With all of the problems facing the world today, video games are an unlikely candidate to top the list of major worries. In general, the public views video games as an outlet for stress and boredom. It is hard for many people to imagine how video games could negatively affect their mental and physical health. However, with about 90 percent of U.S. kids ages 8 to 16 playing video games 13 hours a week (or more if you're a boy), it becomes more apparent why this activity warrants scrutiny. Kids and even adults are becoming increasingly attached to video games, and as Dr. Ronald M. Davis (former president of the American Medical Association) notes, "When people are playing video games to the extent that a game is controlling someone's behaviors and taking over their daily life, then you are talking about a compulsive use, whether you categorize it in a psychiatric manual or not." As the nation’s mental and physical health continues to decline, excessive video game playing is emerging as a possible culprit.
The first step in finding a solution to a problem is to identify and define the parameters of the problem. As with many compulsive behaviors, the problem is not simply playing video games. The problem occurs when playing video games overrides all other normal daily activities and relationships, resulting in small yet noticeable changes in behavior and physical appearance. How much is too much? Brian Dudley, the director of Broadway Lodge in Weston-super-Mare (a British alcohol and drug rehab center that treats addicts for video game addictions) says that eighteen hours a day is the most some people play. Dudley says many patients he treats for video game addiction start as patients playing seven hours a day. As these young people “overplay” video games, it stunts their emotional, physical and social development as they move into adulthood.
A recent study found that one impact video games can have on kids is desensitizing them to violence. "When you're exposed to violence day in and day out, it loses its emotional impact on you," Dr. L. Roswell Huesmann of the University of Michigan says. "Once you're emotionally numb to violence, it's much easier to engage in violence." Huesmann’s studies have verified these effects. In the experiment, teachers and other observers noted that children who played violent video games for more than eighteen hours a week were more aggressive and physical in their interactions with other kids and adults. The kids also seemed to have very easily off-set emotional levels, acting rashly in daily activities. The excessive play appeared to hamper the development of empathy and stunted their caring nature’s ability to mature and to grow, skills crucial later in life.

Overplaying video games is also affecting children’s physical health. With more time being spent on the couch in front of the TV, kids spend fewer hours moving about and playing. This lethargic nature tends to continue into the children’s adult years. People may argue that some video games have an interactive physical component to them, but these activities have been shown to have less of a positive effect than actual real-life physical activities. Dr. Sanjay Gupta of Emory University who conducted a research comparing video game exercise to real exercise says, “Kids who played an interactive boxing game for an hour used 175 calories. But if they participated in a real boxing program, they burned more than twice that amount, 384 calories, in an hour. Interactive bowling used 168 calories in an hour, while bowling at the bowling alley used 192 calories per hour.” While a game may seem to give your child sufficient exercise, in reality, it does not. To garner a similar result, a child would have to play a video game twice the length of time a child would who is actually participating in a real life game.

As with every problem, a solution is sought, but unfortunately there is no easy solution to the overuse of video games. Most people who have this problem do not recognize it and do not want to do anything to fix something they think is not broken. They do not realize that trends that are rooted in people’s childhood, such as overplaying video games, continue later in their lives and affect their social interactions and physical attributes. Researchers led by James B. Weaver from the National Center for Health Marketing at the Centers for Disease Control, conducted a study for people around the Seattle-Tacoma area that claimed that they were either regular or fanatic players. He noted a 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. A possible fundamental solution to the problem, then, would be to start putting the word out on the street about the addictive nature of gaming. Parents need to become educated about the negative effects that overplaying video games brings and how bad early habits formed in childhood are carried into their adult years. Adults who start to see the facts and effects of this problem might seek help or, at the very least, be made aware of the problem and try to reduce the hours spent gaming. Another possible solution for this problem could be the Center for Disease Control allocating money towards ads for video game overuse awareness. In addition, Great Britain sponsors video game addiction programs for people that need help breaking their addiction to video games, and the United States as well as other countries could use these as models for similar programs.
With greater awareness of the problem and proper support, people who suffer from video game addiction will have possible solutions to turn to when they need help the most. The issues experienced by people who overplay video games could diminish and a healthier future could be assured.

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