The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games

While there are claims that video games are not beneficial, it is quite reasonable to assume they are. Video game-based learning has become prominent in the world of technology. Crocco states that popular video games are “problem-solving adventures that foster engagement, inquiry, and critical thinking.” The inquiry and critical thinking mentioned by Crocco, paired with the engagement of the player, allow for increased proficiency in those areas. Additionally, Bowen insists that games, including violent games, allow for an expansion of child’s learning along with health and social skills. For example, video games enhance one’s problem solving skills, reasoning, memory, and perception. Although learning is often associated with pure knowledge, children are able to learn socially as well. Since the world is becoming increasingly technology-based, it is convenient for children to learn through technology.

Even a first-person shooter requires a good deal of critical thinking and strategy, rather than just “aim and shoot.” The skills polished by playing games can actually translate well into the real world as well.” (Samuel Becker, 5 Health Benefits of Playing Video Games).

Video games get a bad name for themselves because some people will spend hours in front of a screen working towards a virtual goal. They are blamed way too often for making kids violent and giving them an unrealistic view of the real world. Video games such as Atari’s Pong and Tomohiro Nishikado’s Space Invaders only had one objective (Welch). Now there are games like Fallout 3 and Assassin 's Creed where there are many objectives, puzzles, and achievable items. When video games were first made they were seen as mindless entertainment for young and even middle-aged people. Now, there are games that give you entertainment, but also educate you in a fun and creative way. Video games should be played more because there are many lessons and educative tools used to help people learn and think while playing and also having fun. According to an article published by the private University of Rochester, cognitive scientists did a study on fast-paced games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, and they help players be able to think on the move and multitask. They also help students in classrooms by giving them the ability to have a better understanding of core materials and take tests easier. The human brain learns easier and retains information better when it is excited or entertained while learning. Video games such as the Assassin’s Creed Series can help someone learn about history and solve puzzles while enjoying every

This is especially true with shooter video games, such as Halo 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV. A 2012 study took naive gamers that rarely or never played shooter games, and randomly assigned them to play either a shooter game or another type of video game. The gamers playing shooter games showed faster and more accurate attention allocation, high spatial resolution in visual processing, and enhanced mental rotation abilities. A meta-analysis concluded that these spatial skills improvements are comparable to formal (high-school and university-level) courses designed to improve these same skills. This same meta-analysis found that these spatial skills trained can be trained by video games in a relatively short amount of time and last for an extended period of time. Of course, these skills transfer to other spatial tasks outside of game. Preliminary research has also shown that these cognitive advantages manifest in neural processing and efficiency. An fMRI study found that the areas that control attention allocation were less active during a challenging pattern-finding puzzle in gamers than in non-gamers, leading the researchers to believe that shooter game players are more efficient in attention allocation and more effective at filtering out unneeded information. Cognitive neuroscientists have begun to send requests to video game companies asking to develope games designed to test hypotheses and the specific mechanisms that provide different cognitive benefits. In addition to spatial skills, some scholars believe that videogames are important in developing problem-solving skills. This growth is shown between all genres. The game puzzles range from finding the quickest route from A to B, to using memorization and analytical skills to learn complicated action sequences. Also, game developers often provide very little

Two groups of volunteers were trained to play different versions of a real-time strategy game called StarCraft, a quick-paced game where players need to build and sort out armed forces to fight an enemy. 33% of the group played a life simulation video game called The Sims, which does not require much memory or numerous strategies.

The study hoped to find a link between games that involve fast decision-making and multitasking to improvements in memory formation and retention. Matt Richtel in his article, A Multitasking Video Game Makes Older Brains Younger, states that, “brain scientists have discovered that swerving around cars while simultaneously picking out road signs in a video game can improve the short-term memory and long-term focus of older adults”(Richtel). In the study that was conducted, “a group of adults between the ages of 60 and 85 were recruited to play a game called NeuroRacer for 12 hours a month. After playing the game for six months, the older adults were better at multitasking, retained more information in a short period of time, and had stronger attention skills”(Spector). Video games such as NeuroRacer force us to multitask and constantly pay attention to the surroundings in the game. Due to this, our undivided attention is needed in order to succeed. The ability to thoroughly pay attention has been directly linked to improved memory and intelligence. Games like this can improve memory by enhancing our ability to pay attention and learn. In addition, they also help with the amount of information we can store in our short-term memory at one time. So instead of being able to remember four words from a list, we can now remember five or six. As a result, constantly working these types of neural connections is what inevitably leads to better memory and the ability to recall it when we want to. Improvements in memory, such as this are also positively correlated with improvements in problem solving

One way that playing action filled video games expands cognitive skills is through improvement in vision. According to the article called Video games 'can improve eyesight for adults’ in a study done at University of Rochester, 22 students were split into two groups. One group played a high action game called “Call of Duty 2,” while the other group played “The Sims 2,” a game that does not involve high

Daphne Bavelier says “It’s not the case that the action game players are 'trigger happy' and less accurate; they are just as accurate and also faster. Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference” (Current Biology 2). All of these aspects can improve one’s everyday life. There are many basic skills that are improved due to these aspects, such as driving, reading, navigating, multitasking, listening, and locating; which are all essential to one’s everyday life.

These games that are called “first person shooter” games put the player in the head of the character being controlled and allows the player to view the violence from a perspective that the player can more identify with.

Video games are fun to play, and you get to meet people you would have no chance of meeting in the real world. But video games aren’t perfect. If overused, video games can cause serious problems. In this article, you will be seeing the good and bad results of playing video games. We will start with the bad instances.

There is many positive things about playing video games, Improves your motor skills which all around will help you be more active and be more up lifting during activities. Fitness and nutrition is a big part of video games too, playing madden, nba, and mlb sports games whenever you want to whether it's rainy or snowy outside. You can learn so many skills that you will actually use in real life. So many people complain why videogames are so bad because staring at the screen for so long will make you go blind which is false. As a parent you can sit down next to your kid and have a nice time. Bonding with your kid with something that makes them happy is good. The dedication and teamwork that goes into some games will help them become a good leader in the future, and have good cooperation skills. Through the natural process of learning and victory required in gaming, players gain confidence in their abilities to overcome obstacles through persistence. Playing video games may also help children develop problem solving skills as well. Games that are easy to access and can be played quickly such as Minecraft can improve players moods, promote relaxation. Children who are shy and lack confidence when socializing with their peers may have an easier time opening up while playing video games. Approaching someone you hardly know, like a new classmate or coworker, and striking up a conversation can be quite

development of one’s brain. Studies on the form of entertainment have proven to enhance the

Critical thinking and problem solving skills have been proven to increase in children who play fast paced video games, such as Call Of Duty(Vlasak,Ranaldo,2012). Having the ability to think quickly is beneficial for situations that require a correct reaction right away, such as an emergency responder would need.

There is research that prove that cognitive ability can be increased through video games. In a study in an article in IFL Science by Daphne Bavelier et al., she researched how action gamers fared against normal people and gamers who play more “mellow” video games in a pattern differentiation task. Through the study, she found that action gamers did better than the rest in the pattern differentiation task. Another thing she had them do was do a perceptual learning task. The results show that there was no difference between the groups at the start, but over time, the action gamers had the upper hand. Bavelier theorized that it was because the gamers could make better “templates” or models of the world and can predict things

Video games have become key factors in boosting children’s IQ to higher levels when compared to the previous generations, but video games are frowned upon by parents as time-wasters, and worse, some education experts think that these games corrupt the brain. Playing 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