Video Games Essay

Submitted By CBadez10
Words: 1067
Pages: 5

Have you ever had to run through an 8- bit world filled with mushrooms and evil turtles trying to save a princess? Well without video games, none of us would be able to have creative adventures like this one. Video games don’t mean anything to some people, but to others a game can be their second life outside reality. Zaheer Hussain, a member of the international journal of mental health and addiction, claims that Forty-one percent of people who play online video games admitted that they played computer games as an escape from the real world. Also the addicted gamers used video games to modify their moods, demonstrated tolerance, and showed signs of relapse. But video games don’t always bring negative effects to our society, they also benefit us in various ways that you might not even know. Video games although you might not think it, can help children expand their imaginations and have a more creative mind. A study called the children and technology project was done at Michigan State University. Its purpose was to show that kids who play videogames have more creativity as opposed to kids who don’t. In an article on MSU Today, The lead researcher stated that “The results of this project should motivate game designers to identify the aspects of video game activity that are responsible for the creative effects, Once they do that, video games can be designed to optimize the development of creativity while retaining their entertainment values such that a new generation of video games will blur the distinction between education and entertainment.” This would make video games even more useful to children’s creativity than they are now. Imagination isn’t the only way videogames can benefit our health. They also help us with decision making skills. Past research showed that people who play action video games have faster reaction times than those who don't play the games. Now scientists find action gamers apparently are better at making fast decisions, ones based on details they take from their surroundings. This appears to explain why video game-playing skills translate into broad improvements in many kinds of tasks, regardless of whether those depend on sharp eyes or the ability to pay attention. An article on the week.com states that researchers suggest that action-oriented games act as a simulator for the decision-making process by giving players several chances to infer information from their surroundings and forcing them to react accordingly. Video games also have a big toll on reducing stress and depression. Many gamers use these games as a way to vent their frustration. Once they pick up the controller they forget about their day and all the stress involved, it can clear your mind of everything. Although video games seem to have a lot of positive benefits, there are some negatives that can’t just be looked past. Some games now a days contain a substantial amount of violence. These violent games are getting blamed for some children’s aggressive behavior. On August 8 of 2013, an 8 year old boy grabbed a loaded gun and shot his grandmother in the back of the head right after playing the iconic violent video game Grand Theft Auto 4. There is no specific evidence on whether the motive for the murder was due to the game but there is no other evidence leading to any other motive. An article on CNN reports, "Although a motive for the shooting is unknown at this time investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game on the Play Station III called 'Grand Theft Auto IV,' a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people, just minutes before the homicide occurred."Also another form of graphic media in these games would be the aggressive online behavior. With technology now a days, we are able to communicate with a person all the way across the world. We