Video games: Fun or fearsome? [Archives:2008/1127/Last Page]
By: Alia Eshaq
“Mortal Combat.” “Assassin's Creed.” “Grand Theft Auto.” These names have become well known as more and more Yemenis become obsessed with video games – and children are no exception.
“Fighting games are my favorite,” responds 8-year-old Abdulrahman Mohammed when asked about his preferred type of video game as he was buying some games with his older brother in a Hadda Street store. It came as no surprise that he enjoys games with violent content, which are considered inappropriate for children under age 13.
“We don't advise children to buy inappropriate games,” explains Fahmi Al-Atas, who works at Sana'a City Computer, a video game store in the capital, “but if they request them, we'll give them what they want.”
Zaki Mohammed Saleh, who works at Al-Emlak video game store, notes that children often ask for inappropriate video games. “Many children come into our store and request the game, 'Grand Theft Auto,' which is prohibited in some countries – not just for children but for adults as well,” he says, adding that he's never seen anyone come into his shop to check on which video games he sells.
When does enjoyment become addiction?
The debate over video game addiction continues. Researchers at mediafamily.org have concluded that obsessive playing of video games not only is a form of psychological addiction, but it also can isolate those who play them. For example, children lose social contacts because they focus entirely on in-game achievements rather than real-life events.
According to wikipedia.org, thus far, three individuals reportedly have died from exhaustion due to long hours of video game playing. In South Korea, Lee Seung Seop died after playing “Starcraft” for more than 50 hours. In Jinzhou, China, Xu Yan died after playing online games for more than 15 days during the lunar New Year holiday, while an unnamed 30-year-old died in Guangzhou, China after playing games for three days straight.
Abdulrahman's older brother Jamal says he notices changes in his brother when he plays video games, noting, “He becomes very nervous while playing and his eyes become wide open as he concentrates on the game.” However, the negative effects of video games on children's health aren't always as straightforward as Abdulrahman's wide-eyed stare.
An educational tool or a psycho-physical problem?
As Sana'a pediatrician Abdulrahman Ishaq explains, “First of all, when he plays for hours, a child gets used to not putting time into daily life. Additionally, violent games either can make a child aggressive or tend to make them scared of many things.”
A November 2007 study by the United States' Indiana University School of Medicine randomly assigned 44 teenagers to play either a violent video game or a nonviolent but equally exciting video game for 30 minutes each.
The teens who played violent games experienced increased activity in those areas of the brain that regulate emotions, whereas they had decreased activity in those regions associated with control, focus and concentration.
Among all of the negative claims that video games are damaging are some who say such games are useful because they expand a child's imagination. “Games allow learners to interact with systems in increasingly complex ways,” explains Kurt Squire, a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. who works on the Games-to-Teach project funded by Microsoft.
He notes, “Digital game players can relive historical eras, such as in 'Pirates!,' investigate complex systems like the Earth's chemical and life cycles, such as in 'SimEarth,' govern island nations in 'Tropico' or, indeed, run an entire civilization, such as in the 'Civilization series.'”
However, Ishaq disagrees with this notion, saying, “Video games usually expand children's unrealistic imagination, which takes them away from reality.”
Likewise, Ali Abdulatif, a neurologist at the Saudi German Hospital in Sana'a, says, “The amount of X-ray projected from the [television or computer] screen damages the eyes and the optical nerve. Additionally, problems occur in the neck and with muscle contractions due to the long hours spent setting in a certain position.”
But most importantly, Abdulatif notes, the child who plays video games may become cut off from contact with his or her peers.
Abdulrahman is only one of thousands of children in Yemen who play video games with violent content. Although there's currently no substantive proof about the long-term effects of these games, parents need to pay close attention to the video game phenomenon as it increases.
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