Video Games do more harm than good

My opponent has defined harm as "damage or injury that. .. ". I accept his definitions but I would like to point out that the damage need not be physical only. It can be psychological. The damage might be the damage to the academic grades of a student as a result of addiction to video games. Video games are a fascinating invention of mankind. It allows a person to imagine herself as the brave warrior taking on the whole battalions all alone. Or it allows her to plan battle strategies. Or play cricket, scoring sixes that will put Sachin Tendulkar to shame. Or to drive around the town at speeds at which formula One drivers would panic. And the best part is - it is risk free. If you crash while playing road rash, you never die or get injured. You just lose a bit of time. Worst case, you press escape and restart! These are the reasons why video games sales are sky rocketing. As per an article published in edge magazine the video games industry is worth $44 billion! [1] But, are the video games risks free? Unfortunately, we have clear evidence that the video games, as they exist, are causing severe harm. Addiction: Ironically, the biggest problem with video games is there success. They are so successful that people find it addictive. As per a survey conducted for Americans by NPD group [2], a market research firm, gamers nearly spend over 13 hours per week playing video games. A small subset of around 4% plays video games for over 48 hours every week. Video games have become serious problems in South Korea [3]. Around 2.4 % of the population is addicted while 10.2% are on the borderline. Borderline cases are considered as cases where the gaming seriously begins to interfere in life leading to sleep deprivation and loosening grip on reality. One of the most problematic segments may be Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). As per Maressa Orzack [4], a psycologist and computer addiction specialists, 40 % of MMORPG players may be addicted to these games. Social Life and Academic Performance: Naturally the time spent in gaming world is the time lost in real world. This affects the real social life of people. The difference between the real and virtual world may become blurred. It also affects the academic performance of addicted gamers. As per a research published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine [5][6], teens boys and girls who play video games spend less time on studies. They expressed concern that video games will interfere with the development of skills needed to make a successful transition to adulthood. They concluded that concerns regarding gamers' neglect of school responsibilities (reading and homework) are warranted. Maressa Orzack [4] confirms that she gets students from Ivy League colleges suffering from addiction. In University of Essex, she informs a game MUD has been given the unofficial title of Multiple Undergraduate Destroyer. The real title is Multi User Dungeon. In 2008, Deborah Taylor Tate, speaking at Practicing Law Institute on Telecom Policy and Regulation confirmed [7], "You might find it alarming that one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U. S. is online gaming addiction— such as World of Warcraft — which is played by 11 million individuals worldwide. " Distracts from physical activity / sports: As people experience ultimate thrill while playing video games, they lose interest from real life activity. In video game soccer, you can score fantastic goals without much exertion. Scoring normal goals in average match is much more difficult - without any glamour. Why bother then? Research conducted by a team of National Center for Health Marketing at the Centers for Disease Control [8] in Seattle-Tacoma area, found strong correlation between regular gaming and internet use, and increased risk for depression, higher body mass index (BMI), and other negative physical and mental health issues. Conditioning to violence: A significant fraction of video games are violent. A research conducted by Craig A. Anderson of Iowa State University [9] found that "Exposure to violent video games is significantly linked to increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, and cardiovascular arousal, and to decreases in helping behaviour. Experimental studies reveal this linkage to be causal. Correlational studies reveal a linkage to serious, real-world types of aggression. " People who are exposed to these video games become desensitized to violence, which contributes in raising the level of aggression in society. The California State Congress passed a law restricting access to violent video games - specially for minors [10][11]. An appeal is pending before Supreme and decisions is expected shortly [12]. Degradation of women: Research published in a SpringerLink article [13] found that traditional gender roles and violence as central to many games. 28% of the video games treated women as sex object. While 80% of the games were violent, 21% depicted violence targeted specifically at women. A Japanese video game 'RapeLay' lead to international outrage[14]. The purpose of the game was to rape a teenage girl. In US, a hidden portion of the popular video game GTA: San Andreas was found to contain explicit sex scenes [15]. I might present more evidence and arguments in the next round, depending on the thrust of my opponents response. It is now turn of my esteemed opponent to enlighten us about the benefits of video games. 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