Gaming Essay
Qualls, Barbara
English 3, M/W
Prof. Shannon
9/9/13
Gaming Video games, what many see as a time consuming, a waste of time and money, can have a violent affect on the human mind. Now, video games can be fun and we all see that they can be shared with people of all ages. Any adventure game such as; "Mario", to any first person shooter such as "Call of Duty" can all have a impact on anyone 's lives if allowed. Video games can be used for family fun time or a party too. Many view gaming as a waste of time or at healthy doses can allow people such as you and I to gain a skill? Just as Daphne Bavelier said "Action video games have a number of ingredients that are really powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention, and vision." (TED Talk) Despite the fact that violent video games can have blood and murder in them, they do hold a certain of skill that a person can learn. It can be a brain activity that can allow the brain to learn how to multi-task, but also how to visually notice the small aspects of a landscape. Leaving video games to many thinking that it is just a waste of time and money, yes, anything to a certain extent is to much. Just as the saying goes "To much of a good thing can be bad for you" so can gaming. However, there is a bright side to every negative side, and this one has many. Those many include improvements in multi-tasking, attention in depth, and creativity. A healthy dose of gaming, perhaps 30 to 60 minutes a day of any video game, has shown to help with problem solving. Comparing gamers to non gamers, they have more creativity and have been known to solve problems faster than those who are non gamers. By better understanding video games, we can determine whether a video game is a "violent activity" and/or " a waste of time and money" and how they affect the human mind. That saying that we can improve our skills at any age, and inspire younger people to incorporate a certain amount (to a limit) of gaming into their lives.
English 3, M/W
Prof. Shannon
9/9/13
Gaming Video games, what many see as a time consuming, a waste of time and money, can have a violent affect on the human mind. Now, video games can be fun and we all see that they can be shared with people of all ages. Any adventure game such as; "Mario", to any first person shooter such as "Call of Duty" can all have a impact on anyone 's lives if allowed. Video games can be used for family fun time or a party too. Many view gaming as a waste of time or at healthy doses can allow people such as you and I to gain a skill? Just as Daphne Bavelier said "Action video games have a number of ingredients that are really powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention, and vision." (TED Talk) Despite the fact that violent video games can have blood and murder in them, they do hold a certain of skill that a person can learn. It can be a brain activity that can allow the brain to learn how to multi-task, but also how to visually notice the small aspects of a landscape. Leaving video games to many thinking that it is just a waste of time and money, yes, anything to a certain extent is to much. Just as the saying goes "To much of a good thing can be bad for you" so can gaming. However, there is a bright side to every negative side, and this one has many. Those many include improvements in multi-tasking, attention in depth, and creativity. A healthy dose of gaming, perhaps 30 to 60 minutes a day of any video game, has shown to help with problem solving. Comparing gamers to non gamers, they have more creativity and have been known to solve problems faster than those who are non gamers. By better understanding video games, we can determine whether a video game is a "violent activity" and/or " a waste of time and money" and how they affect the human mind. That saying that we can improve our skills at any age, and inspire younger people to incorporate a certain amount (to a limit) of gaming into their lives.
Bibliography: Bavelier, Daphne, "Your brain on video games", TED Talks, TED Conferences, LLC, Web, November 2012 Johnson Y. Carolyn, "Could playing a video game keep aging minds young?" Science In Mind, The Boston Globe Gallery, 2013 NY Times Co., Web, September 4, 2013