Literature Review: How are High School Students Affected by Video Games?

- The studies and reports that were discovered tended to have mixed results, with no real conclusion as to what the effects were on teens
- Video games (defined by the American Medical Association) as any type of electronic gaming, to include, computer games, console games, and games that can be played on mobile devices
- In a population-based study in England it was found that video games could:
- Trigger epileptic seizures
- Contribute to violent behavior
- Video game overuse in minors could cause disruptions in family life and schoolwork
- A study that was completed in 2007 that surveyed 1,178 American youth between the ages of 8 and 18
- The results:
- Almost 90 percent of people played video games
- Boys, on average, played video games for 16.4 hours a week
- Girls spent about 9 hours a week playing video games
- The gamers who over-used video games spent about 24 hours a week playing video games
- About 8.5 percent of young gamers who were considered to be “addicted”
- 20 percent of the respondents acknowledged that their schoolwork has suffered due to video games
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