Civic education VIDEO GAMES: PRO OR CON? 15 After reading the passage and finding more information on the topic on the web, write a paragraph in favour of video games and a paragraph against them. Are Video Games Bad For You? Today, almost a third of the world s population plays video games; given the widespread use of video games, many authors have questioned the effects, positive or negative, that they may have on gamers. Although some studies have emphasised their positive value, common sense has focused more on the negative evidence, increasingly fuelling the stereotype that video games are bad for you , supported by the fact that many video games have violent elements, suggesting that they can cause increased aggression in those who play them (Griffiths, 1999). Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitise players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may provide a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings and may reduce crime. Among the studies that confirm the belief that aggressive video games promote increased aggression is that of Hollingdale and Greitemeyer (2014). The authors examine the effects of the gaming experience, including perception of difficulty and enjoyment, on levels of aggressive behaviour. In 2011 two other scholars, Adachi e Willoughby, showed that playing violent video games increases aggression levels more when compared to playing content-neutral video games; however, this effect is not significant if the game is played online. They propose a new point of view on the issue: the two authors identify four characteristics of video games: violence, competitiveness, difficulty, and pace of action. These characteristics would directly influence certain internal states of the player such as physiological arousal, aggressive thoughts and frustration, which are related to each other; finally, it is the relationship between the characteristics of video games and the player s internal states that determines aggressive behaviour. However, these results are not universally true: the four main characteristics of video games identified by the authors do not influence all video gamers, but only those who are susceptible to them. Stimuli such as competitiveness, violence, or any other input from the outside are in fact processed and filtered by our mind, having a different effect on each of us. Video game competitiveness, for instance, can influence aggressive thoughts by activating associative links developed in previous competitive situations that produced aggressive outcomes. flawed: viziato, errato 16 Adapted from: https://www.britannica.com/ procon/video-games-debate to fuel: alimentare outlet: sfogo PAIR WORK Recently, Australia has banned everyone under 16 from social media. Imagine a similar law in Italy against video games for people underage and discuss the pros and cons by using these prompts. Kids will find workarounds This law could face constitutional challenges Parental consent is enough, we don t need a State to act as a parent It might sound good on paper, but not in practice. Video games can enhance children s skills 210 Creative Arts