The Truth about Video Games
Since the industry of video games has been around, people have been skeptical about video games and their effects to our society. People are so used criticizing video games, claiming that they only corrupt our families, ruin our social lives, and make us and our children more violent. People that are against video games also claim that spending your time reading books is a better and more beneficial alternative. But to blindly claim these things while there are so many benefits for playing video games is really absurd. In the essay “Games” written by Steven Johnson he talks about multiple advantages that there are to playing video games over reading books. Shigeru Miyamoto, a renowned video game designer, once
…show more content…
During the study, conducted from May through August, 2002, the surgeons also played three video games for 25 minutes while the researchers assessed their gaming skills.”(JAMA and Archives Journals). The report concluded that the top 33 percent of video gaming skill surgeons made 47 percent fewer errors, performed 39 percent faster and scored 41 percent more points overall on the video game than the bottom 33 percent. Data collected also pointed out that training surgeons with video games can, in fact, make surgeons perform better while handling different types of surgical procedures. Books are great to find written instructions on how to perform surgery, yet, surgeons may not be able to perform an actual surgery without flaw because they have not had the experience necessary beforehand. From this data collected the authors concluded that video games may be of use to help train surgeons and serve as a practice or learning tool as well. All in all, playing video games can improve hand-eye coordination and also serve as a learning tool.
Video games can also teach problem-solving skills and enhance current ones. Many games out there are mindless and require no skill to play. But most require some
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
A video game course is a good method of stimulating the mind. Both video games and games, in reality, creates a problem in which the players within the game have to solve. These situations stimulate the mind and make your brain work hard in order to solve the issue within the game.
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
Video game effects are relatively new in modern society. Even though these games are often entertaining, the content of the game has been increasingly more and more violent as technology becomes more prevalent. The popularity of violent video games has caused an increase in controversy. Parents and experts feel that some games are just too violent and they demand the government to regulate the sales of these games. However, violent video games do not cause an increase in aggression, in adolescents. The forceful plan by the government is caused by an exaggeration of the effects of violent video games and this plan are indeed pointless.
Video games can train the human brain so it become strong and faster at thinking. Since video games have fast action paced content, they become a virtually gym for your brain. Also, because of the action in a game there are a lot of eye hand coordination and quick problem solving skills involved in playing a game. The article “Are video games bad for me?” says“... can improve eye-hand coordination, problem solving skills, and the mind’s ability to process information.” This quote shows the many quick skills one person can improve by playing video games such as eye hand coordination, problem solving skills and the mind’s ability to process information. The quick skills that are need to play video games can be practiced and learned by play video games. Considering this, the number of things video games can teach children are
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.
I feel the effect that video games have on children has been a very topical and debatable subject since they were introduced in the 1970’s. I feel it is important because if video games were damaging for children most video game companies would lose their biggest fan base and it would be very damaging for an economy for example in 2012 the entertainment software industry added over 6.2 billion dollars to US GDP. In the US the computer game industry directly and indirectly employees more than 146,000 people. The average salary for direct employees is 94,747 dollars, resulting in a total national compensation of 4 billion dollars also direct employment grew at an annual rate of more than 13 times the growth of the U.S labor market (9% vs. 0.72%) between 2009 and 2012. Many people have researched this economic question and some have been very biased on both sides but this isn’t surprising when you look at the last social phenomenon rock-and-roll or the “devil’s music” to some. Any home that has access to video games (88% of households) I feel the parents will be conscious to how much their children play video games and the effect it has on them. So I have aimed for my research to help parents gain an insight to the effects of video games, signs to look out for and helpful recommendations if they are worried about
In “Everything Bad Is Good For You,” Steven Johnson discusses why and how he believes today’s popular culture is actually making us smarter, rather than dumbing us down. Johnson has his book split into two different parts, focusing mainly on the first part of his book, he talks about the ways people consume media and how it has become more complex and challenging over the years. The title headings for each sub-chapters are - Video Games, Television, Internet, and Movies. Within each subchapter he uses a vast number of examples from each section to support his argument. The biggest part the first chapter is dedicated to video games. Johnston suggests that when video games were first released that people thought they made us dumber and wasted our mind’s skills. He uses the example about how if video games had arrived before books, we would be more hesitant towards books. We would be looking at the negative aspects of book reading and how they are isolating, under-stimulating and do not engage enough. Stating that we use books to test cognitive benefits – attention, memory, focus and following threads, Johnston goes into a detail about how video games uses all these skills and more. He uses examples from Tetris, Pac-Man, SimCity200 and even The Legend of Zelda. Continuing his argument that video games engage us more that any other media our there at the moment, he acknowledges how to reward system and the desire to explore in video games keep us engaged. No other form of
Since the inception of video games they have been targeted in one fashion or another by various groups and media outlets. The concern being that video games are teaching not only our youth, but everyone who plays them, how to be very aggressive and overly violent. That they are simply death-or-kill simulators for the public to practice on society. I’m immediately disagreeing with the concept of video games are what’s causing certain individual(s) to behave in a depraved manner. A similar example to the video game argument is how music groups like Marilyn Manson and Rammstein were blamed for the Columbine Massacre. Both groups literally had no connection to the incident what so ever, but Marilyn Manson took most of the blame because the public wanted a scapegoat. In short, Marilyn Manson was blamed for the Columbine Massacre because the two teenagers who committed the heinous act were reported to be fans of his music and listened to him often.
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 in today’s society have become very popular. Every new game that comes out to be played and conquered by the average gamer has its own category. There are several other types of genres of games that people play but because of big hit titles and the new popular game systems like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, people become more interested in a game that is well known than a game they have never even heard of before. Every game has its own storyline and own way of how it unfolds and where the game ends according to game play. Some of the biggest reasons people sway to certain genres of games is because of the game titles released under them and the demand of people who want a good game under that category. The top three most
“I like video games, but they’re really violent. I’d like to play a videogame where you help the people who were shot in all other games. It’d be called Really Busy Hospital.”-Demitri Martin. Role playing games have been a source of fun and entertainment for children and adults. There are more safe and calm games such as Just Dance, and there are more Perilous games such as Call of Duty. Role playing games such as killer are perilous for school age children putting them in danger, teaching violence, and teaching reckless behavior.
Video games are a great way of teaching because it’s fun. Since students are having fun, they begin to become more focused on what they are learning. Since students become more focused, it encourages learning for them. Students also become motivated since they are having fun. They become motivated because rewards are included. They will also play video games outside of school which encourages them to learn inside and outside.
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.
Video games can be used as instructional tools as well. They have positive elements and add value; they create a micro world of their own. The players act based on natural tendencies towards learning. Therefore, learning occurs while playing (Rosas et al., 2003).