Research Essay - Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people?

Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people? When reading through the question quickly it is easy to assume that the answer is yes. However, to full understand the topic analysis and research needs to be done in these three main areas. These areas are: the medical and behavioural evidence that takes a stance against the use of video games, the point of view from the gamers and gaming industry, as well as the medical and behavioural experts that favour video games as a means of mental and educational development. Such a loaded question requires a detailed and in depth research from current articles and journals that considers both sides of the argument granting them and their opinions agency before coming to a final conclusion that is reliant upon the facts found within the research.

As mentioned previously, the easiest conclusion to the posed question would be a definite yes and this conclusion is shared by most in the medical and educational professions. Barrie Gunter states in The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked that, “…the role of video gaming in the lives of children and teenagers can be destructive for both their physical and mental health, a problem that needs to be rectified” (p. 74, 1998). The negative physical and mental impacts that have been link by professionals to excessive video gaming include but are not limited to childhood and ongoing obesity, diabetes, depression and the development of a reclusive nature, RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and addiction/misperception of reality and are the primary reason for the general disapproval of video gaming (Eunson, 2009 pp.347). In addition to this while many people and professionals in this category disapprove of the use of video and computer games all together there is still evidence that they acknowledge that in moderation it is an acceptable means of entertainment and sometimes education (Boyle & Hibberd, 2005 pp.36-37).

In a debate about the affects of excessive gaming, a voice should obviously be thrown to the actual people involved: the gamers and the gaming industry. Because research consistently shows that “most popular video games are violent and because of the potential harm to children, youth and society of this negative influence” (Dill, 2007 pp.3), much video game research has focused on the effects of violent video games. However, the believe shared by many gamers, parents of gamers and of course the industry itself is that “games with positive content show positive effects” (Vedantam 2011). For example, playing a dancing video game can help children lose weight and devices like Wii and the Nintendo DS have been proven by the same people that condemn such devices to aid and a better learning from early childhood to adulthood. One person who agrees with this theory and relates it to the belief of society’s continual moral panic is Associate Professor and self confessed gamer Christopher Ferguson who writes in his article ‘Video games are not the enemy’:

“Social panics have surfaced over everything from waltzes, jazz music, Elvis Presley and comic books to Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, rap and now video games. Nothing came of those panics and nothing is coming of video games” (2011).

Interestingly enough when investigating the ‘Against’ counter-argument from medical and behavioural research groups that believe that children’s use of video games ”may improve a player's manual dexterity and computer literacy” (Gentile et al. p. 19, 2004). These people reason that the use of video games can be beneficial in assisting with behavioural issues, mental health and in some cases physical issues in children. Some even recognise the use of computer and video games as a viable tool in learning literacy, numeracy and combating ethical and moralistic issues. For instance Dr John Irvine demonstrates his beliefs on the matter in Thriving at School, “There is little doubt that the multimedia nature of computer games can make a maths drill fun and encourage and promote all sorts of learning and thinking in our children” (2000). Deepa Kartha who shares Dr Irvine’s view also adds that moderation and supervision is crucial in helping video gaming remaining a feasible and beneficial learning tool, “…use computers and video games wisely to complement the basic learning activities that concerned parents have pursued in the past” (2011, pp. 26)

Video games have both positive and negative effects on health. The effects however vary immensely depending on the types of games played and the frequency of play (Damien 2010). Certain adverse effects can be caused by other factors in conjunction with excessive play of games, but can usually be corrected by living a healthier lifestyle (i.e. regular breaks and mixing video/computer gaming in with other ‘active’ activities). The positives of the effects of video games on health also vary depending on the type of game played and its frequency. However, as the evidence above shows that despite their differences, all research parties included in this research agree that, as Williams says, like everything else we do moderation is key (2011). In conclusion, after reviewing the research throughout and considering all opinions it seems that yes, extensive use of video and computer games impact the health the health of children and teenagers both mentally and physically. However the solution to this problem is that moderation and supervision is essential to the constructive use of video gaming within the lives of children and teenagers to avoid these troubles associated with excessive gaming.

Reference List

Boyle, R & Hibberd, M 2005, ‘Review of research on the impact of violent computer games on young people’, vol.13 , no.2 , pp. 36-40 , viewed 17 October 2011, via Google Scholar.

Damien, D 2010, How video games affect health, viewed 15 October 2011, <http://www.gameinnovator.com/health.php>.

Dill, K 2007, ‘The influence of video games on youth’, Implications for Learning in the New Millennium, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 3-19, viewed 15 October 2011, via JSTOR Databases.

Eunson, B 2009, Communicating in the 21^st century, Wiley Publications, Milton, Queensland.

Ferguson, C 2011, Video games are not the enemy, viewed 15 October 2011, <http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/55382.html>.

Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P., Linder, J. & Walsh, D. 2004. The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviours, and school performance, viewed 24 September 2011, via Journal of Adolescence.

Gunter, B 1998. The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked, viewed 24 September 2011, via Google Scholar.

Irvine, J 2000, Thriving at school: a practical guide to help your child enjoy the crucial school years, Simon and Schuster, Roseville, New South Wales.

Kartha, D 2011, Effects of video games on children, viewed 15 October 2011, <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-video-games-on-children.html>.

Vedantam, S 2011, It’s a duel: how do violent video games affect kids?, viewed 15 October 2011, <http://www.npr.org/2011/07/07/137660609/its-a-duel-how-do-violent-video-games-affect-kids>.

Williams, M 2011, Video games: Addiction and Medical Issues, <http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=295&id=2375>.

Week 9 - Tute Task

·        Sign an e-petition.

<a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43687.html">Save Gold Coast Parklands Show Grounds Petition | GoPetition</a>

I signed the Save Gold Coast Parklands Show Grounds petition, I was the third person to sign on for it.

·        What is Barak Obama up to today? Can you send him a message about the importance of freedom on the internet?

According to his twitter account, on the 21^st of September 2011 Barack addressed the United Nations General Assembly. The link to the video feed: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

·        What are the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")?

The Australian Government's plans to censor the internet with the program dubbed 'Clean Feed'. It is a filter with the intended target of protecting children by compulsory censorship of all websites showing child pornography and other material considered offensive.

Info from Anti Clean Feed Petition - http://nocleanfeed.com/

·       When will the NBN get to your place? What are the benefits?

The National Broadband Network make its way to Brisbane in the second rollout after its installed in the ‘trial town’ of Townsville. The service has been promised to deliver positive improvements for the Australian public in the form of superior access to business and job opportunities, health, education and government services.

Official National Broadband Network Site - http://www.nbn.gov.au/

·       Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.

In respective order Mayor Ron Clarke, Peter Lawlor and Steven Ciabo are the current local, state and federal representatives for my area.

·        Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your federal member spoke in parliament.

September 15th 2011 was the last time Ciabo spoke to and with the House of Representatives and it was about the crime surge within the Gold Coast region of Moncrieff.

Week 9 - Response To Content

Slowly approaching is the Research Essay, for which we can choose to research and discuss any of seven topic questions or create our own. After some contemplation the essay question I connected to the most was: Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people? When reading through the question quickly it is easy to assume that the answer is yes, however to full understand the topic analysis and research needs to be done in these three main areas.

1.     A greater reasoning of the key words in the question to grasp a better understanding of the argument as a whole. For example how do words or phrases such as extensive, adverse, young people play a part in narrowing the topic down to make it a bigger issue?

2.     Investigating the ‘For’ argument i.e. Barrie Gunter states in his book The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked that, “…the role of video gaming in the lives of children and teenagers can be destructive for both their physical and mental health, a problem that needs to be rectified.” (p. 74, 1998)

3.     Then investigating the ‘Against’ counter-argument from a few medical and behavioural research groups that children’s use of video games can be ”may improve a player's manual dexterity and computer literacy” (p. 19, 2004)

4.     Drawing any and all comparisons or similarities between the two in the attempt to reach a conclusion   

The question/task requires a detailed and in depth research from the most current papers and asks that both sides of the argument be granted agency and their opinions be taken into consideration before coming to a final conclusion that is reliant upon the facts found within the research. It is my intention to begin my research into this topic through use of online journals and communication publications with the probable support of news article and official statistics.

Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P., Linder, J. & Walsh, D. 2004. The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance, viewed 24 September 2011, via Journal of Adolescence.

Gunter, B 1998. The effects of video games on children: the myth unmasked, viewed 24 September 2011, via Google Scholar.

Week 8 - Tute Task

Over weeks 8 and 9 we finalised our ideas and began to create and put together our audio visual presentation. Below are the lists of components (parts of the presentation), the software and online programs used to create and assemble it and the key obstacle we faced as a group to complete the task well and on time.

Components of the presentation:

·       News report video

·       eHarmony I love… video

·       Images (Man and Logos)

·       Text (Rules and Guidelines)

·       eHarmony – Mad TV spoof ad

Software or programs used:

·       Creative Commons, eHarmony, Zoosk, RSVP and YouTube for initial research on the topic

·       Screen-o-matic – to capture video footage from YouTube, Vimeo and eHarmony

·       Windows Movie Maker – to edit footage together

·       Prezi – to present and put together footage and text

Major Obstacles:

·       Scheduling – getting all three task members together to brainstorm and create our idea.

·       Working against a tight timeframe, deadline Week 9.

·       Screen-o-matic – trying to record the videos with little to no background noise posed as a difficulty as the software is very sensitive and takes a while to get right.

·       Attempting to decide what and what not to leave into the final product to get the tone and message right.

·       Shannen’s computer got rid of Windows Movie Maker, so the editing took much longer than expected and had to be done in class in week 9.

·       COPYRIGHT –this was a big issue for us to overcome as mentioned in previous blogs. We had decided to use Prezi to conquer our problems with copyright infringements but was unaware that this solution was only applicable is the video footage we were intending to use was in its original unedited condition. Our only solution available due to the closing deadline was to continue but not upload it to our Blogs or YouTube as originally planned, but instead email it to our tutor and keep it with the intention of only using it for private viewing as the pubic alternative would get use into trouble. If we had had more time on our hands we could have perhaps written to the ordinal owners of the video footage that we used and asked their permission to use them in our presentation.    

·       The music overlay we were hoping to put over the presentation was canned due to the fact that it would no longer be exported into one video due to the copywriting issues mentioned above.

***Our presentation has been emailed to Lauren by Shannen.***

Week 7 - Tute Task

Unfortunately neither I nor another member of our group could make it to the tutorial for this week, which posed as yet another hurdle for us to overcome. However in our absence our remaining member was able to discuss with the tutor our ideas and the problems we might encounter with them. We found that unless we could find our relevant video footage on an open licensed site like Creative Commons or unlicensed YouTube clips copyright was going to be our major concern. With some research and assistance from our tutor is was decided that the free online presentation site Prezi was the best route to avoid our copyrighting issues as anything that goes into Prezi presentation removes that problem.

Week 7 - Response To Content

Week 6 - Tute Task

This week we were split up into groups of three and set upon the task of creating an audio visual presentation/video addressing some aspect of New Communication Technology. In our group we choose to do ours on the hot topic of online dating and the sites associated with them such as eHarmony and RSVP.

In our initial brainstorm we thought through a couple of ideas, with us all circuiting around the idea of  people editing their personalities, interests, beliefs and even their faces with the hope of meeting that special someone. One of our main ideas was influenced by the now infamous Evolution advertisement by beauty giant Dove. (linked above) We were ambitious and liked the idea of creating a scenario situation were two people meet online and one or both of them had altered their profile picture to the point of complete misrecognition, with a similar ‘Dove’ video sequence showing this.

However after looking through Creative Commons and finding little to none relevant materials as well as the conflicting problems of time began to think of alternative ideas. For example, filming and editing together clips from different eHarmony members and completely exaggerating their online lies e.g. man cropped identical twin out of profile photo etc. We decided to do some more research before settling on one idea.

Week 6 - Response To Content

Whilst I agree with this week’s lecture theme that ‘illegal downloading is killing Hollywood’, I believe it’s also important to note all the legal downloading and internet use is hurting Hollywood and the film industry just as bad. Just over three years ago the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) went on strike for just over three months over the future of digital media in the film industry, effectively shutting down Hollywood for roughly the same time.

The focus of the dispute was payment for entertainment content distributed over the internet, mobile phones, iPod devices and other forms of new digital media. Although nobody knows exactly what the business model for the digital future will look like, the writers were anxious to establish the principle that they should receive an equitable share of any profits. As the video above shows writers were only being paid 4% of the dividends from reruns (and were asking for an modest extra 4% increase) but we being paid nothing for the online sales and on-site “promotional” releases.

The broader grievance, though, was that the writers have felt cheated out of revenues from video and DVDs since the early 1980s – an issue that prompted them to launch their last major strike in 1988, which sadly ended with little change. The bruised and battered entertainment industry then had to set about restarting hit shows that had been forced to close down Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and the US version of The Office for instance. Incredulously that year’s Academy Awards were also in jeopardy until just two week before they were to air.

Gumbel, A 2008, Hollywood writer’s strike deal brings back hit shows, viewed 5 September 2011. < http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hollywood-writers-strike-deal-brings-back-hit-shows-781039.html>.

Week Five - Tutorial Task

Scavenger Hunt

1.  Where was the first University established and in which year?

The first ‘official’ University was the University of Al-Karaouine in Fez, Morocco and was established in 859AD.

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

Smith, S. E. 2011, Wise Geek: What are the Oldest Universities in the world?, viewed 26 August 2011, < http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-oldest-universities-in-the-world.htm>.

2.  What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?

The band is called The Black Assassins and Stephen plays the keyboard and contributes to vocals. Some of their songs are: Planet X, Death Take Me Now and Multinational Corporate Lifestyle.

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

Macpherson, D 2011, The Black Assassins, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm>.

3.  What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?

The world’s biggest machine, the V Cat D8R weighs over 45,500 tons and cost A$100 million to construct.

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com), then YouTube:

rjmbm 2011, The World’s Biggest Machine V Cat D8R, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF-c5Tn-Xhk>.

The Largest Machine in the World 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://edwindwianto.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/the-largest-machine-in-the-world-the-v-cat-d8r-awsome/>.

4.  Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?

Bieber’s lawyer is Kenneth Feinswog, his details are below and the best way to contact him is by phone as there is no email address provided.

6701 Center Drive W # 610, Los Angeles, CA 90045-1555      Phone: (310) 277-8211

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga in Bed Together Over Comics: Kenneth Feinswog Also in Sheets 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, < http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5770032/justin_bieber_and_lady_gaga_in_bed.html>.

Kenneth A. Feinswog: Attorney 2011, viewed 26 August 2011,  <http://www.manta.com/c/mms3lh1/kenneth-a-feinswog-attorney>.

5.  What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

According to Flight Centre, at the present time flying is the cheapest however usually it is by Greyhound bus.

REFERENCE:

Flight Centre 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, < http://www.flightcentre.com.au/>.

6.  Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?

Hatsune is the main voice for the Vocaloid 2 computer music software program which is powered by Yamaha. Her birthday is August 31^st (2007).

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

Hatsune Miku 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hatsune-Miku/10150149727825637#!/pages/Hatsune-Miku/10150149727825637?sk=info>.

7.  Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

A) Webcam in Kirova St., Belarus: <http://www.webcamsmania.com/webcam/kirovastreetwebcam>

B) For just A$1554 per room accommodation is available on the Polar Star Icebreaker as it tours around Antarctica.

REFERENCE:

Via Ninemsn:

Kirova Street Webcam (Webcams Mania) 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, < http://www.webcamsmania.com/webcam/kirovastreetwebcam>.

Polar Star Icebreaker 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://www.addictedtotravel.com/accommodation/polar-star_antarctica/62448>.

8.  What song was top of the Australian pop charts in 1991?

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams.

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1991, 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1991.htm>.

9.  What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?

                                              

Google uses different cars depending on the country. In Australia it’s the Holden Astra but the most widely used is the Subaru Impreza (pictured above).

REFERENCE:

Via Dogpile Search Engine (dogpile.com):

Sturgeon, J 2011, Google’s Street View car snapping pictures in the region [with sighting map], viewed 26 August 2011, <http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/296369>.

10.   Translate these questions into Spanish and then translate them back into English.

Spanish:

¿Dónde la primera universidad fue establecida y en qué año?

Cuál es Stephen Stockwell' ¿la venda de s llamada y qué hace él juega? ¿Puede usted nombrar unas par de sus canciones?

¿Cuál es el peso de la máquina más grande del mundo? ¿Cuánto costó para construir?

Quién es Justin Bieber' ¿abogado de s, y cuál es el mejor contacto de la manera (lo más aprisa posible, el más confiable) el abogado?

¿Cuál es la forma más barata de recorrido del Gold Coast a Melbourne?

¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿Qué compañía ella pertenece?

¿Cuál es su cumpleaños? Encuentre un webcam vivo en Belarus. Encuentre un lugar para permanecer en Ant3artida.

¿Qué canción era la tapa de las cartas australianas del estallido esta semana en 1991?

Qué tipo de coche se utiliza para hacer el View'? de la calle de Google del `

Traduzca estas preguntas a español y después tradúzcalo nuevamente dentro de inglés.

Back to English:

Where the first university was established and in what year?

Which is Stephen Stockwell' the bandage of called s and what he does plays? Can you name a pair of your songs?

Which is the weight of the greatest machine of the world? How much it cost to construct?

Who is Justin Bieber' lawyer of s, and which is the best contact of the way (possible, more fast most reliable) the lawyer?

Which is the cheapest form of route of the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

Who is Hatsune Miku? What company she belongs? Which is its birthday?

It finds webcam alive in Belarus. It finds a place to remain in Ant3artida.

What song was the cover of Australian letters of the outbreak this week in 1991?

What type of car is used to make the View'? of the street of Google of `

It translates these questions to Spanish later and tradúzcalo again within English.

REFERENCE:

Yahoo! Babel Fish (Online Translator) 2011, viewed 26 August 2011, <http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt>.

Week Five - Response To Content

The standard plot framework for a mainstream film consists of three parts or acts; the set-up (equilibrium or introduction), the confrontation (disequilibrium or series of events) and lastly the resolution (re-equilibrium or conclusion). All of these parts are vital to the telling of the overall storyline and of the individual character’s personal journeys. This structure doesn’t always happen in order, with some filmmakers deciding to mix things up a little. Notable instances of this would be Memento (2000), Magnolia (1999) and Crash (2004) however they all stay true to the critical five elements of plot:

1.      Believability - usually through audience emotional recognition of a characters situation. E.g. feeling Tula’s pain of being single and unhappy with where her life is going in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

2.      Urgency – the issue in the film, whether it be a ticking bomb or the last few moments with their dying wife there is a timeframe set in place on the action faced by the characters within the film. E.g. getting to safety before the bus runs out of fuel in Speed (1994).

3.      Obstacles – the protagonist needs to get past a few hurdles in the road to get to their destination or the journey loses it believability and the film runs short. E.g. the many tasks and places that Frodo and Sam had to conquer in The Lord of the Rings (2003) before finally throwing the ring into the fires of Mordor, three films later…

4.      The Climax – usually more noticeable in big action blockbusters, but every film has a climactic scene e.g. Cary Grant hanging of Mt. Rushmore in North By Northwest (1959) or the Crowning Ceremony in Miss Congeniality (2000).

5.      Resolution – in most films the near end of the film triggers the emotional or physical epiphany that the main characters have been leading up to since they first set out on their journey. All ends are tied up in this part, or are they? There’s always room for that pesky sequel e.g. in Bend It Like Beckham (2002) the protagonist Jess achieves the main goal of her soccer career but also makes up with her bests friend and gets the guy.      

The film Rubber (2010) shows an interesting take on the conventional plot structure as the ‘protagonist’ is actually not a person but a seemingly inanimate object, a tire. However from what I saw and have read about the film, as the plot continues the audience is able to experience the same emotional connection to Robert (the serial-killer no brand tire) as they would with a living, breathing human; think more Dexter than Dorothy of Oz though. In Act I (the set-up) we see Robert in his element, killing everything in his sights from rabbits to humans. However it is too early to tell ‘his’ motivation for killing or even what will happen to him as the story progresses.
REFERENCE:
Thomson, K 2010, 'Film Art', McGraw-Hill, p.61-62.

Week Four - Tutorial Task

When I first read the brief for this week, it hit me that I’ve never gotten past the first page of any Term of Service agreement that I’ve ever agreed to. While I’m sure I’m not alone in this, it’s scary when you think about what you’ve causally yet legally agreed to. It’s even more shocking when you find out about all the privileges and entitlements sites like Facebook and Twitter have allowed themselves with the knowledge that most of us are too lazy to read through the 100+ pages of Terms and Conditions. However amongst that all that waffle and padding is some very relative information regarding our privacy and personal ownership. For instance, once a photo is uploaded to most mainstream social networking sites they have full rights to use that image as they please as it is now their property.

Also, while many of us set our profiles (and hopefully events!) to private Facebook and Twitter and legally within their rights to sell detailed and personal information that has innocently been uploaded to advertising companies and make a substantial profit from it. Although while writing this, it is difficult to point the fingers at the companies that have provided use with all the information up front and have given us the choice to say no. So while we may be selling our soul when we hit that I agree button it’s hardly Mark Zuckerburg’s responsibility to pick up the pieces of our dignity when drunken tweets or pictures of your cat wearing a cowboy hat end up in a coffee table book is it?