Argumentative: Are Video Games Addictive?

According to Jane McGonigal in “Be a gamer, save the world”, video games have the ability to provide gamers with an opportunity to live a happy meaningful life by offering the hope of success with strong social connection and a satisfying work environment with a chance of becoming a part of something bigger. McGonigal believes that video games give gamers a sense of self and allows them to reach outside of who they are and empowers them to tackle real-world problems. Typically gamers are looked at as being escapist, someone who tries to get away from reality, but the reality is playing video games has helped players to become the best version of them self. In McGonigal's article, she makes some good points. For example, by the evidence provided

Video games can have positive, therapeutic effects on players of all ages, especially those with mental or emotional problems. Games provide a chance to tune out the stresses of everyday life and decompress. Giving your mind time to rest is critical for emotional and mental well-being. Relaxation reduces the risk of heart problems and stroke, boosts memory, buffers against depression, and helps decision making. It even has physical health benefits, by suppressing

You can become addicted to virtually anything the human race never ceases to amaze us with what people can get addicted to. When thinking about addiction most people commonly think about drugs and alcohol but the most common and modern form of addiction for the twenty first century is technology addiction. As we move on to the future technology is constantly improving and becoming a necessity for modern life.

In today’s culture, people who regularly play video games have been stereotypically viewed as overweight, lazy, slobs, who can’t keep a job and never leave their homes. However, a majority of the population plays video games or owns a console. These stereotypes mostly apply to PC gamers, and MMO players in particular. While most people don’t develop such severe addictions to the game, there is a group of people who suffer. These people are usually imagined as overweight men in their parent’s basements, sporting acne and greasy hair. There are most definitely people that fit this profile, however, video game addiction can claim many different people from many different walks of life. It is most definitely a serious issue, but some people don’t see the degree to which it affects everyday life. Personally, I feel that I can elaborate on the matter with a different perspective, as I have been closeup and personal to video game addiction.

In recent decades, attention has been placed on the influence of violent videogames on the aggressive behaviour of individuals. While some scholars believe that videogames increase aggression amongst children in particular, others claim evidence on the catharsis hypothesis where videogames are argued to be a safe outlet to express aggression (Berger 2002). Although many theories have emerged regarding the influence of violent videogames, the debate continues to be divided between those who claim its destructive nature and others who claim that videogames cannot be solely blamed for the aggressive behaviour expressed by young people. This essay therefore aims to examine different arguments raised in the literature regarding

Video games were created to provide a unique, interactive experience for the user. This “experience” is something we can define as being fun, engaging, and interesting. This was the mindset of Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; he was extremely engaged and interested in his work regarding the monster. However, MMORPG’s represent the bad side to video games; in the same way that Frankenstein’s monster was the hellish subject that interested him, MMORPG’s still interest some users despite their lack of true video game “experience”. In fact, MMORPG’s cause addiction, separate families, lead to depression, and separate the user from real life, indicating that they are virtual “animals” that need to be tamed.

Addiction: Fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Addict: Person who is addicted to a particular substance. Videogames have become our new scape goat when it comes to having fun and doing something in our leisure time. So often, we find ourselves captivated by the new games that are coming out and any new gaming devices. Videogames have managed to take control of our minds and only leave us a pinch of freedom. Electronic games have caused us to be lazy, develop criminal behavior, and has proven to be a leading cause in mass murders. Electronic gaming devices have played a major part in the evolution of America, not only causing us to be addicts- but have given us a reason to not participate in the real world.

To begin, video games can be used a way to escape the reality when times are hard for someone. In the article, “Playing video games is good for your brain” by Mark Griffiths, a Washington Post journalist, states an example on how video games can be used as a way to forget about what’s going on in the real world. For example, when Mark says, “Because video games can be so engaging, they can also be used therapeutically.” (Mark). In other words, video games can be used as a way to get your mind off of things during bad times. Another example is when Mark says, ”In another experiment, they trained gamers who had little previous experience of playing action games, giving them 50 hours practice. It was shown that these gamers performed much better on perceptual tasks than they had prior to their training.” (Mark). To clarify, multiple experiments were used to

“c(or getting better at) and enjoy. In other words, gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.” Says Jane Mcgonigal, an American game designer and Author. Kids and Adults of all ages enjoy and play video games because they can be helpful in many different ways. For example, they can teach life lessons, motivate children to read, and help train the brain so it can think fast and strong.

There are some who say those who play video games are antisocial and need to,”Go outside and make friends.” But not me. Video games gave me a social life.

My brother would play in the middle of the night and would always get in trouble. He was obsessed! Jack Flanagan, in his article, “The Psychology of Video Games” reports, “Video games are built to exploit this part [reward system] of our brain. Kill monster, get points. Complete level, get happy music. Win game, feel satisfied. It’s a very simple and primitive part of who we are.” However, I think video games offer much more than addictive downfalls. Daphne Bavelier, scientist at the University of Rochester and the University of Geneva, researched on how video games enhance people’s vision and attention control in which she discusses in her speech, “Your Brain on Video Games.” I believe the benefits of video games outweigh the harmful consequences they cause because video games offers finer motor skills and as the zombies we are, we want bigger and better brains to

Once you get to the point that all you can or want to do is play a video game for hours at a time then you’ll noticeably be an official gamer. Being a game addict could be unhealthy though. It can make a person become deranged. Josh Elliot’s research discovered that Gamers have mind sickening thoughts. A gamer quoted explaining his experience as “ A god among men… I was a tyrant… I could do what I want” (Elliott). When people begin having these thoughts they can become detrimental to their health or even society’s health. It is extremely easy for someone like this who has been pulled away from their video game to continue to play the game in real life. People like this become brainwashed. They think that no matter what they are doing they are in a video game situation and that’s when they become harmful to society. It is hard to get these people out the their game zone when they’re extremely dialed

Video Games cause social isolation, for example a 15 year old boy in Sweden pass out after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight, he passed out because he started experiencing social withdrawal, the kid was lacking contact with other humans, and his body’s response to the problem was to pass out. On an extreme level, Ruya Cunningham, a college student spent twenty hours a week playing video games, she eventually “dropped out of school, stopped exercising, and even stopped bathing” (Marcovitz 70). Later on, Ruya Cunningham developed depression, but she kept playing video games because she was addicted to the game. When people are addicted to a game, there is a spiraling vortex sucking the gamer away from society and from sanity. As a consequence of playing violent video games, many teen gamers struggle with real world relationships, this is because they form close virtual relationships with people they meet online. A man in Wisconsin has formed a tremendously close relationship with a group of guys he plays online with, he discusses politics with them and they send each other Christmas gifts even though they do not know each other (Marcovitz 70-72). Video games can also affect the players mental and their physiological state.

Video games have been argued about for decades. Some people have argued that video games are linked to violence. However, new research shows that video games can be used for therapeutic purposes, exercise, stress relievers, positive interactive learning, hand eye coordination, and different types of patient treatment for people all around the world.

This is a very important topic to me because I myself used to be absorbed in video games, and through those hours wasted I have accomplished nothing. I am hoping that through this project I may be