Most children play video games and use other electronic devices regularly. This may have an affect on their grade point averages, behavior, and health. We performed a survey to help show how video games affect students that live in Jefferson County. We also researched information on this topic to compare our research with other researchers.
Research indicates the time children play video games is taking away time from physical activities that would lead to obesity. Since 1990, the amount of time children spend playing video games, watching TV, and surfing the Internet has increased 33 percent while physical activity has decreased by 18 percent in the same time period. While the average child watches television about 25 hours per week, plays video games 9 hours per week, and uses a computer 3.5 hours per week. This equals 37.5 hours of electronics use per week.
Some data suggests that younger children are more at risk, and if children do not start playing games until they reach adolescence they are more likely to choose sports-orientated and strategic games (such as Sim City) over first-person shooting games.
Other researchers say not enough parents pay attention to the amount of time their children spend playing video games. Approximately 87 percent of children in grades 4 through 12 report playing video games regularly. And, one in five children indicates their parents never prevented them from buying video games because of their content.
We performed a survey asking 31 people 8 questions on their opinion of video games and how they may be affected. Our survey will show what students think and how video games affect them. It will also show how much time they spend playing video games per week and doing other activities like reading and doing homework. Some students defend video games because they don't think they affect their grade point average. One student we surveyed runs track, wrestles, and still has a 4.0. However, our survey shows that for most students, time spent playing video games does affect a student's grade point average.
