Video games. When you hear that word, what comes into your mind? Does it remind you of your childhood? Or does it remind you of children? Video games are often seen as sitting on a chair with a controller in one’s hand and playing a game that is displayed on a TV, computer, cellphone, and many more. Finding a definition for this is quite amusing. The dictionary stated that a video game is a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a television screen or other displayed screen and according to Daphne Bavalier (2012); a brain scientist, 90% of children today play video games, and according to her the average age of a gamer is at least 33 years old. Some people who have played video games throughout their childhood have made it into their profession and some carried it throughout their life as a coping mechanism. Those people who made gaming into their jobs are either the ones who are creating games now or they are one of the successful people in the world today. According to the article written by Riad Chikhani (2015): The History of Gaming an Evolving Community, one of the biggest profit-making entertainment industries in the world today are gaming careers. So therefore, gaming has an enormous and phenomenal impact in our everyday lives, and it is clearly here to stay.
Many people (especially adults) view gaming as a time waster for us, and some educational experts said it “corrupts” the brain. Yes, gaming is bad for one’s health, which can be damaging both mentally and physically since binging is never good; but besides that, according to Daphne Bavalier (2012), gaming can actually help shape the way we think and act. Science experts have claimed that video games can benefit the brain in a way that we can use it for the future. They said it can enhance a child’s thinking skills in a way that it can make them clever. Playing video games are one of the best ways to train and enhance the skills of the brain because games usually contain problems that one must solve in order for them to gain the winning victory. Therefore, video games can be a fun learning training mechanism for the brain.
Growing up, video games have been such a huge part of my life. Until today, I still consider myself a gamer. Throughout the years of my childhood, video games have always been there to comfort me throughout the tough times that I face. Games have affected me in a spectacular way since it helped me shape the way I view things, and the way that I behave. When I was a little girl, I had a hard time focusing. My mind usually wanders around to a place where no one else can see and because of this my academic skills were weak. This all changed once I was introduced in gaming. I noticed that my attention span has improved when gaming came into my life. I’m aware that this isn’t the same result for everyone but, as you can see before you, the results of gaming on me is favorable and it has benefited me in a way that no one expected.
According to the article written by Hannah Nichols (2017): How Video Games Affect the brain, 116 scientific studies have been acquired and outlined by scientists to determine how video games can affect our brains. They studied about how the brain can change the behavior and reasoning of oneself. Reviewed studies, about a total of 22, explored the brain’s structural changes and a total of 100 studies have analyzed the changes in the brain’s functionality and conduct. Results have shown that our brain can change its structure by playing video games. They said that video games are known to affect attention, and studies have shown that parts of the brain that manages attention are more effective to gamers compared to non-gamers. They also said that gamers automatically stay focused on demanding tasks. Brain scientists have tested this statement in their lab. This is how they did it: They ask a person to do a certain task where they need to study a target shape, then they will be presented with four different shapes next to it. Once they have studied the target shape, they are asked to identify which shape is the rotated shape of the shape that they were presented with. After the test, the results are expected to be where the subject performs according to their age. But then, they ask them to play at least forty minutes of action games for a span of two weeks. Once they come back, they are tested again on a similar task and they surprisingly performed better. Thus, despite the adversaries of people about this topic it’s undeniable that this is beneficial for one’s reasoning and conduct.
Many people believe that focusing on the screen for a long period of time while playing video games can lead to blurry vision. That’s a convincing statement, but I firmly believe that screen time isn’t the main problem of affecting our vision. In fact, blurry vision is affected more by genetics. If you have a family history of bad eyesight, then there is a high possibility that you or your child will have it too. Yes, video games do have a high possibility of triggering it, yet it isn’t the main issue why some gamers have a blurry vision. According to Daphne Bavalier (2012); a brain scientist, those people who play video games have really good eyesight and she said it’s better than those who don’t play. They have tested and measured this statement in their lab, and they did it by testing both perspectives. The results of the people who don’t play video games have normal vision and they tested the ones who do play video games for countless hours, and guess what? They surpass the limit of those who don’t play. Therefore, blurry vision is not caused by screen time; it can trigger but it isn’t the main point of affecting one’s vision.
Another idea that people believe is that videogames are one of the activities that leads to obesity. According to a study in Switzerland by Warner (2004), every hour a child play video games they have a higher chance of being obese. They said that people in front of a computer or any display screen devices, tend to be impulsive and tend to eat junk food. However, they need to consider that people have different body functionality and that gamers aren’t as unsophisticated as they thought. According to the University of Würzburg (2019), there is only a small connection between video game playing and body weight. Only one percent of people can be attributed to obesity to the time spent playing computer games. Now about the gamer’s self-awareness. According to the article written by Rummy (2019): The 5 Psychological Differences Between Gamers Vs Normal People, gamers invest their time into video games, therefore their minds are trained to control their instincts and thoughts overtime. So therefore, when it comes to control and self-awareness, gamers have it greater compared to normal people.
To sum it all up, video games have benefits. Many experts studied this topic thoroughly; they have proven that video games can change and enhance one’s behavior and reasoning to a point where the brain can perform in a way that is faster, stronger, and better. This essay is purposely appointed to those who are cynical about gaming and I just wanted to prove that this isn’t a bad activity for anyone. Gaming is supposed to be a fun entertaining activity where one can express themselves freely. Philippians 2:4 said that we should let each other look not only to one’s own interests, but also to the interests of others. Therefore, we shouldn’t downgrade a person’s passion just because society disagrees with the idea. Instead, rather than downgrading them we should support them in a way that it can motivate them to achieve their ambitions.
References
Ronaldo Tumbokon (2020, September 27). 25+ Positive and Negative effects of Video Games. Retrieved from
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Riad Chikhani (2015, October 31) The History of Gaming: An Evolving Community. Retrieved from
ttps://techcrunch.com/2015/10/31/the-history-of-gaming-an-evolving-community/?fbclid=IwAR1NB7rG02GaHPpjfL8IlYriM1dnz19ypXeJY5aRzs3JkPjGp0bcXbAEDBQ
Hannah Nichols (2017, July 10) How Video Games Affect the brain. Retrieved from
ttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345?fbclid=IwAR3UmhhKc0GKZyLuuEIbA53Pb7C66SuqXh-SmlUp8PRCUKpj0x1FW46hqRg#Video-games-and-brain-changes
Rummy (2019, June 26) The 5 Psychological Differences between Gamers Vs Normal People. Retrieved from
ttps://www.classicrummy.com/blog/the-5-psychological-differences-between-gamers-vs-normal-people/?fbclid=IwAR03loa1cGJN1rEsrLWFLEfq5CXrc5UX13vx25FinFrUII06usO7Ls1aV7E#:~:text=Also%2C%20gamers%20are%20much%20more,in%20contrast%20to%20normal%20people
Sabire Akay Great Rivalry: Video Games. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/33594593/Persuasive_Essay_on_Video_Games?fbclid=IwAR1FQkWq9JtzH4Cda4_tqBhve3qcICzDWDeVhSlZglxvNWPWY3MLil80-i4
Daphne Bavalier (2012, November 20) Your Brain on Video Games. Youtube. Retrieved from
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FktsFcooIG8&t=9s
University of Würzburg (2019, June 17) Do Video Games Drive Obesity? Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190617110522.htm?fbclid=IwAR3ZBAxkPBvaWm8XvO1MM96ZSIunzvL7-Ift5cnLRPyzAiGoKcXQtcnvgjo#:~:text=In%20adults%2C%20there%20is%20a,at%20the%20University%20of%20W%C3%BCrzburg.&text=Only%20one%20percent%20of%20a,time%20spent%20playing%20computer%20games
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