Many believe that the parents of current teenagers are raising a generation of narcissist, but could you really say its the fault of the teen, or is it the fault of the parents? Many people say its the job of the parent to be the parent and not a friend.
In this generation of teenagers violent video games such as “Halo” “Mortal Combat” and “Medal of Honor” all of which take gamers to a place where its okay and not only okay but encourged to kill. “Iowa State university reasearchers found that violent video games increased the likely hood of of aggression”(Oskin). These games make it hard for the gamer to distingush between reality and the game. While yes these games do have ratings many of them R, an adult has to buy it for their child therefore willingly knowing that they are giving their 13 year old kid a game that says good ahead and kill your friends as long as you win the game.
Studies done by Douglas A. Gentile a pediatrician show that “amoung elementry and middle school popluations, girls play for an average of about 5.5 hours a week and boys 13 hours a week.” My question would be where are the parents? Your young boy has nearly a part time job playing “Halo 3” yet you wonder why he has a bad attitude and doesn’t do his homework. As an adult if your boss gives you the option between going out and having a good time or doing some long tedious assignement what would you choose? The trick with your boss though, is he doesn’t give you the choice.
Video games aren’t all bad they do help with visual and motor skills, they create faster reaction times, and kids who work well under pressure. “video games have also been used successsfully teach children self-care skills for astma and diabetes”(oskin). Another thing is that video games are rexaling to the gamer, they can lose or do bad and not have to tell anyone or they can pass the hardest level in record time and feel a sense of acomplishment they wouldn’t normaly reach in reality. Although these games did indeed help some students in extreme cases teens have died from blood clots formed while playing video games for 5-40 hours at a time.
There is and can be a simple solution for the problem with teen narcissism, the decline in school perfrormance and lost touch with reality, parents need to limit screen time and monitor what games are appropriate for their child. It is the job of the parent to make sure their son/daughter isn’t waisting there life alway playing video games and especially to make sure these games aren’t cause bad changes in their mental or physical health.
- Ablow, Keith. “We are raising a generation of deluded narcissist”
- Douglas A. Gentile. Ph.D. “The Effects of Video Games on Children: What Parents Need to Know” Pediatrics for Parents. Pediatrics for Parents, Inc, 07 June.2012 Web Oct. 24.2013
- Becky, Oskin. “Teen and Video Games: How Much Is Too Much?” LiveScience. Live Science Contributor, 08 Aug.2012 Web 24, Oct.2013
