Are video games harmful? “The average gamer in 2010 spends 8 hours a week playing video games” If you ask young people what their opinions are on video games, you will probably hear that they are fun and enjoyable. On the other hand, parents describe them as the exact opposite: violent, useless and cost a lot of money. As technology advances and first generation gamers (who played games in the late 1970s) begin to pass on their "gaming gene" to the second generation of gamers, are video games really harmful? This essay will explore both sides of the issue and come to a conclusion about how they affect people. Any type of addiction is bad, and having an addiction to video games is no exception. Good games can lead to addiction as players will spend hours trying to complete the game's objective. A study on video game addiction conducted by scientist Douglas A. Gentile studied 3,034 children and adolescents, and the study revealed that the average time spent playing video games was twenty hours a week, which is almost a full day a week playing. The research also revealed that 72% of American homes play video games, which means that if you enter the homes of one hundred people in America you will find at least seventy of them who have a video game. Of the 3,034 children and adolescents interviewed, approximately 273 (9%) showed some symptoms of gambling addiction. Having a gaming addiction will lead to mood changes as one often feels unhappy and moody when not playing video games. Addicted gamblers can isolate themselves from their families, which can cause serious changes in family relationships, such as an inability to communicate with each other. Violence in video games causes many parents to worry about their children's behavior. ....games because it is proven that they slow down the brain's aging process and improve short and long-term memory. In conclusion, the benefits of playing video games can be very surprising and the risks concerning. In my opinion, I find myself leaning towards the benefits of gaming as concerns can easily be overcome if you play for the right amount of time like addiction, it can be easily prevented if you limit your gaming time by finding something else that appeals to you like to do things like go out with your friends and play sports. Violent video games should also be subject to stricter age ratings to prevent younger people from playing them. If you look into it in detail, you find that the benefits can be unforgivable. Word Count = 970 Total Word Count = 1112 Quotes = 142