Common college-level essay topics:

 Memories of School to College

 Video Games and the 21st Century Adolescents
 Books as our Friends
 If I Were a Millionaire
 ‘Night’ Before the Examination
 The Examination system: Merits and Demerits
 The Advantages of Hostel Life
 My Favourite Author
 Natural Disasters and its management
 A Dramatic Performance in our College
 Computers and the social revolution
 Caught in a Storm
 Save Trees
 The Garbage Collector
 Role of Media in Society
 Plastic Money
 Freedom of Choice
 Water Crisis
 Wildlife conversation and management
 Disaster Management
 The Effects of Divorce on Children’s Lives
 Globalization
 Advertisement and Its Importance
 Deforestation
 Politics and Corruption
 Olympics: The Dream of the Youth
 Sex Education in Schools
 Poverty and People
 Steve Jobs – The Visionary and Innovator
 My first speech at a college function
 Social Service in College
 College Fest
 My First Experience of a Film Festival
 Social Media
 Environment and the 21st Century
 Politics and the Youth
 The Humanities in the 21st Century
 Climate Change and human responsibility
 Mental Health and the Youth
 The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education
 Youth Icons of the 21st Century
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
An essay on Video Games and the Youth

Video games are a pastime for masses of adolescents worldwide. The unprecedented
technological advancements to this entertaining culture have caused many gamers, especially
adolescents, to acknowledge it as the ultimate fantasy. According to many studies, video
games can increase aggressive behaviour, cause emotional outbursts and decrease inhibitions
in many people. As a result of the increased exposure to this modern phenomenon, a
mounting body of research is linking video games to violent, aggressive, and anti-social
behaviour. For this reason, the study focuses on “investigating the impact of video gaming on
society to determine whether it leads to aggressive, violent, anti-social behaviour”.

The gaming industry has grown immensely through the evolution of modern consoles, games
and accessories. Therefore, the ever-growing hype that surrounds these technological gadgets
is unprecedented even in the world of gamers, causing many adolescents to perceive video
games consoles as a necessity in their lives, rather than an accessory. There is no question
that video games have an impact on society. One thing that is certain is that the gaming
industry is growing rapidly which consequently increases the impact of video games on
society.

A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate
visual feedback on a device specially made for game play called a video console; these
interactions are entered via input devices such as controllers, joysticks and hand-held
peripherals. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms which
range from: personal computers, video game consoles and small handheld devices and
through these platforms video and sound are produced to interact with the user.

The advancements in gaming consoles have become a major factor in promoting video game
addiction, and therefore amplifying the video game influence among users. As gaming
technology continues to expand, consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s
Playstation are becoming more sophisticated due to the customer demand for an enhanced
gaming experience.

Recent developments allow gamers to have access to video games at any time; for example
with the PSP (Play Station Portable) a gamer is able to carry their console around with
him/her anywhere, thereby adding to the amount of hours spent playing games. Similarly
consoles like the Wii set a new precedent for the gaming world, trying to create a physical
and more realistic gaming experience through innovative accessories such as the Wii
MotionPlus which “provided true motion and position information to the console” (The Wiire
2008), and therefore encouraging users to become more engrossed in the game.

Furthermore, the development of graphical interfaces and televisions appear to be significant

factors in endorsing excessive gaming time. In particular, the transition to LCD (Liquid-
Crystal Display) and plasma televisions, which introduced a gratifying experience for gamers
through the addition of surround sound speaker systems and improved graphic resolution.
Subsequently, the enlargement of graphic interface screens also added to the attractiveness of
video games, as the screen sizes increased from 14 inches up to the unprecedented size of 65
inches (LCD television 2010). As the ‘mind-blowing’ graphic resolution becomes more
available, users are promised ‘real entertainment’ in these virtual worlds, by creating a more
realistic gaming experience.

The most commonly played games are action games; these games encourage the development
of aggressive characteristics to emerge in gamers, as they have a large amount of violence
due to their fast-paced nature. The games usually allow the user to play person against person
or person against animal/aliens; a classic example is the game Halo which incorporates
violent confrontations which are practised through violent combat between the user interface
and the console (Caruana, Caruana & Bruner 2009).

Currently, “the most recent video games present players with expansive spaces and allow
users to interact in multiple ways; resulting in each player having a unique experience”
(Garrelts 2006). One of the most problematic games of recent times is “Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas’. The controversy behind this game stemmed from many politicians
condemning its frequent violent and sexual scenes. The game encourages inappropriate
actions such as violence to be practiced through gang warfare, raising concerns as these types
of games have been “turned into fodder for entertainment” (Loftus 2002).

Another genre of video games is adventure/role playing games; these games are usually less
graphic than action games but contain mild violence and typically have an element of
surrealism and fantasy. Games like Starfox Adventures are usually combined with a role
playing element and allow the character to initiate dialogue. These games tend to be among
the most addictive due to their narrative fantasy themes together with their mild violent
content (Caruana, Caruana & Bruner 2009). In a study conducted on video game usage and
content this genre of games was found to encourage an increasing amount of antisocial values
of a violent nature (Tompkins 2003).

Adolescents and children are the groups of people who are mostly engrossed in video games
in society. The vulnerability of these groups especially children is prominent, as they are at
such crucial stages in their development that they are highly influenced by their environment.
For this reason, some concerns have arisen as to why “video games have become very
influential story-tellers for this generation of children and youth”. This may be a result of the
technological advances which have exposed new generations to more graphic games which
emphasize violence. With regards to this argument, there are two very opposite sides, the first
being put by the gaming industry who argue that gaming is secure entertainment with no link
to violence, and the others being the psychologists and researchers who argue that violent
media promotes aggression.

Research dedicated to this issue is enormous, with “many scientific studies concluding that
significant exposure to violent video games increases the risk of aggressive behaviour in
certain children. From this exposure, children become desensitized to violence making them
believe that the world is a ‘meaner and scarier place than it is”. Unfortunately, these thoughts
are often said to be difficult to change later on in life. Therefore, children begin to think that
violence is normal behaviour as depicted in the games. The idea of violence in video games
can be similar to that of domestic violence, where children who are exposed to violence either
become offenders or victims as they believe that what they observe is the norm. The
development of these thoughts in gamers could potentially lead to gamers becoming more
violent and aggressive over time.

Much of the research found on video games, by leading researchers in the field of gaming
“reveals unequivocal evidence that game violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and
violent behaviour in both immediate and long-term contexts.” The studies conducted found
that the “short-term exposure increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive
behaviour, thoughts and emotions immediately after playing the game. While large-scale
longitudinal studies provided converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent video
games during childhood leads to aggression later in life, including physical assaults and
spouse abuse”. Other researchers illustrate a comprehensive correlation between the playing
of M-rated games and bullying in schools. The gamers who “played M-rated games,
commonly adolescents, were found to be more likely to be reported for bullying other
members in the school community”. Sadly, these negative outcomes are real as they are affect
children’s behaviour in schools, therefore creating more violent and troublesome youth
within the wider community.

The aspect of video games that is of most interest for this investigation is the content, due to
the fact that the violent content exposed to users can potentially be a factor which leads to
aggressive outcomes. A leading researcher describes the relationship between games and
aggressive behaviour as similar to that between smoking and cancer. This comparison
illustrates the idea that exposure to violence in video games may not always necessarily lead
to aggressive outcomes; likewise, smokers do not always develop cancer. Nevertheless, the
chances of video games causing violent behaviour in adolescents are increased dramatically.

The negative effects of violent video games are evident in a recent study which involved
adolescents playing two different games for 30 minutes. The researchers divided a group of
44 adolescents into two groups and randomly assigned the children to play one of the two
games; the first being the high-octane “Need for Speed: Underground”, and the other the
ultra-violent first-person shooter “Medal of Honor: Frontline”. Following the gaming session
the children were given MRI’s (Magnetic resonance imaging) of their brains. The scans
revealed that the adolescents who played “Medal of Honor”, as a result of the exposure to
“violent and destructive scenes, showed an increase in emotional arousal and a corresponding
decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention” (Kalning
2006). Unsurprisingly, that same effect was not present in the children who played “Need for
Speed”.

For many gamers the exposure to violent video games increases their violent behavior; the
cumulative effect of the exposure to these realistic and disturbing graphics is that it is
creating a more violent society. Many modern time games now have been designed to
demonstrate stereotypical characters. For example regarding gender, the portrayal of men has
caused many adolescents to learn from these violent games, but unfortunately they are getting
the wrong messages across. The men who are often portrayed as large and aggressive
characters have resulted in gamers using violence as a means to solve conflict and problems,
with negotiation and non-violent solutions being totally disregarded. The concept of the
gamers solving issues themselves in a similar manner through the practice of violence and
aggression in order to be a “man” becomes apparent in gamers, ultimately resulting in some
gamers imitating scenes from games in real-life situations.

The most worrying issue is that most violent games are landing in the hands of millions of
children, despite ratings attempting to restrict prohibited access. For this reason, inappropriate
games have become implicated in a string of recent school shootings and murders, which has
raised concerns to new heights.

Modern games are designed to be entertaining and challenging. The reality is that
manufacturers are shamelessly exploiting children for revenue. Currently 89% of video
games released contain some violent content. Despite these unethical practices by
manufacturers being scrutinized, many retailers still insist on advertising games where it is
better to kill people, attack police and drive dangerously.

Although video games exposure is correlated to many negative outcomes, some research
suggests that video game exposure independent of content is related to improvements in
certain types of cognition and learning. These benefits are real but are limited, as the majority
of games played tend to incorporate an increasing amount of violence and inappropriate
content. Despite some research in support of positive outcomes, the negative outcomes of
video games are more evident. The dramatic rise in violent shootings by adolescents many of
which have been linked to playing violent video games supports the argument that video
game violence transforms into real-world situations.

The ethical question arising from these cases is that if these violent video games are having
such a pronounced influence on gamers causing them to commit crimes in such a cruel
manner, should they really be developed and sold in the first place. Moral concerns also arise
with recent studies suggesting that adolescents playing such games have difficulty
distinguishing between fantasy and reality, therefore guiding them to perform acts played on
consoles in real life. For many the line between reality and fantasy is lost through their
addiction. In some fantasy games like “Second Life” players are able to live their fantasy life
in a virtual world, to the point where the virtual world overrules their daily life. Even though
these types of role-playing games do not necessarily encourage aggressive or violent
behaviour, nevertheless they still contribute to the possibility of a gamer engaging in anti-
social behaviour as they create an alias where people can live technologically, contrary to
their usual social life.
The addictive nature of video games can lead to gamers developing anti-social behaviour.
This addiction is so problematic that such games have affected non-adolescents day-to-day
activities. Due to the extended hours spent playing these game extreme cases have occurred
as excessive exposure to this online game has resulted in some mature aged gamers getting
divorced, fired from their jobs, and in a rare case, someone dying as a result of the lack of
sleep or proper nutrition.

NB: This is a 2000 word essay. You shorten it to about 800 - 1000 words.