Contradiction Of Video Games

Superior Essays
Video games have been controversial since their inception. Many American youth have found enjoyment in the playing of video games. Whether it is the interesting challenge video games possess or the flashy graphics, video games seem to offer something for everyone. These video games are varied in their function, but for the most part similar in the way a player interacts with the virtual world. This new and still developing technology that is video games has been called harmful by some scientists and helpful by others, but how can this contradiction be possible? The truth is not so simple and to find it you have to investigate these studies and see how they were performed. After a careful inspection of these studies the reality of the …show more content…
Entertainment Merchants Association California was trying to ban the sale and rental of violent video games to minors, but as there was a lack of any compelling evidence the law court ruled that the state could not outlaw these games. In the words of the Supreme Court ““The State’s evidence is not compelling. ...These studies have been rejected by every court to consider them, and with good reason: They do not prove that violent video games cause minors to act aggressively (which would at least be a beginning). Instead, “nearly all of the research is based on correlation, not evidence of causation, and most of the studies suffer from significant, admitted flaws in methodology.” They show at best some correlation between exposure to violent entertainment and minuscule real-world effects, such as children’s feeling more aggressive or making louder noises in the few minutes after playing a violent game than after playing a nonviolent game.”” (White, Edward Douglass) The highest court in the land has made it clear, after reviewing the study presented to them, that video games have not been shown to be detrimental to the video game players. If video games are not harmful to people, it is very possible that they are beneficial to the people that play …show more content…
The ones she focused on in her TED talk were the violent video games known broadly as action games. These action games were shown to increase vision, increasing focusing abilities, and increased ability to switch between activities. The vision increase was both in interpreting small objects and also in seeing different shades of gray. The former is used in reading small things or seeing objects far away and the latter is used in situations such as driving in fog. Action gamers have been shown to be able to track more objects than people who do not play these games. When a competent study has been taken on this topic the research shows time and time again that if video games have an effect on developing minds, it is a positive effect. ("Daphne Bavelier: Your Brain on Video Games.")
Although the controversy of video games will probably persist for years to come, there is no reason that there should be a controversy. Video games are not in any form causing harm to the people who play them. Video games are just another form of media and are not the next great threat to families. Studies have been conducted and have shown that if anything video games are a positive entity. Video games can be used, not unlike books and other forms of media, to educate the youth of tomorrow and increase their cognitive

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