Video games can have tremendous negative effects on children and adolescents. They promote inactivity, and health problems such as obesity. In fact, video game companies such as Nintendo even have warnings on the games that basically say that one should take breaks every hour to stop harm to the eyes, and even seizures due to overexposure. Video games are often paired with a poor diet, which can consist of high-calorie snacks such as potato chips and high-sugar soda such as Mountain Dew. This is very typical in America, especially in cities and suburbs where there is not much for children to do.
It is often safer for parents to keep their children in homes playing these games than going outside due to city crime such as child abuse, gun violence, and bullying. Video games offer a shelter and sanctuary from this. Nonetheless, they cause health problems and can promote anti-social behavior and they may disconnect from parents.
Violent video games such as the Grand Theft Auto series promote violence in young boys, and despite an "M" rating, parents buy these sort of games for young children. These children are exposed to crime, immorality, drug abuse, gun violence, and obscene language at a young age. While the ESRB is doing a good thing placing appropriate ratings on such violent games, parents often do not look at these ratings and will unknowingly buy young children these atrocious titles. One who is aware can surely tremble as a parent buys a child Mortal Kombat for Christmas, and will know that the horrifying content can have a great effect on the well-being of the child! Even Christian churches will have youth group activities where young men will play games like Halo! This ignorance toward game content can promote young men emulating these characters in the violent games they played as children, and has shown links to certain violent behavior promoted recently. The Supreme Court upheld the "free speech" right of an extremely violent and gruesome game as if it were an actual form of speech. Images shown of the game include a beast breaking the body of a woman in half with gore spewing out. Surely one would not want their young child to see this! Nonetheless, this issue is one that will need to be solved by parents to protect the well-being of our children.