Being a parent has never been regarded as an easy task. In today's world parents must protect their children from many dangers. It certainly doesn't help that it is becoming more and more common for both parents to work full time, and thus have less time to protect their kids from these dangers. Video games are the fastest growing form of media today. Kids have been enjoying these games for more than two decades now. Video games may seem harmless enough, but parents should know and understand the effects that a video game can have on their children. It is the job of parents to decide what types of video games their children play, and how much time they should be allowed to play.
As with just about everything today, video games have both positive and negative effects on those who play them. It is important to stress, however, that almost everything is circumstantial and is not necessarily applicable in all cases. When children are very young, they are still learning about reality and fantasy; distinguishing between the two can prove both difficult and harmful. Violent video games are actively marketed to all age groups. The companies of course want to sell as many copies of each game as possible; and, as long as parents are purchasing these games for their kids, companies will continue to market the games to younger audiences. To add to this problem, retailers are not required to sell games only to those who meet the recommended age group. A child can walk into a store and buy any game he desires so long as he has the money to pay for it.
There is one danger which has been becoming more and more frequent in teenage gamers today - addiction. Online games are all the rage today. Many teens use these games to create a new identity, allowing them to escape from the pressures of the everyday stresses of being a teenager. Two types of online games have been said to be addicting - role playing games and first person shooters.