Essay Example on Video Gaming

The computer games came into existence in the year 1972 with the initial game of Pang. Their popularities continue to grow from one generation to another regarding the different games that continue to evolve to entertain the people. Research shows that approximately 1.23 billion individuals engage in the video games once in a while (Calvert, Appelbaum, Dodge, Graham, Nagayama, Hamby Fasig-Caldwell, Citkowicz Galloway, & Hedges 2017, p.126). Playing video games can be both helpful and harmful to one's health in the sense that one can behave relatively to the game he or she has played if, for instance, the game is of violence. However, Canon judges the impact of video gaming without weighing the benefits about adverse effects? It is evident that as much as many may hold a notion of these games being violent (Anderson & Bushman 2001 p. 355), the positive impacts was not realized even up to date through thorough analysis. Regarding this negative perception, it has led to the development of many views with each person arguing otherwise to support his or her opinions on the effect of video games. Needless to say, these loads of people all try to justify the downside of video gaming and not the positive impacts, thus, the need for this article to claim for the needy to embrace these games for the purpose of one's mind and health.

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Parents are among most people who feel playing video games can hurt the development of children brains. In this case, these parents have opted to put parental guidance on the gaming machines bearing in mind that they are protecting their children. However, it is so unfair that this case is so due to the many articles which have negatively paraded video games as channels of violence and destruction. With few authors that try to set things right through arguing for video gaming, these articles receive much rejection from the market in most cases. McGonigal, an author and game designer, argues that those playing video games are vital for people's health during her speech at The Nantucket Project. She boldly says, gaming is the neurological opposite of depression." To her, playing video games improves one's abilities and opportunities through actively scanning the brain to create motivation and vigor to achieve the goals of the video game (Pena, & Chen 2017, p. 431). In this case, one's memory is revived through the gaming hence developing learning abilities. Regarding this, one can heal from any mental condition due to the pressure that arises from the game, a process that cannot occur when a person is an idol, and this is the psychological condition of the game play. It implies that people, who perceive video gaming as being harmful, are lacking this vital knowledge as they could have otherwise changed their negative perceptions. In some cases, the negative views regarding video gaming can be valid only on the argument that people are spending much time on playing rather than doing other useful things. A good example is when a person is cooking and at the same time playing Candy Crush. The person gets involved more in the game with the spirit that if he or she fails, she can develop other strategies to win the moves of the match. In this process, the person forgets all about the food and hence the food burns.

As much as the example above create a negative picture regarding video gaming, the energy under which the match play put in the game to win, can positively help a person develop new strategies useful in the company if given a chance just as the game offers several chances of trying. For example, in the marketing businesses where new policies need to be frequently developed for a business to survive in the ever-changing market just like the different stages of Candy Crush. Besides this, one can comfortably improve decision making in life and activities if he or she engages in playing video games. It is so since most games require one to act fast to win, a decision one is to make within a limited time of seconds. If a person can make this decision within seconds while playing yet he wins the game, it means that the individual can make a sound decision regarding duties and roles in any given environment within the company. The strategy can be effective during training and education programs in the sense that the games will make it easier for trainers to evaluate the capable person through the speed and decisions made within the playing period (Yap, & Paul 2017, p.213). Evidently, winning these games means that a person can multitask in a way that as much as he might have many roles to play in the line of work, he or she can at the same time develop new rules and make decisions without buying time. It implies that the company will have people with sharp minds to think efficiently and help the company in development. Regarding this, one can embrace employees who play video games in placing them in more critical positions about their capabilities as shown in the winning process of the match.

However, with all these benefits, people still cannot see the need as to why they should play video games since they have only carried the counter information in their mind regarding these games. As much as there is no proper evidence to support these arguments on the adverse effects of video games, most conclusions are from mere assumptions that are baseless. Many people continue to put the blame on video gaming as a channel of spreading the increased rate of violence amongst young persons. Amongst television, movies and video games, too much blame is put on video games since this is the area under which most people put their concentration (Mahood, & Hanus 2017, p. 61). Many types of research show that these games hurt a person's behavior as well as the mind. It is so basing on the fact that video games demand much attention from the player in the sense that a person can be psychologically affected. With most games being of violent content, a person playing the game several times tends to corrupt his mind more each time he repeats the game, an act that is so corrosive. More research shows that the current world is full of violence as a consequence from the video games people play and hence, practicing them in real life which causes injuries as well as death. Besides this argument on violence, some video games are perceived to create gender biases like Lara Croft as the heroine of the match. Playing this game corrodes one's mind in the sense that uses women as objects of sexuality just like in several movies. For example, a young person playing this game grows up with a negative attitude towards women since he stands to think of them as mere objects as by their role in the match.

Richard Gallagher, the Director of the New York University Child Study Center, argues that playing violent video games endangers one's mind and perceptions. He justifies by saying that too much engrossment in certain shooting games makes a person to have a negative attitude towards the society in a way that he can embrace violence as a Nigga style (Hasan 2017, p. 74). Furthermore, the video game player can adopt the violent behavior of surviving in that he feels that killing and hurting people is fun just like in the game where one kills to win and move to the next stage. Evidence from a recent research shows that adoption of video games characters affect people's mind basing on the fact that their brains undergo certain changes leading to disorders like neurological and psychiatric. The player's mind is always in an idle mode while playing hence the brain cannot properly work to generate visions and even new developments apart from what is in the game. It can lead to a person to have a slower thinking mind basing on the fact that too much time is spend on a video game without additional physical activity that develops the conscious mind.

Playing video games can also affect the health of a person in one way or the other depending on the type of game and the amount of time one spends on the match. For example, an individual who is an addict of playing these games can avoid meals just because he wants to achieve the goals of the game within a particular time and thus to him, pausing to eat, is a waste of time. It can even go further to one avoiding sleep or sleeping for fewer hours of which is harmful to one's health in that this leads to having many headaches and even backaches. It leads to one being weak till seeking therapeutic alternatives for his well being again. Moreover, spending too much time on screens result in eye problems due to straining and this can cause one to develop eye-related problems. Apart from all these syndromes that are related to video game playing, one may develop pains in the shoulders and hands. The condition can lead to one growing chest problems and in some cases result in the death of individuals. Besides this, one can develop other health concerns like obesity in the sense that a person is not engaging in any physical activities to promote digestion and burning of body fats. Addiction to this games leads to one avoiding other physical activities that improve his or her body as well as the mind. Lack of exercises in one's life is the causative of such diseases like obesity and high blood pressure, diseases that are common in current world due to technological entertainment rather than physical.

Conclusion

It is unfair for one to judge that video games are wrong in the sense that they promote violence, gender and affect one's health unless the evidence is on valid grounds. It is not the game that is bad but the content within certain games that are of violent nature, hence terming all video games as being negatively influential is a baseless argument. Video games impact positively to the players in that they develop a sharp mind to make decisions efficiently just the way they decide in the match. Research shows that children who play video games tend to have a better memory and this leads to good performance in class. Additionally, as much blame falls on video games regarding the increase of violence in the current world, I can argue otherwise that the game is only for entertainment and moreover, most games give a warning of not applying the content in real life. Hence, the people who practice violence cannot in most cases be video game players. However, video games can only affect one negatively if the individual becomes an addict to the extent that he or she avoids doing other vital duties for the sake of playing. In this case, too much time is spending on the game, and this can have people disliking video gaming.

References

Anderson, C.A. and Bushman, B.J., 2001. Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological science, 12(5), pp.353-359.

Calvert, S.L., Appelbaum, M., Dodge, K.A., Graham, S., Nagayama Hall, G.C., Hamby, S., Fasig-Caldwell, L.G., Citkowicz, M., Galloway, D.P. and Hedges, L.V., 2017. The American Psychological Association Task Force assessment of violent video games: Science in the service of public interest. American Psychologist, 72(2), p.126.

Hasan, Y., 2017. Violent video games increase voice stress: An experimental study. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), p.74.

Pena, J. and Chen, M., 2017. Playing with power: Power poses affect enjoyment, presence, controller responsiveness, and arousal when playing natural motion-controlled video games. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, pp.428-435.

Yap, S.S. and Paul, G., 2017. Video Gaming and Its Implications on the Epidemiology of Office Work Related Upper Limb Disorders. In Advances in Social & Occupational Ergonomics (pp. 201-213). Springer International Publishing.

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