534016-Shining a Light on Video Games.docx - Student’s Last...

Student’s Last Name 1
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Subject
Date
Positive Effects of Video Games
Video games form a significant part of most children and adolescents’ lives, whereby
at least 95% engage in these games for at
least
an hour in a day in the United States. Most
scholars and psychologists have focused their research on the adverse effects of gaming
which has resulted in minimal research on the positive impact of video gaming especially on
brain development and improving problem-solving skills. This does not point fingers to the
psychologists stressing on the adverse effects which include depression, addiction, and
violence; however, a more balanced perspective is essential. Taking into consideration the
positive and powerful impacts is significant, in part, because the nature of these games over
the last decades has changed dramatically. Currently, these games are becoming increasingly
diverse, complex, social, and realistic. Unlike the vast research on the negative effects of
gaming on children and adolescents, in this paper, I will argue that, when played reasonably,
well-designed video games can have positive and powerful impacts on various aspects of
human behaviour and enhance one’s problem-solving skills. The paper will further assert that
most of the adverse effects associated with video games are as a result of parents and adults
failing to treat the ratings of videos seriously and not supervising kids when playing certain
games, hence blaming the game makers.
Videogames can considerably consume the time and attention of adolescents and
children. However, it is essential to note that videogames can have a significant impact on
human behaviour. Engaging in video games impacts the players’ behaviour positively. This is

Student’s Last Name 2
because the games offer new opportunities to learn new skills and practices or enhance the
development of the pre-existing behaviours (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 40). The response
associated with playing these games heavily depends on the content of the video game
depicted and interpreted in the mind of the player (Adachi & Teena 200) . Focusing on the
video games that have positive impacts, the games have a significant role in determining the
social effects, motives of the players, as well as the emotional state. Most modern video
games are pervasive social. Most gamers play these games in a group or with friends, either
competitively or cooperatively.
By engaging in group gaming, players are more likely to acquire crucial prosocial
skills, especially when playing games that are particularly tailored to reward effective
support, cooperation as well as helping behaviors. Previous studies reveal that engaging in
prosocial video games has a positive correlation to prosocial behaviors. Most children and
adolescents who engage in these prosocial games develop helping behaviors even after the
games when engaging in different activities (Granic et al. 60). However, other researchers