The Impact Of Video Games On The Brain

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

Have you ever played the Game of Life before? The game that’s similar to Monopoly but it's about a (pretend) life you play and what would happen to it as you continue and make choices in the game. Emotional Intelligence gives you choices for your everyday scenario, where you can choose to calm down or impulsively react to the situation. However, those who lack emotional intelligence don't have a choice. In the article, “Video Games Affect the Brain – for Better and Worse” by Douglas A. Gentile from the DANA Foundation states that video games may affect the brain in five unnoticeable ways. Gentile mentioned that what players learn from video games can be transferred over to the real world. He later says that video games desensitize

"Researchers at the University of Rochester found that young adults who regularly played action-based video games showed better visual skills than those who didn't" (USA Today). Researchers have also found that the subjects who played video games "were better able to keep track of objects appearing simultaneously and processed fast-changing visual information more efficiently" (USA Today). Video games have made it a long way from when they first started. Some games actually teach children how to read, write, and even count. Teenagers also state that a little gaming after school actually helps take some stress off from classes and the overload of homework.

Do you remember the first time you played a video game? Was it Super Mario Brothers, Call of Duty, or Minesweeper? How about the time your parents told you that video games will rot your brain? Well forget all that, this paper is going to tell you the benefits of playing video games. My claim is that video games can help you with leadership skills, problem solving, education, and cognitive function.

Playing video games will affect your decisions in one way or another. Will your perceptions change due to the type of game you are playing? There are two answers to this question, yes and no. Researching the effect of video games on the brain provides detail results that show my thoughts.

Everyday both adults and children play video games. Some people argue that video games have many negative effects including poor eyesight and inattention. The TED talk by Daphne Bavelier (2012) discusses some of the current research regarding the effect video games have on your brain. Bavelier (2012) talks more specifically about the effects of action video games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and similarly formatted games on a person’s vision and attention span. This paper will explore both the TED talk by Bavelier (2012) and other relevant research on the subject.

The third section talks about how parts of your brain is affected by video games and tv. Researchers studied the different patterns that are processed through the brains.“...exploring an

"The Truth About Video Games And The Brain: What Research Tells Us".Scientific Learning. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

North America has spiraled into an unhealthy obsession with video games. The value of the video game industry in 2015 was over seventy-one billion dollars in the United States alone, and its worth has only increased. Polls show that 63% of American households have persons who play video games for a minimum of three hours a day. But do exposure to those games affect the brain in a negative way? Video games are shown to be more influential to the brain than television and movies, and research shows that video games shrink essential parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. This diminution influences cognitive functions, whose effects will carry on into later life.

Would you believe that our generation is the dumbest? With technology controlling this generation, this doesn’t consider our generation to be dumb it would make us people to be lazy about their education and not even try at all. Others would look at the bad side of our generation but the best way would be looking at the good side of our generation. This generation has created many technologies to help us going and can excess to anything. Writer Mark Bauerlein said “Young Americans have much more access and education than their parents did.” Children of this generation has much more high knowledge level than their parents because the technology has improved throughout the years.

As virtual reality becomes a reality of our society, the impact of video games has been studied intensely with findings that can support any case for or against the impact videos have on the brain.  When looking into the impact of video games on the brain, one must look at the benefits, the detriment, and the lasting effect of video games.  The impact of the video games on the brain depends on what the video game’s theme is projecting.

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

Despite video games being known for promoting anger and becoming addictive, it is shown that in recent studies some video games enhance cognitive skills. It is seen that action games enhance cognitive skills and that “brain training” games do very little in improving these skills because of lack in critical features.

“Life is a video game. No matter how good you get, you are always zapped in the end” (“Video Game Quotes” 1). Over time researchers, psychiatrists, and parents have often wondered how damaging violent video games can be to the youth in society. This is an important matter to people with children in their personal lives or work environment. These games have become a large risk factor for aggressive behavior in children. Researchers have been saying that video games do affect adults as well; however, they have even more effect on younger brains in early development. Video games have negative effects on childrens’ behavior. Some effects that video games have are reduced academic performance, aggression, obesity, and emotional disorder.

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?