Everything Bad Is Good For You By Steven Johnson

In today’s society video games have a large influence on people. We also might be driven to the point of where we are dependent on them. In fact, being so engulfed in video games could help children become more focused.In fact, parents would probably disagree and say that video games wouldn’t be essential to learning because it would probably be considered a waste of time for children and time-consuming. Parents would also disagree with the content of what is in the game, but there is a great possibility that video games could actually make us smarter. Steven Johnson explains that the games we are used to playing can improve our visual intelligence and that it would be good to learn new strategies through gaming. Video games should be an

Using persuasive writing, Wright begins to influence his audience that game play is a beneficial source of entertainment not a wasteful one. Playing video games increases creatively, self esteem and improve problem solving skills of the players. Video games are becoming test runs that appear or feel close to the real thing. Where you can control everything with added effects like magic or future technology. Games have the potential to exceed almost all other forms of entertainment media. They tell stories, play music, challenge us, allow us to instantly communicate and interact with others. Encourage us to create things, connect us to new communities, and let us play with people across the world. Unlike most other forms of media, games are inherently tangible. According to Wright young children spend their days in imaginary worlds, substituting toys and make believe into the real world that they are just beginning to explore and understand. Wright states that games are the result of imagination and that they consist of rules and goals. Generation of teenagers has grown up with different set of games. Teenagers use the scientific method rather than reading the manual first. Games today maybe a person’s only place to express a high-level of creativity and growth. Older generations have a lot of criticisms for games, the games can help a person learn to think on his or her own.

Have you ever heard that too much television can ruin a child’s mind? Malcolm Gladwell proposes in his article, “Brain Candy,” that playing video games or watching television is just as important as reading a book. Gladwell is using rhetorical appeals to prove that in fact, video games are not dumbing down society. Pop culture is helping to improve test scores and knowledge. In “Brain Candy,” Malcolm Gladwell does affectively use rhetorical appeals to convince his audience that pop culture is making our society smarter.

In “Why Games Are Good For You,” an excerpt from the book Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, the author Steven Johnson defends gaming as a valid form of entertainment against its conventional opponents and delves deep into its benefits. Firstly, Johnson presents the old conventional argument of beneficial reading as opposed to the colossal time-wasting

In the article, “Brain Candy,” by Malcolm Gladwell, he addresses the topic of pop culture using the resource, Steven Johnson of “Everything Bad Is Good for You.” He argues how with television plays a big role because it gives us the ability to connect and socialize with others. He then describes how video games are effective as well, despite the criticisms. He lastly assures the reason behind the criticisms because there is lack of book reading. According to Gladwell, there is no balance with having reading and homework for explicit learning, an effective submissive process. He greatly suggests the new pop culture, playing video games, is a source for collateral learning, having an active thought process. I agree with Gladwell that even though pop culture is believed to be dangerous for

The essay "Why Games are Good for You" by Steven Johnson was not written in order to prove that video games are better or worse than books, but rather to prove that video games do not cause a problem when it comes to education or social skills for the people who play them. Johnson believes that the reason books have been condemned for so long is because they are graded on the same scale; however, research shows that video games are just as stimulating as books. Despite his belief that nothing will ever replace the power of books, he mentions that video games provide people with a new and enticing way to learn, that with a book would normally be boring. According to Johnson, this is because video games offer a visual method of learning that book cannot do. For instance, the game SimCity 2000 allows you to build a metropolis, meanwhile, teaching you about taxes, population, and economics(Johnson 489)with an approach that books cannot offer. Overall, Johnson's message to readers is that video games are not

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.

We live in a society where technology is constantly changing the rules to the “game” and Millennials have no problem implementing it into all aspects of life. Children can easily use technology, and expect to use it in most life situations. Gee uses Good Video Games + Good Learning to examine well-designed games and the ways in which they can become a context for learning, not necessarily using game technologies in school and at work. Are video games a form of digital literacy? If so, what does that mean regarding the future of educational instruction? Prior to reading the text, I was still questioning video games positive potential; whether educational or recreational, have the potential to advance one’s cognitive development. In this collection of essays, Gee examines the many platforms in which video games are good for learning. He claims that video games are good for learning because parent and teachers can use commercial games to stimulate discussions of important social, intellectual, and academic subjects. Also, that games can create virtual worlds where players solve simulations of real-world problems and in the process learn real-world skills, knowledge, and values. (p. 69)

Video games have quickly become the new major source of entertainment for the youth and the upcoming adults of the world. The youth seem to be giving more of their free time to video games. However, they have always seemed to have a bad reputation with many people of all generations. People are starting to believe more and more that video games are nothing but trouble. They feel as if video games are a waste of time and the youth could be using the time they spend on video games on more productive tasks or activities. What if they were actually a good thing for the younger generations to be involved with? Many would doubt that is possible because they feel as if video games cause the youth to become lazy and less intelligent. There has

Steven Johnson makes an interesting assertion that the increased complexity of media over time, has led to an increase in viewers’ mental exercise and comfort. With regards to understanding and use of new technologies and media; increased information, subtleties, multiple themes and relatively complex threads, are said to have exercised and strengthened the human mind. (Johnson, 2005 p. 77 Kindle Edition) Johnson believes that gaming and media are incorrectly viewed as a cause for lack of human development. He believes that someone who reads books versus one who is an avid gamer, does not necessarily posse stronger intelligence. Through statistical research, Johnson suggests that games and other forms of modern media have added to a higher average IQ in humans over recent decades. According to Johnson, higher average IQs are related to

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

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.

Video games are frowned upon by parents as time-wasters, and worse, some education experts think that these games corrupt the brain. Violent video games are easily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some young people become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior. But many scientists and psychologists find that video games can actually have many benefits – the main one is making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level thinking skills that they will need in the future.

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.

The group of students that attended classes and were learning by using educational video games got better scores than students that did not attend classes with educational video games (Riedel). This study encourages that video games expect leading to appearance of bad symptoms, may provide improving of human behavior and personal skills. These two studies best explain the reason why this topic is worth. The debate may be actuated about bad sides of using video games and their effect on changing of human behavior, as well as good sides of using video games and their effect on changing of human behavior. And there is quote about video games, which states that using of video games and their effect are really one of the most common asked questions. “Video games account for one-third of the average monthly consumer spending in the U.S. for core entertainment content, including music, video, games” (Frazier, “Entertainment Trends in America”). In our research paper we will write about advantages and disadvantages of playing different types of games. Which influence games can have on young population and how much that influence can be serious. We organized our research paper into tree body paragraphs: aggression, negative effects of playing violent video games and educational video games. In first paragraph we will write about aggression which comes from