Parents and teachers should be aware how video games can influence youngsters, both in negative and in positive way. As two-thirds of children are playing computer games, they present a good tool how to communicate with certain age children and as well how to direct them. However most games contain violent content and are inappropriate for learning.
Computer games are played by two-thirds of children and young people aged 6-17. Few children and young people have no means of playing computer games at home. However, nearly one in five boys and two in five girls have access to such equipment but say they do not play computer games or video games in their leisure time. Among game-players, most play occasionally for short time, although one in five – especially boys, especially working-class children - plays regularly for substantial amounts of time (Livingstone 2008:62).
Computer games can be good for children. Young people today need more than just do basic mathematics and can read basic texts. Young children today are learning more about art, design, and technology from their video games than they are from our technologically impoverished schools. Young people today need to learn innovative thinking and high-tech skills in science and engineering to get high-paying jobs. Video games can change education because computers now make it possible to learn on a massive scale by doing the things that people do in the world outside of school (Shaffer 2006:2). Video games promote hand-eye coordination, visual scanning, auditory discriminations, and spatial skills. Some studies have found that playing video games can improve children´s visual attention, spatial iconic skills, computer literacy and to help improve academic performance. Durkin and Barber (2002) found that sixteen-years-olds who play computers game scored better than did peers who never played computers game on several measures, including positive school engagement, positive mental health, self-concept, friendship network, and activity involvement (Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005:354). If children are playing video games in such a way as to learn actively and critically, then they are: learning to experience the world in a new way, developing resources for future learning and problem solving, learning how to think about semiotic domains as design spaces that engage and manipulate people in certain ways and, in turn, help create certain relationships in society among people and groups of people, some of which have important for social justice (Gee 2007:37-38).
On the negative side, a host of studies have found relationships between playing video games, particularly those with violent content, and unhealthy outcomes. Most video games (89 percent) contained violent content. Killing is almost always presented as justified, sending the message that violence was an acceptable way. Second, Heintz-Knowles and Henderson also found that the video games tend to reinforce gender stereotypes. Female characters accounted for only 16 percent of all characters, and these few females also were likely to scream and wear revealing clothing. Males were more likely to engage in physical aggression. Video games also contain very little racial diversity. Nearly all heroes were white; African Americans and Latinos were typically athletes. Asians and Pacific Islanders were usually wrestlers or fighters (Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005:354).
As we have evidenced computer games can have positive sides, unfortunately we cannot designate or control the content of all the games therefore many games portray negative things we wouldn’t want to teach to our children. Moreover computerised socialization is slowly killing human to human socializing, replacing it with social network on line. We cannot debate that computer games are excellent means to teach teenagers in stages where they absorb all new on the other hand we cannot forget the dangers that lie within the games.
REFERENCES
Gee, P.J. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. England: Palgrave Macmillan
Livingstone, S. (2008). Young people and new media. London: SAGE Publication Ltd.
Johnson, J. E., Christie, J.F., Wardle, F. (2005). Play, development, and early education. United State of America: Pearson Education, Inc.
Shaffer, W.D. (2006). How computer games help children learn. England: Palgrave Macmillan.
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