The Dangerous, Dark Side of Video Games

Think about it. On a Wednesday night you come home from a long day’s work and you find your 13 year old son, sitting on the couch with a controller in his hands and using vulgar language to people online. This is what violent video games can possibly do to you if you do not control your video-game-playing-world. Americans spend around 23.5 billion dollars on video games annually, and most of that money comes from violent video games such as the Call of Duty series, the GTA series, so on and so forth. All games have a sticker on them which says the age rating and most violent games are 16+. However, there are young kids from the age of four years old who play these games on a day to day basis. These kids develop a mindset that is very violence centered. Role playing games with simulated violence can be perilous to kids because it can corrupt their mind into doing things they normally wouldn’t do.

A primary reason why these games can be perilous to kids is because they put kids in places they normally wouldn’t be in. Guy Martin, an author for the New Yorker states that these upperclassmen “[...] staked outside of Cohen’s house in a blue minivan.” Not one teenager would actually wait outside someone’s house if it weren’t for the game. Adding on to that, they weren’t even sleeping in their own houses for the past few nights but in fact sleeping on futons borrowed from their parents in one of the parents minivans, just to ambush the young ninth grader when he was not expecting it. Furthermore, these upperclassmen were planning on doing the exact same stakeout on three other kids. This is just a game and the upperclassmen might be taking it a bit too seriously.

These games can push kids into doing illegal things. In an article “High-Jinks: Shoot-Out”, the upperclassmen changed their caller id’s to the id of one of Cohen’s teammates so they could track Cohen down. Understandably, some may say that this shows great problem solving and critical thinking skills but, changing a caller id is illegal and this is just for a game. Furthermore, the upperclassmen went on and stalked one of the ninth graders through New York, New Jersey and as far as Connecticut. Arguably, these ninth graders did sign up for this in the first place, but in some people’s perspective, the upperclassmen may have taken this slightly overboard. According to Erik Kain, a contributor to the Forbes Magazine states in his article, ‘Do games like GTA V cause real world violence?’ reveals that these games make teenagers act and behave differently when they are hooked onto such games.

Another reason to why role playing games like Killer and Mafia are perilous to kids is that these games can influence and change the mindsets of teenagers to a mindset of a criminal. In the article, “High Jinks: Shoot Out” the older upperclassmen sneak and smuggle water guns into an airport. In a more serious, criminal situation, the criminal would actually be sneaking real guns into an airport but either way, the actions are similar, just that water guns are low key. Once again, these games are pushing kids into doing the extreme.

People may argue that all these acts are just developing the mindsets of kids and teens into being more problem solving, critical thinking, resilience and creativity. All these factors are fair because the kids are trying to come up with creative ways to eliminate the opponent. While this may be true, there is a boundary to these games and as the article ‘High-Jinks: Shoot Out’ has showed us, these teenagers have really taken this game to an extreme and really crossed the boundaries.

In conclusion, RPG are arguably perilous for kids. They can make kids behave and act in dangerous ways and clearly that is not what we want. They can also make us end up in places that we really do not want to be in. Think about it, if you were a parent, you would definitely not want your kid to do such extreme things like camping outside of someone’s house, stalking a younger kid through three different states and also acting like a criminal, right? I believe that such games should be allowed for kids and teens but they must play the games in moderation, not too much, but a little bit.

By Arjun

The Computer; Good or Bad?

You walk up the stairs from the bus bay. Go straight. It seems to be that every morning you hear the endless chatter of Middle School students sitting on the benches near the Nurses office gossiping about the latest gadget. Even on a gloomy Monday morning, you hear the tip tap sounds of the keyboard, students talking about who won the latest cricket match while watching highlights on their computers.

Technology impacts all of us. There is no denial about that. We use it for work, school and for leisure at home. The computer is for sure one of the most used gadgets ever. Since the time that the computer was invented, no ones life has stayed the same. Take Apple for instance, they sell their products for ridiculous prices but we still have the ‘need’ to buy the latest thing. That ‘need’ is what drastically changed us all.

UWCSEA has its own views of technology. For homework, students use purely their laptops, as that is a way to advance into a 100% tech school. However, there is a downside. Students get highly distracted with their laptops in front of them. It seems to be that there is no real way to get rid of the distraction.

Roshan Arun Kumar, a grade 8 student was interviewed by this reporter about distractions and ‘gaming’ on the laptops in the Middle School. Roshan claims that he spends the same amount of time gaming as he spends on a social media website. He said, ‘ Every week, I spend about 2-3 hours on social media, same with the amount of time I game a week. I obviously spend more time doing work on my laptop than gaming and social media combined as we use our laptops on a daily basis. A computer seems to be such a big part of all of our lives, I probably couldn’t last too long without one.’

Research has shown us that technology has both a positive and a negative effect on our lives. On the positive side, it is easier to access things and you can do so much more than what you could do on pen and paper. On the negative side, it opens up a world of distractions which is easily accessible with just a few taps of the keyboard. Also, by 2010, 97% of all schools in America had access to Internet Connectivity. This means that the 97% of schools in America believed that technology is the way to go.

All in all, technology has by far helped our lives in ways that were not imaginable before the invention of the first computer. The matter of addiction to our laptops isn’t manageable by others, in the end, it comes down to you. It’s all about self-control.

Written by Arjun

The Pro’s of Exercise

Watching TV on the couch on a Friday night, flipping through the channels when you come across the sports channel, seeing all the professional athletes do their thing, Kobe Bryant shooting round the arc and swishing a three, Usain Bolt tearing up the track and Michael Phelps speeding down the cold pool, you get the point.

In all seriousness, many adolescents are worried and concerned about their bodies. Teens these days suffer a negative body image. Negative body image is when someone thinks that they are too fat, too skinny, too weak, too short. Maybe for girls it is when they are not pretty enough. Research has shown us that exercise boost our self-esteem and helps tone our bodies and keeps our hearts healthy. Exercise is something that everyone needs. It also helps us stay positive and mindful as well as keeping us fit.

If exercise is not in your daily regime, you may face many physical problems, Obesity being one of many. Not only does Obesity cause physical problems but also social problems. If you don’t exercise, Obesity is inevitable. Bullying is something that could be one of the consequences of being obese. People may tease people or make fun of them for being obese but it is not entirely the obese persons fault. Genetics play a major role on obesity.

On the plus side, exercise also helps us perform better in school. Scientists have observed students activity levels in a 7th grade classroom. The results came out just as expected. The students who played a sport almost every day were more attentive and performed better.

Sure exercise is tiring, maybe even boring for some people but it should not be treated like a chore. People should think of it as something that you do mindlessly, without thinking about like brushing your teeth every morning or night and eating your breakfast. Lots of people love exercise and sport, just like many people in Middle School. Harit Raghunathan, from 8JRa said “ I really enjoy playing a sport and exercising, it helps me reduce stress. Another reason is it gives you a sense of determination and the drive to become better. If you are competing in an ACSIS team, you find that there is a sense of competitiveness in everyone, the fact that you want you and your team to win and even if you don’t, you will feel proud that you have at least gotten that far.” Almost everyone in 8JRa said that they love sports, depending on which one. Sport is a part of exercise, so it counts. No one can live without exercise, it is a need.

Written by Arjun

Teamwork; Is Working Together The Right Way?

In a school, UWCSEA East, one of the best in the world, Outdoor Education is one of the 5 elements in the UWCSEA Movement. OEL (Outdoor Education Learning), is a class that students get for a third of a year in Grade 7. Last year, MNi had an exciting event, Crate Stacking. It was blatantly obvious how excited everyone was. The purpose of Crate Stacking, as the teachers have said, is to show teambuilding to the students in a fun way.

As the fun and hilarious event went on, the class had definitely bonded way more than they would have done without the Crate Stacking. This reporter had asked a student who did not have the opportunity to climb the Crates about the experience. He replied “Even though we didn’t get the opportunity to do the main thing, we still had a whole lot of fun and I can definitely feel that our class has bonded a whole lot more and all of us are very good friends now,” quoted Martin Aviles, a student at UWCSEA East.

A student in 8JRa, who also did the crate stacking last year in Grade 7 quoted “Crate Stacking, working in teams to do it, makes us so much more efficient and helps us problem solve in a partnership much better, which is a life lesson that will help us in later life. It also adds a sense of trust, with the belayer and your partner, which got us all closer together. All in all, it has helped us socially, and physically.”

This is absolutely true. Many people get things done way more efficiently. 3 students out of Four claimed that they work better in teams and they enjoy it because it really helps. This is exactly what crate stacking has shown us all.

Written by Arjun