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Media and Development
Kayle Conover
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University
PSY 355: Child and Adolescent Psychology
Professor Erika Frederick
14 March 2021
, 2
Media and Development
The introduction of media and electronics has had a huge effect on child development.
Nowadays, technology is a part of a child’s life, both at home and school. Since a majority of
children are exposed to technology, specifically video games, researchers have found both
positive and negative effects on their development. Video games affect a child’s brain functions,
physical development, and social development while also positively influencing and impacting
the child.
Video games have often been perceived as solely detrimental to a child’s development,
however, they have both positive and negative effects on brain functioning. It has been shown
that video games, specifically, games in the action genre, help improve low-level vision, visual
attention, processing speed, memory, and overall perception skills (Bavelier et al., 2011). This
can help a child’s work ethic in school by having better skills for memorization and attention
control. However, as stated earlier, there are some negative effects. Unhealthy amounts of video
game use can lead to an internet addiction, which results in negative behaviors such as altered
social behavior, increased aggression, lower attention spans, and depressed moods (Bavelier et
al., 2011). However, these major negative effects occur when gaming abuse and additional risk
factors, such as mental disorders, are active.
Video games can also delay physical development if played in unhealthy amounts. By
staying inside and playing video games, children are less motivated to go outside and partake in
physical activities, such as recreational activities and sports. This hurts the child’s development
because they do not get the vitamins they need, such as vitamin D from sunlight, and bone and
muscle growth. Although video games cannot provide all the physical development a child
needs, there have been improvements to video game consoles, such as Nintendo Wii and XBOX
Media and Development
Kayle Conover
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University
PSY 355: Child and Adolescent Psychology
Professor Erika Frederick
14 March 2021
, 2
Media and Development
The introduction of media and electronics has had a huge effect on child development.
Nowadays, technology is a part of a child’s life, both at home and school. Since a majority of
children are exposed to technology, specifically video games, researchers have found both
positive and negative effects on their development. Video games affect a child’s brain functions,
physical development, and social development while also positively influencing and impacting
the child.
Video games have often been perceived as solely detrimental to a child’s development,
however, they have both positive and negative effects on brain functioning. It has been shown
that video games, specifically, games in the action genre, help improve low-level vision, visual
attention, processing speed, memory, and overall perception skills (Bavelier et al., 2011). This
can help a child’s work ethic in school by having better skills for memorization and attention
control. However, as stated earlier, there are some negative effects. Unhealthy amounts of video
game use can lead to an internet addiction, which results in negative behaviors such as altered
social behavior, increased aggression, lower attention spans, and depressed moods (Bavelier et
al., 2011). However, these major negative effects occur when gaming abuse and additional risk
factors, such as mental disorders, are active.
Video games can also delay physical development if played in unhealthy amounts. By
staying inside and playing video games, children are less motivated to go outside and partake in
physical activities, such as recreational activities and sports. This hurts the child’s development
because they do not get the vitamins they need, such as vitamin D from sunlight, and bone and
muscle growth. Although video games cannot provide all the physical development a child
needs, there have been improvements to video game consoles, such as Nintendo Wii and XBOX
