After reading chapter 6 and 7 of Smarter Than you Think, what are your thoughts on video games?
Honestly I used to play video games every hour I can in the summer, but I'm starting to play less and less. Video games are addicting to me because it is a great source of entertainment when you're bored. However video games also influence technology in coding and designing. People also argue that video games make people lazy and pull their attention away from daily work. My parents blamed video games for my grade dropping in 9th grade, so I decided to fix my grade in 10th grade. I know that I was beyond lazy in 9th grade, but it wasn't due to games. I just found myself slacking off. People tend to blame video games for violent crimes and other problems with the world, but I think video games are just something people use to waste time and have fun. Video games help in programming and new ways of thinking. There has also been game companies that strive to make games that help in education. Other games like simulators are also helpful.
However, people, who play video games, waste time every day. This is a good reason on how video games harm us, because it makes us do less daily. This is a reason on how it is affecting us and making us more "lazy."
Are video games affecting us for the better or worse?
I think that as long as people play video games in their spare time and they get all their important work done, video games are not harmful.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with David. There is nothing wrong with wanting to play video games once in a while. Video games are fun and are not like just sitting around watching television. T.V. encourages laziness, where on the other hand, video games are very stimulating and require you to think. They will only harm you if you let them get in the way of other important things. You just need to prioritize.
DeleteI believe that video games are not any good at all, but I too find myself stuck to video games here and then. Video games are very addicting. At times I could find myself playing video games for almost 3 hours straight, but only because it is around 1 AM and I have nothing better to do. They are fine to kill time when you do not have anything productive to do. Videos games a lot of the times cause people to slack off, or put video games as their number 1 priority. They are not harmful all the time, but I believe that the benefits that you listed can be found in a lot of other things that are less time wasting. It does bring a great sense of imagination at times, but can also influence bad things to those who idolize video game characters. So I believe there is much more harm than benefits found in video games, if any benefits at all.
ReplyDeleteHoly - okay I've got to restrain my fiery passion and not completely blow up and write a seven page essay here for no reason. You have posted a LANDMINE of ideas. I am EXTREMELY glad this hasn't turned into a heated debate. Okay, video games, to me, are a great way of relieving stress and relaxing, all the while feeling, well, tense. It may feel paradoxical, but it's true! Games allow you to feel a slice of being excited and feeling adrenaline. This is, as said in Brave New World, "the feelies." Knowing that your not really in trouble, but feeling tense, is just plain brilliance. Whether you like gaming or not, the thrill of being challenged is behind the success of the gaming industry. However, the reason behind why SCHOOL is hardly thrilling, is that you don't KNOW if you'll be okay. This fear of the unknown, like a test score or the result of a project, causes stress. I suppose, the right KIND of fear or thrill is extremely important. This is why video games are not necessarily a great thing, but it certainly is a good way to relax. The side effects of this depend on YOU.
ReplyDeleteThis is a unique topic you brought up, Hayden. Like everything else, I believe playing video games is fine in moderation. I am not an avid player of video games myself, but the general stereotype of people who do play avidly is that they are violent and lazy. It obviously depends on what type of game a person plays whether it is a violent one or a puzzle game. I took AP Psychology last year, and I remember a part in the psychology book that discussed if video games make people more violent. They used the game Grand Theft Auto as an example. In the experiments that were conducted, the conclusion was that although most people who play video games say they play because it relieves their stress, in actuality, the video games cause players to be more aggressive than they were before they started playing. I am assuming more experiments will be conducted to either back this theory up or disapprove of it, but so far, it seems that specifically violent video games are affecting humans in a bad way.
ReplyDeleteHere are two articles that talk about video games and violence -->
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-psyched/201401/violent-video-games-decrease-self-control
http://www.apa.org/research/action/protect.aspx
I believe playing video games can be helpful but it purely depends on the type of video games you are playing. Being the way our generation is right now, I believe parents would rather have their children use video games as a form of entertainment rather than the usual drugs, sex and violence. if used in moderation video games can be used to develop better hand eye coordination. If you're feeling stressed and a bit troubled you can use video games to escape to a whole new world. Math is incorporated in to a lot of video games. It teaches us about analysis and patterns. Most of all some video games stimulate the brain and teaches us how to problem solve and deal with in real life situations. In a video game if you make a mistake you can simply reset and start over. If you make a mistake in life... well say goodbye cause it's game over for you. You won't be coming back.
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