Do you computer games influence children later on in life or at any stage?

a big YES for that. i mean, children these days tend to spend most of their time in front of computers than to stay outside in the hot sun. here in our country, we've lost some of our childhood games because of computer games. since computer games where introduced, i've seen less and less children playing outside. now how can i say they affect children? i've seen children respond to their parents in a very rude way just because they were not allowed to play computer games. i've seen children skipping classes just so they can play computer games. i've seen children cheating, lying, stealing just so they can play computer games. its alarming really. i think this is an important matter that should be looked at.

Well every study done to date has found that Video Games and especially Violent Video Games effect people no more than any other kind of media. Despite the claims of some that it is the interactivity that is involved that makes video games more life changing. This has been shown to be false. It has no real influence actually in some of the studies done they found that Television is actually more influential. That study focused on a group of Violent offenders which they did have playing computer games but most of these cases they said and found that the TV has far more of an impact especially when it is a murder and the news covers what happened and then a string of them start. This is because people want to get on the news and the attention. Where Video Games are normally not done for any attention but to pass the time So the influence is no higher than anything else around the person. Actually the biggest influence is what happens within the home most people in prison have some nasty history at around 5-6 years old.

Computer games to affect children without a doubt. Children who see violence on a regular basis on the computer can often become desensitised to it, which means that they won't see violence as a "bit deal" if they saw it in real life. This means that they are much more likely to commit violent crimes when they are older, and also more likely to be arrested during their adult lives. Obviously not all computer games are violent, but it is important to realise that those that are can have a dramatic effect on the child later on in their lives.

Games have their pros and their cons. My brother grew up on computer games and he still is great with any game you put in front of him. We'd play the same thing but but even though I'm older, I'll ask him to finish a level for me. We're not into war games and all that, but he'd still be awesome with those when our cousins bring their games and console. Long story short, my brother, my cousins and I have all turned out okay. The violence in games can be desensitizing and controversial but the whole point of games is learning to strategize and plan and figure out things on your own. Games are very educational and we tend to take that for granted. As for fighting games, if your child's behavior is changing in any way, it's not just because of the violence. It could be because the nature of computer games is that you only play on your own. If this is a concern and you don't want you child to grow anti-social, make a rule that limits a day to playing outside or sign him for karate (LOTS of discipline there). I'd also like to recommend a video on youtube. It's about the way gaming can make the world a better place. It's very informative and very very interesting. I hope you'll enjoy it the way I did! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM

Personally I think that computer and console video games are influencing the youth of today.Violent games that depict acts of harm on others seem to normalize this sort of behavior.If these games continue to be played I feel that the next generation will be much more violent and accept violence as a normal occurrence.Games of today need to have some educational content in them , which very few actually deliver.More puzzle games and games that teach people how to solve normal every day problems will ensure that the people of tomorrow are not violent and aggressive people with few to no life skills.

Hi Katrina, It’s hard to really say whether video games and computer games affect kids in a negative way. Some would argue that they don’t, and I don’t have any statistics to back me up, but I think that we are all influenced in one way or another by what we see, do and hear. Our eyes are the portal to the soul, as ‘they’ say. I think the more that we see and hear things that are negative or frightening the more sensitized we are to it. Like a blood and guts murder game, or a violent rape video game…( I heard that Grand Theft Auto had some really violent games)… could possibly affect some kids. I think it all has to do with whether the kids think it is real or if they know it is just fantasy. I remember hearing about some kids playing Dungeons and Dragons and they did some stuff that was really bad, but don’t remember what it was. They were acting out their fantasies in real life… I heard that years ago.. but don’t remember the particulars of it. So anyway, I think it just depends on the kids and the adults in their lives, and what they perceive as real and as fantasy. For the most part, I think kids can handle stuff like this without being negatively affected by it.

Everything influences us in later life. However, I think what you're talking about is the fear that violent computer games make people violent in life: this has been an ongoing discussion since home video games were invented! Before that, the same concerns were voiced over role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest and so on. Before that (and even now), it was violent films. To be honest, I don't think anyone has the answer. Since it's psychology, there is no simple response to the question. I've played computer games for over 30 years and was an avid roleplayer before that - and I'm a pacifist. Some of the most violent people I've met have never played either. When it comes down to it, I believe video games can influence us to be more violent, yes. But only as part of a much, much, much wider range of influences that also encourage violence. If kids are allowed to do nothing but play violent games, watch violent TV shows and exist entirely in a virtual world, then obviously they're going to turn out really badly adjusted to reality. It's down to good parenting to show children appropriate values, since parents have a far greater influence on their children's psyche than a bunch of moving pixels ever will.

hello mylotter, yes computer games really influence people, especially young people. why did i say that? because i've seen a lot of children in our place who are computer addicts ( should i say )their studies is number 0ne being influenced by computer games. some students did not go to school just to play computer games. we have computer cafe in our place and mostly children are the one playing .

I think games can be addiction sometimes. I played a lot of games and it was very time consuming. I spent hours playing and sometimes didn't my work but played without caring for anything else. So the wise thing is to keep the children out the PC games because they can be the addiction. Thanks.

there are certain games that have different effects on children, however i believe most children over the age of 10 are not affected at all even form those games that contain high-violence or criminal behavior. As children grow up they should play less games to prevent anti-social behavior.

Indeed positive and negative influences that may occur depending on each individual, especially for adult age. But at the age of children, every action in the game, can be imitiated by children, be it good or bad. as an example in my country, have found cases that resulted in the broken hands due to play wrestling with his friend. They imitate, every movement of wrestling figures, in their video games. For it, games that contain elements of violence and s*x should not be played by children under age. Because it is not good for their development.. And parents should be more longer supervise their children's behaviour..