The Final Post of the Semester: Video Games and Their Positive Effects

Violent Video Games and the Effects on Children

Since the date of the first video game known to man, 1947, there has been much controversy surrounding them. Video games have been praised for their abilities to create social bonds, and yet demonized for the way they do it, but there is one common factor between all video games; they are good for you. In the past 5 years, more and more studies have come out to support the fact that video games do help children in a myriad of ways. Some of these would include: increased visuospatial capabilities, increased speed of learning in the presence of them and increased motor reflexes. They also have an uncanny ability to help people with psychological ailments, such as PTSD patients. While video games come under frequent blame for the causation of a violent youth, none of the claims are accurate, and video games do prove to be a proponent of society rather that a detriment.

Video Games and Enhanced Learning Capabilities

One study done by a man named CJ Ferguson had found that, "playing violent video games remained related to higher visuospatial cognition" (Ferguson 1). This means that people whom were challenged with a puzzle after playing a violent game, were shown to finish it faster and more accurately than non-gaming subjects. This shows that video games can lead to temporary increases in a persons ability to think and reason logically, if played over a long course of time the games have also been shown to gradually increase visuospatial abilities permanently. This was also tested using a violent game, when done with primarily non-violent strategy games the effect was shown to be much greater and longer lasting, similar to that of playing chess or a game which is similar.

Why Do Children Swear Than?

Children do not swear because of games, they swear to feel accepted. An interesting video made by a

 

 YouTube channel called Vsauce, did an interesting cover on it. The video can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7dQh8u4Hc The host Michael covers the different types of swearing and why we do it, the primary reason is to feel socially accepted and cool. Hearing a cuss word in a game doesn't make children want to swear, sure it exposes them to the word, but without a group to show it off to the child will not use it. Profanity in games simply isn't a powerful enough motivator to get kids to say the words they hear, essentially.

 

 

Immersion and its Effects

Immersion is a phenomenon whereby a player of a game feels like they are actually in the game. By putting themselves into such an environment they are allowing themselves to be subject to all which the character in the game would be subject to. Once immersed in a game the player will feel how the character feels, think how the character thinks. If the game which the player is immersed into is Grand Theft Auto the player will be allowed and able to enter the mind of a criminal, without the negative effects that going into actual crime would bring. In stealth genre gaming players must be fully aware of their environment at all times if they want to be successful. The best part about is that once coming out of the immersive experience the player will keep the benefits that would come with being able to experience what normally wouldn't be a possibility. Immersion can also be broke at any time, as people are always aware they are playing a game no matter how immersed they become. So if a traumatic event were to happen to the character the player would feel sympathy rather than empathy, due to the ability to break immersion.

Standard Education Through a Not So Standard Medium

We are all used to the classic teacher; you come to class, you be on time, you do your homework, and

you recite the information learned back to the teacher via examination. All pretty standard, yes, but a recent study done has shown that kids taught through the medium of video games not only had fun whilst learning, they learned things quicker and more strongly than other students. Alan Gershenfeld  states that, “[It has been] found that students who went straight to the lecture did not know what to listen for, whereas students who played the game first had better context and greater motivation” (Gershenfeld 3). Essentially when a child, or even an adult goes into a subject with even a slight background in it, even if it was learned unconsciously, they will perform better and retain more.

Video Games and Shootings: Not the Cause

A classic, and yet huge mistake by some mainstream medias, is to blame video games for shootings. Shootings while a unfortunate and devastating event, can't be linked back to one certain cause. A recent news story actually addressed this, "When a shooter is a young male, the news media make a fuss over violent video games, neglecting to inform the public that almost all young males play violent video games" (Peckham).  Often times these children will come from poor backgrounds, have some family issues, and occasionally they may even be users. All of these are contributing factors in what could cause the depression and hatred that most of these shooters felt. Simply witnessing people being shot at in games wouldn't be the thing to set someone off on such a violent fit of rage. There is a separation between video games and real life, and even the most immersive games can not provide an experience which could feel like a true loss to ones self.

A New Age: Time for a Change

A new age truly is upon us where we can experience everything at the tips of our fingers. With that power could come some fantastic changes for the better. Education will include gaming media, people will be learning at increased speeds and showing greater levels of spatial intelligence. All because one day a man decided that, yes, the world does need a new kind of game. Not all games can be outwardly "educational" looking, but all games really do give people benefits which they hardly ever knew.