Video games are always shown to be the plague of the earth. They are violent, evil and contribute nothing to society. The media is filled with horror stories of people committing violent offences, deteriorating vision and even death by gaming. A recent study describes gamers as overweight, introverted and may be depressed. Being a gamer myself I found it hard to believe these facts, many of my friends are gamers and they’re normal, healthy intelligent people with active social lives nothing like how the media portrays them. I decided to take it upon myself to find the truth and disprove some myths about gaming.
Video Games Ruin Your Eyesight!!!!!!!
The myth: “All the time staring at the t.v ruins your eyesite” (haters, 200bc)
The truth: Video games are scientifically proven to improve your eyesight. A 2006 study from the University of Rochester shows that video games that contain high levels of action can improve one’s eyesight, this works as it changes the way our brains process visual information. Players can benefit from an improvement in peripheral vision (for you know looking at girls without them noticing) and practiced gamers are shown to perceive fine differences in contrast up to 58 per cent better than non-gamers especially in differentiating between different shades of grey which can help with night time driving. In the future video games may be used in corrective eye treatment.
Violent Games Breeds Violent People!!!!!
The myth: “video games are violent, therefore should be blamed for violence” (noobs, forever)
The truth: Studies prove that violent games don’t lead to violent people. While people ASSUME violence from games spreads to the players personality studies show otherwise. A 2007 study by Christopher John Ferguson showed a failure to provide a link between video game violence and aggression. American crime statistics show while video games sales rose from $5.5 billion to $9.5 billion from 1999 to 2007 violent crime among youth actually declined as video game sales increase. In 1999, 1,763 people under 18 were arrested for homicides in the U.S.; in 2007, that age group accounted for 1,063 murders. In fact video games may actually reduce violence. A study by Dr Gentile asked 680 Singaporeans aged 12-14 their three favourite games and state the number of hours they played. They were then given questionnaires their answers suggested that those who spent the longest playing games were more likely to help, share, co-operate and empathise with others. They also had lower scores in tests for hostile thoughts and their acceptance of violence was normal. In a separate test Dr Gentile observed Japanese players who spent their time playing games in which the main character helps others and questioned those players three to four months later the conclusion of which showed those who played these types of games the most were also rated as more helpful to those around them in real life. In conclusion VIDEO GAMES = NICER PEOPLE.
Video Games Make You Stuupid!!!!!!
The myth: Video games make you ummm duhh
The truth: Video games can improve instruction following, Problem solving and logic, Hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills. Children who play video games exhibit what experts call fluid intelligence, the ability to reason quickly and abstractly James Paul Gee, a University of Wisconsin-Madison curriculum and instruction professor describes this "Like any problem solving that is good for your head, it makes you smarter…They have to discover the rules of the game and how to think strategically,”. Video games are also used in training fighter pilots, soldiers and surgeon training and are credited with the increased skill level in each practice . Games also provide inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing skills James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stats “that playing a video game is similar to working through a science problem. Like students in a laboratory, gamers must come up with a hypothesis. For example, players in some games constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, they change hypothesis and try the next one.” Video games also provide skills for living in today’s world they introduce people to computer technology and the online world.
While video games have their benefits people need to be careful in the way they play and also what they play. Games come with health warnings which need to be exercised in order to play safely. Also, games come with a rating system similar to those on movies. These are especially important for parents as these laws are not strictly enforced in New Zealand. Video games when used in correctly can be an enjoyable and safe way to spend time. I hope in the future that the stigma surrounding video games will disappear and they may be used to their full potential.
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