Video games can lead to addiction, depression, aggression, and many health issues. In fact, research has been conducted for decades on the negative effects of video game play. So why then have video games become over a $16 billion industry? Well, video games have immense positive potential. In addition to their entertainment value, video games can offer considerable success when they are designed to address a specific problem or teach a specific skill. Video games can be a particularly valuable academic tool when used in addition to traditional teaching methods.
Playing video games can be very beneficial in the educational process. It can enhance cognitive abilities and skills in children and adolescents. In fact, studies have found that …show more content…
As Wallace puts it “… both the possibility of real failure, and real consequences for that failure, is well… real” (394). The issue presented is that there is no true failure in video games. In life, it is impossible to just hit the reset button and try again as if nothing happened. It does not teach the child that there are in fact consequences caused by their actions. The real-world is not quite so kind to those who make mistakes and children must be prepared to acknowledge that there is not always a second chance. She uses the example of the workplace to explain. In the workplace a person cannot continuously make mistakes and expect the boss to say it’s ok. In reality, if an employee makes a mistake, they face the very real possibility of having their employment terminated rather than being able to correct …show more content…
The issue of video games being linked to obesity is not so much that children are playing video games but it is the type of video games that they are playing. There are many exercise games that actually promote physical activity such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect, and Dance Dance Revolution. One study conducted in Redmond, Oregon in which a dance pad game was installed in a third and fourth grade classroom and the at-risk students were selected to become mentors to the other children, found that students became more enthusiastic about sports, fitness, and dance, and that fourth grade participants actually improved their mile run time by 13.8%. In fact, exercise games can be preferable to traditional exercising options in that they are highly entertaining for all age groups, relatively low-cost, can be played alone or in groups, require a comparatively small amount of space, and require little training or skill development (Chamberlin). In regards to violent video games, the aggressive effects caused by the exposure to violence in video games are short-term. As a matter of fact, a study conducted at the University of Illinois found that violent video games have no long-term or permanent effects on aggressive behaviors (O’Connor). Video games themselves, whether violent or non-violent, can even be used to help people, specifically in healthcare. They can be used as a form of physiotherapy,
Playing video games can be very beneficial in the educational process. It can enhance cognitive abilities and skills in children and adolescents. In fact, studies have found that …show more content…
As Wallace puts it “… both the possibility of real failure, and real consequences for that failure, is well… real” (394). The issue presented is that there is no true failure in video games. In life, it is impossible to just hit the reset button and try again as if nothing happened. It does not teach the child that there are in fact consequences caused by their actions. The real-world is not quite so kind to those who make mistakes and children must be prepared to acknowledge that there is not always a second chance. She uses the example of the workplace to explain. In the workplace a person cannot continuously make mistakes and expect the boss to say it’s ok. In reality, if an employee makes a mistake, they face the very real possibility of having their employment terminated rather than being able to correct …show more content…
The issue of video games being linked to obesity is not so much that children are playing video games but it is the type of video games that they are playing. There are many exercise games that actually promote physical activity such as the Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect, and Dance Dance Revolution. One study conducted in Redmond, Oregon in which a dance pad game was installed in a third and fourth grade classroom and the at-risk students were selected to become mentors to the other children, found that students became more enthusiastic about sports, fitness, and dance, and that fourth grade participants actually improved their mile run time by 13.8%. In fact, exercise games can be preferable to traditional exercising options in that they are highly entertaining for all age groups, relatively low-cost, can be played alone or in groups, require a comparatively small amount of space, and require little training or skill development (Chamberlin). In regards to violent video games, the aggressive effects caused by the exposure to violence in video games are short-term. As a matter of fact, a study conducted at the University of Illinois found that violent video games have no long-term or permanent effects on aggressive behaviors (O’Connor). Video games themselves, whether violent or non-violent, can even be used to help people, specifically in healthcare. They can be used as a form of physiotherapy,