I am doing a research paper and need people who support the idea that there are positive effects to playing video games. If you are one of these people, please respond and give your reasons. Please post by 5/21/05 so I may use your feedback in my research paper. Thank you everyone!
Hmmm... well I'm not exactly sure what positive stuff would be convincing in a paper.
1. Video games are just fun, they provide a good source of entertainment.
2. I think video games actually help to prevent kids from becoming murderers... like instead of going outside to kill people, they turn on GTA and kill people on that. So video games kind of act like outlets for emotions.
3. They can provide a way for people to bond... nothing gets me and my friends happily chatting faster than a big old game of super smash brothers of my cube.
4. This ones a stretch but here it goes... they help to push technology along... like everyone wants new, faster, more high tech gaming consoles in smaller packages so developers work on building better things. It also boosts the technology in things like TV's and Stereos because we always want more... they make a 50" TV and somebody buys it and shows off to their friends... their friends in turn want to beat him so they go out and buy 60" TVs and so on.
Moraq, that's not convincing at all. Especially the GTA thing... it's rated M for a reason. For that kids don't play it and aren't exposed to killing, prositution, drug use, etc. There's gamec content for a reason.
Now, it all depends on the game genre. Some games actually do help increase your thinking skills and reflexes. These games are usually puzzle games that actually make you use your mind. These simple games have usually one task but at the same time it's complex. Take tetris for example. Falling pieces made up of four blocks and your object is to make lines as the game speeds up. Throughout the course of the game, it speeds up frantically, and although it's the same task, the game just greatly increased in challenge making gamers think faster and test their reflexes.
Now, the addition of online in games has now connected gamers around the world. So this is a huge leap in gaming. It makes the gaming experience better and overall fun.
What else... oh, in my opinion, it can help inprove children's social skills. Bunch of kids in 1 - 5th grade (I still play it, sue me :mad:) are playing pokemon and get to know each other. Through these multiplayer handheld games, they make new friends.
videogames are a great way to tell a story:
other mediums such as books or movies dont offer the level of interactivity that a game can.. so in effect playing a game allows you to manipulate a story to your own desire, yet you are not because you are playing pre-determined routes, however many of the games have huge amounts of text, which in my case helped me to read
hand eye co-ordination:
many people i know who have never played videogames usually have problems holding a glass (if that makes sense)... after years of playing video games i can grab things, move stuff and so on without even having to look at what im doing
Actually video games can enhance one's creative and intelectual side in mamc ways. Most video games today have a good plot to go along with them that make the game more interesting to play through. These gaming stories can spark ideas in kids/adults to come up with some kind of cool story with maybe a few pull outs from some of their favorite games. Say your teacher asks you to do some creative writing with absolutely no genre guidelines. Well you happen to be a guy that loves playng RPG's or adventure games so you write a story about a few friends that go on an adventure and have to collect items to defeat some evil entity of some sort with a few ideas you get from all those adventure games you love so much. Puzzle games can also help spark one's thinking skills to solve a problem. First you have a problem: what do I do to fix it? So you go through all these thinking methods to achieve your goal exersising your thinking skills. Some computer games help kids learn things such as math games and more puzzle games as well(one of my favorites was Logic Quest, once you get up to an advanced level it gets pretty tough). So when people tell you that video games poison your mind, they obviously have no sense of good adventure and imagination.
true say bazariah. improved hand i is a big plus. this isn't a really good one but it's true, Video games could help kids read like through tutorials or when they're explaining something that's particularly important. although with voice overs i dunno. some games are even educational, like a ds game that's comin out where your a surgeon, and another where you're a lawyer solvivg legal diputes and what not.
[COLOR=Yellow]Video games have the whole package. They combine elements from every other media that has existed before video games (books,music,film), and blend it all together into single experience.
Take an RPG like Final Fantasy X or an Action game like Metal Gear Solid 3 for example. While playing that game you submerge yourself deep into a storyline just like you would with the best books out there. Meanwhile you are treated to a fantastic soundtrack and amazing cinematics which are arguably better when compared to the music and movies of today's pop culture.
I can think of no better positive activity than to play a good game. Why read a good book, watch a fun movie, or listen to a great cd if you could do all 3 by playing Xenosaga.[/COLOR]
many skills can be learned by playing them. some such skills include problem-solving abilities, perseverance, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, estimating skills, inductive skills, resource management, logistics, mapping, memory, quick thinking, and reasoned judgements. these video games permit the practice of skills that are often not incorporated into the school curriculum. they have also been seen to help build confidence in the ordinary child. another potential positive is that video games allow for the development of hand-eye coordination. however, baseball and other such social activities also develop this ability. video games may require a higher degree of hand-eye coordination than many other activities but how much does a child need?
video games also mimic social structure. video games allow a means by which to establish hierarchies of skill and ability, and ultimately leadership just like in other areas of life. furthermore, video games are one of the few settings in which children can be teachers if grown-ups take the time to participate, and if they allow the children to lead the way. engaging the child in an interactive experience, developing hand-eye motor skills, giving the child a sense of accomplishment, keeping the child off the streets, and just encouraging having fun are all judged by many parents.
video games can also be helpful in other areas. children who have problems with attention, self-esteem, and boundaries are often helped by the gaming experience, and video games are now being implemented into therapy for these type of children. children that see themselves as failures also receive benefit from playing video games, because they provide the player with a sense of participation and excitement in basic life-like situations. video games furthermore
[quote]video games can also be helpful in other areas. children who have problems with attention
If you mean a child suffering from ADD...It's very doubtful that video games will help them, since they have a low attention span anyhow, and will likely only play the game for a few minutes before giving up on it or having their attention diverted elsewhere.
Here are the positive effects that video games have given me:
1) An increased vocabulary. Especially when I first started playing games. I'd always ask what a certain word means or look it up in the dictionary if I came across an unfamiliar word.
2) Better thinking skills.
3) An increased imagination. Not only while playing the game, but afterwards too. For example, after beating Final Fantasy VI, I try to think up different ways it could've ended, or what would've happened after the credits ended. Also, games give me ideas on other games that could be made, etc.
4) Enjoyment.
5) Everything else listed by everyone else that posted. (Because I just woke up and I'm too tired to make a thought-out post).
Well, I suppose it teaches people "strength in numbers." You know, fanboys and stuff like that. They're pretty close-knit, like boy scouts.
Escapism.
The control develops hand-eye coordination, and teaches you to focus on different things and video games both inspire and develop creativity