Brain On Video Games Essay

Over the past few decades, video games have been a source of entertainment around the globe. Many people have argued that video games are harmful to children and young adults, while others have argued otherwise. Research has shown that video games has many benefits. These include cognitive, social, and emotional benefits.

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

Video games are a enormous part in the world today. “More than 150 million people in the United States play video games regularly or for at least three hours per week. The number of sales has increased and in 2016, 24.5 billion games were sold, up from 23.2 billion in 2015.” “This Type of Video Game May Actually Harm Your Brain.” written by Mahita Gajanan is my positive article and “How Video Games Affect the Brain.” written by Hannah Nichols is my negative article. In this essay I am going to talk about video games and their impact on the brain (Nichols).

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

There are many benefits to playing video games. Some parents and/or educators can use video games as a tool to subconsciously teach and reinforce learning methods. Educational games and games that requires skillful thinking are tools that can help academically. Merzenich (2011) explains in his research that games can help with judgement, memory, cognitive thinking, and higher speeds in skill processing. He gives reasoning behind the academic growth of children that are gamers and how they acquire academic success due to the excessive time they spend playing.

While many studies of video games and the negatives it has on people always seem to be front page news. The media never seems to state the benefits that video games can have. Can video games actually have a benefit? Can sitting in place for hours playing a video game really teach an individual something useful that they can use in their life?

People often mistake video games to only be bad for your health, but what if they all weren’t? While playing video games, there is an improvement found in the brain’s many regions (Pellissier). Playing video games isn’t completely bad for you, and can actually help the brain. Actually, video games can be beneficial to the human brain and even to the point of life changing ways. Games can change your lifestyle by changing the way the brain processes information, affecting the brain's functionality, giving an addiction to playing video games, and affecting the brain academically, which gives people the choice of whether or not play video games.

Many people have differing views on the topic of video games. While some individuals view gaming as positive, others view it in a negative light. Electronic games should not control a person’s life. Instead, individuals should prioritize and focus on objectives that matter in life. Spending time with family, friends, and studying, have countless benefits that gaming cannot provide in a person’s

There are also many studies that show how video games increase peripheral perception, processing speed, and memory (Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). Also, depending on the type of video game a particular person is playing, it can be used as an effective training scenario(Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). The idea here is that video games can be used as a productive tool for people of all ages, professions, and lifestyles, if they are utilized correctly (Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). An issue that may come up is trying to find the happy area in the middle of the people who don’t use games at all and the ones that are using them excessively and becoming

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.

In today’s society, the concerns for the effects of video games have acquired quite a terrible reputation. Worried parents around the world assume video games make their children do poorly in school, and create violent, desensitized, antisocial children. The increase in violent games, usually get the blame for aggressive behavior, shootings and violence in schools and young individuals. Most beliefs about video games effect on the brain and emotions are very common misconceptions. I strongly believe that video games are an essential tool to learning and gaining much-needed skills. When people look at the studies that have been done on video games and the brain, it will be apparent that some myths about video games have been blown out of proportion. It has come to my attention that there are studies that prove the negative effects of video games may only last the duration of game play. Kids can improve in general knowledge with educational video games like Leap Frog. Video games can train specific areas of the brain as well as increase brain flexibility and memory. Gaming actually has more beneficial effects than negative effects. Video games are excellent educational implement used in elementary schools. It is extremely helpful in brain development and helping kids with trouble reading improve. Memory retention can be improved and increased with the use of strategic, thinking games. Video games, as funny as it might sound, even promote

The controversial topic of video game addiction is what I have decided to focus my multi-genre research project on. Although a multitude of people do not even know of the existence of such a problem in today's society, I can assure you that this is becoming an increasingly greater problem effecting people around the world of all ages. Through my multi-genre project, I intend on proving the uselessness and detrimental qualities of playing video games, and I am going to explore some healthy alternatives to such a problematic habit.

Many young children and teenagers have heard their mother’s incessant plead to get away from the screen and to go outside or pick up a book for once instead. The urge to play “just one more level” before starting that homework or doing those chores can be quite distracting. But are video games really as awful as Mom exclaims or as brutal as those TV ads depict? It turns out that video games can have a strong impact on participants’ lives in both positive as well as negative ways.

Since the Early 70’s video games have been giving a bad name. Parents state that video games rot the minds of children and are influencing them do be violent. These accusations are far from the truth. In my research I found that there are many positive effects of gaming. Some of these effects are increased skills, creativity, general knowledge, and also help those in need. Parents can also take proper precautions and look into a game before buying it to see if it meets the criteria discussed in this paper.

Playing video games is among one of the favorite pastimes of many people around the world. Some play games to kill time with simple tasks found most commonly on the phone, while others play them to challenge their mind in the form of complex puzzles or to practice management skills, some play them to experience a sense of adventure that they just can’t find anywhere else, and many use them as a way to communicate or have fun with friends both near and far. Whatever the reason someone may have for playing video games, they may not think that games can have an effect on their brains. Some would say that playing video games can lead to negative effects such as harming the player’s cognitive skills or causing them to become much more violent than normal. Others would argue that playing video games quickens the minds of their players, leading to higher mental performance or an increased attention to detail. Thanks to this hotly debated controversy many studies have been conducted over the past years in order to settle the debate once and for all. So what effect can playing video games have on the cognitive skills of their players, and are these effects positive, negative, or somewhere in the middle?