current environments. During adolescence there is a general increase in the
aggression. This aggression combined with the exposure to violent media will reinforce and increase
aggressive cognitions, affects and arousal. This interaction has a negative affect on the internal state, leading
to increased aggression. The effects of this exposure are greater during early adolescence than middle and
later adolescence. This is because the amount of physiological arousal is greatest during this time. (Gamespot
2010)

PRIMARY RESEARCH
Questionnaires Analysis

1. Figure. 1.0
No. of Hours People Play

2, 14%
4, 29%
1-5 hour(s)
5-10 hours
10+ hours

8, 57%

Source: Questionnaire

Gamers Who Play 5-10 Hours a Week

Majority of gamers (57% consisting of 8 people) play 5-10 hours a week. Five of the gamers in the majority
group had their playing hours restricted.

Gamers Who Play 1-5 Hours a Week

Four gamers (29 %) spent time playing videogames 1-5 hour(s). Two of the gamers had their videogame hours
restricted.

Gamers who Play 10+ Hours

Two gamers (14%) play videogames for more than ten hours a week. Neither of the gamers videogame hours
were restricted.

The above findings suggest that majority of the participants faced some degree of restriction with regards to
playing video games. Those participants who were not restricted ended up playing longer hours of video
games. However, it can also be said that those participants in 5-10 hours category may have been cautious
themselves on the number hours they spent on playing video games. All in all, the results do show that there
may be reasons for having restricted video games hours.

2. Fig. 2.0 Monetary investment on video games

6
5
4
3
2 $500 or less
1 $500 to $1000
0 $1000+
No. of people
who invested
money into
videogames
Source: Questionnaires

Gamers Who Invested $500 or less into Videogames

Five people (33%) invested less than $500 or less in their videogames.

Gamers Who Invested $500 to $1000 into Videogames

Four people (21%) invested between $500-$1000 in their videogames
5

Gamers Who Invested More Than $1000 into Videogames

 Six people (46%) invested over $1000 in their videogames.

It can be deduced that gamers spent substantial amount on buying video games equipment. Greater proportion
of the participants have invested more than thousand dollars. The money spent on video games are mainly for
accessories, games and console(s).

3. Fig 3.0 Link between Video games and students academic work

How Many Gamers Feel that Videogames

, 0% is a Distraction to Their Studies

, 0%
2, 13%

Y
N
-
-

13, 87%

Majority of gamers (13 people which is 87%) felt that videogames was not a distraction to their studies but
rather the opposite as they all wrote that it relaxed their minds after the many hours of studying.
The two gamers (13%) who felt videogames was a distraction to their studies reasoned that they were playing
too much. However, some parents did raise concern that their children are very much distracted by video
games despite the denials from participants. This implies that there may be differences in opinion between
parents and children with the earlier strongly trying to restrict the video game hours.

Fig 4.0 Addiction to video

How Many People are Satisfied with the Videogames They Have

, 0%
, 0%

7, 47%

8, 53%

Seven people (47%) were satisfied with the videogames they currently have. Six gamers reasoned that they
had not finished the games they have so it was keeping them occupied for the time being. The remaining one
reasoned that he did not get bored of the same games he played repeatedly.
Eight people (53%) were unsatisfied with the videogames they currently have. All reasoned that they had
finished they games and were bored with playing the same games over and over again. The above findings
suggest mixed reaction with regards to participants attitude and preferences. All participants to some degree
show they satisfaction in playing video games.
6
There are some who have special preference, while others are content with playing same games over and over.
Fig 5.0 Physical and social effects.

Did Videogames Affect any of the Gamers Social and Physical Status?
, 0%

, 0%

0, 0%
Yes
No
-
-
15, 100%

All fifteen participants (100%) in the questionnaires wrote that videogames did not affect their physical fitness
and neither their social status. This research finding provides enough evidence to prove that playing video
games does not affect ones physical and social status. However, information gathered through secondary
research suggests that excessive hours of video games can lead to serious psychological damages that can
make the gamers feel anti-social (Gamespot, 2010)

Fig. 6.0 Console Brands.

What Brand Console Do Gamers Use

10
8
Playstation
6
Microsoft
4
Nintendo
2

Source: Questionnaires

Ten gamers (75%) use the Playstation brand. Five gamers (25%) use the Microsoft brand. Playstation and the
Microsoft brand consoles mainly involve types of games that only a young person may enjoy (usually fighting,
killing, racing, etc). This might point that other family members who would not be interested in playing along with
the gamer. Nintendo on the other hand offers a wide range of videogames that are meant specifically for
families to enjoy together (e.g trivia, sports games where the player is doing strenuous physical activity through
Nintendo’s simulation pad, sing-a-longs, etc)

Figure 7.0
 Which Type of Games Do Gamers Like the Most

4
Adventure
3
Arcade
2 Racing
RPG
1
Sports
0

Seven people favour adventure and arcade games which tend to be violent games. There is a strong
possibility that these gamers are rooted by violent games. On the other hand, the majority of eight chose the
non violent type of games (RPG, sports and racing) so for these gamers, they are probably capable of playing
violent games without being affected negatively.
 8

RECOMMENDATIONS
The following suggestions are made to minimize the negative impact of videogames on young people.

• Parents/guardians need to regulate the number of hours spent on playing videogames.

• The government should ban games which have explicitly violent contents.

• The gamers need to be educated on the short term/long term effects of spending long hours of playing
videogames.

• Parents/guardians need to be mindful of the high costs involved in purchasing equipment and games
which could be utilized on something more necessary.

• Government should induce programs that educate gamers so that they won’t suffer any negative effects.

• Students must be made aware that uncontrolled hours of videogames can be detrimental to their
academic performance.
 9

CONCLUSION
Upon completion of this research it can be said that playing video games can affect a person in several ways.
However, it seems that the influence of videogames depends on the player.

The research findings reveal that those who take in themes of violence seriously are the most affected. On the
other hand, if the player can distinguish between reality and fiction and does not play violent games on such a
personal level that is not emotionally are affected powerfully. Having fun about playing the game is okay but the
player should have a strong sense about the line between having fun when playing and becoming angry
frustrated while playing. Moreover, there here is no clear evidence to prove that video games have significant
impact on stunts academic performance. But the fact that some participants feel that videogame hours need to
be regulated is enough to prove that it may be having some detrimental impact on the gamers. It is not
necessary to limit playing hours to less than one hour as research has proven that a player can play six plus
hours without getting addicted as long as his socializing, physical and academic activities are balanced well.

The GAM model discussed in secondary research can also apply to Fiji’s situation. Videogames are possible
fuels of youth crime if the youth are not educated on the effects of videogames. Furthermore, the substantial
amount of money spent on video games suggests that video games may not be affordable to people of lower
socio-economic bracket.

In the light of above findings and discussion, it can concluded that video game is amongst the popular leisure
activities for teenagers living in Suva Area. Its impact depends on the usage and not everyone can afford the
cost of equipment and games. Thus, video games can be considered to be a necessary want for those who can
afford.
 10

REFERENCE

Gamespot 2010. Retrieved June 26th, 2010, from https://www.gamespot.com/GAM.html?

type=previews&mode=top&om_act=convert&om_clk=subnav&tag=subnav%3BGAM/

Wisegeek 2010. Retrieved June 26th, 2010, from

https://www.wisegeek.com/http://videogames.q=games&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org./

Maps were downloaded from Google Earth software.

 11

APPENDIX
Questionnaire

1. How many hours a week do you spend playing videogames?

2. Do you feel that videogames is a major distraction to your studies? Give reason.
3. Since what age have you been playing videogames?
4. Do your parents restrict your videogame hours? Give reason.
5. How often a day do you think about videogames?
6. Which genre of videogames is your favourite?
7. How much have you invested in your videogames?
8. Which console do you use?
9. Define the ration you spend studying to videogames.
10. Are you satisfied with the amount of videogames you play? Give reason.
11. At the moment are you satisfied with the games you have? Give reason.
12. Do you think playing videogames affects your physical skills? Give reason.
13. Do you think playing videogames affects your social skills? Give reason.
12