Throughout the human history, there were those who struggled against alcoholism, drug addiction as well as the habit can not be ignored such as gambling. Now, we have to face the addiction to video games. The use of video games has become tremendously popular among children and adolescents in the past decade. In fact, “Sixty-eight percent of U.S. households play computer or video games.” (David Jenkins, 2009) This statistic reveals how important it is to understand the effects that these games can have on individuals and more specifically, children. Playing video games can have many different effects—both positive as well as negative—on children. Some of these effects include increasing hand-eye coordination and increasing dexterity mental skills, a decreased interest in other activities such as studies and sports, and a very negative effect of inducing violence.
"Video games change your brain," according to University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn Green. Playing video games change the brain’s physical structure the same way as do learning to read, playing the piano, or navigating using a map. When your child plays video games, it gives his brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills required to win involve abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school. When kids play games such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, they train their brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts.
General effect that playing videogames have on children is that they tend to get addicted to playing these games and give them foremost priority. This takes the children away from their other responsibilities, such as doing house chores, homework, and other physical activities. Children also end up spending more time playing videogames in front of television screens than playing real and actual