Pros and Cons of Video Games

Video-games make young people more violent. Young people are becoming less sociable. Poor metabolism is linked to playing video games. There are many reasons why people believe video-games should be banned, but surely they are not just made to have a negative impact on physical and mental health. Video-games are obviously not made to make a person more violent. Who would want that? Despite all the controversy, there are just as many benefits to them as there are negatives. Would it shock you if I told you that video-games reduce stress and anxiety, improve problem-solving skills and encourage creativity?

The stereotypical “gamer” is a teen who just sits and plays games for hours on end. Many people would associate being antisocial with this. But according to scientists, if you are part of the 44% of the world’s population of gamers you will in fact have surprisingly amazing problem solving skills, developed an ability to think quick and have precise accuracy. Problem-solving revolves around 4 main areas: learning from mistakes, going through intense practice, getting to try different things and experiencing a variety of problems and solutions. Isn’t it funny how all four of these link to video-games!

Everybody makes mistakes in games. Would it be fun without it? If you acquired everything straight away the game would become repetitive and too easy. Usually you would lose all your “lives” and try again. But how can you correct your mistake? You would find a better solution. But with every solution, there is normally a problem to overcome first. This makes the game more thought provoking as people are so determined to reach the next “level”. Unfortunately, this is where games become addictive and the intense practice starts.

But did you know the saying “practice makes perfect” is actually very true. All those who are fond of gaming will be well aware that intense practice can be extremely rewarding. Gamers are topping leader boards and improving problem solving skills without even realising it. For example, although “Call Of Duty” can be quite gory and violent, it can improve visual attention and spatial intelligence skills. This can lead to performing better in science and maths. Games such as “Forza” and “Grand Theft Auto” almost force you to make decisions under pressure as there is sometimes a time limit. Regularly playing quick paced games can be beneficial in real life situations. Multitasking, driving, reading small print and oddly enough keeping track of friends in a crowd are all benefits of playing video-games.

Despite the stories of people smashing their controllers or cracking their screens due to frustration, believe it or not, playing video-games are a means of reducing stress and anxiety. Had a hectic day at school or work? Then video-games may be the answer to release your anger. According to CBS News, playing video-games can put you in a good mood as it releases endorphins which give you a feeling of pleasure. You feel like you are achieving something. In a recent study, 47% of 1000 gamers said that performing well in a video game has a positive impact on their lives off screen. This proves that video- games are an effective stress reliever as almost half benefitted from playing. Video-games are beneficial for children with ADHD as they may find it easier to take their anger out on a character in a violent video-game instead of hurting someone in real life. It is said that video-games may soon become as relaxing as yoga and meditation.

Video-games are also not all about who can beat who, blood and gory. Creativity can play a huge role in benefitting youngsters. It can come in either thinking about problems creatively or being creative in general. It is mostly the older generation that link video-games to have negative impacts. I don’t think they quite understand how beneficial they really are and only catch glimpses of what their children are glued to. Therefore they’re getting the wrong perception of them. There are many games that encourage children to create. For example, an obvious one, “Minecraft”. Although this game has become less popular in the last few years, I believe that it was the stepping stone into making games more creative. “Minecraft” allows you to build your own little world entirely from cubes. It is so simplistic. Yet effective. It almost pushes you to think outside the box when designing and you are also free to create whatever you want! If you search online for “creations people have made on “Minecraft”; its mind-blowing, from identical replicas of cathedrals to King’s Landing or a whole city from “Game of Thrones”, entirely made from cubes. It’s definitely a skill. Take a look at “Fornite” for instance. With over 200 million people playing this game worldwide, this game has become so popular as it merges violence and creating together. I feel that often in schools “creative” projects, especially in art, have very strict stages and lock step processes which don’t allow you do express your real creative side. I definitely feel that video games are a way of boosting your creativity if you are maybe not the most artistic person.

Overall, I believe video games are very beneficial to human health. Game makers face lots of criticism when creating their games due to the negativity and violence based around them. Nobody seems to think about the positive impacts which are highly ignored. But why? Are people just trying to make an argument out of something which has balanced positives and negatives? It has been proven by Researchers at the University of York that there is actually no evidence to support the theory that games make players more violent. This is why I think it is important to let people and especially parents know that they are not all that bad. Now it’s your turn. Try gaming. Give it a go. Don’t overdo it but moderate gaming within limits is definitely a way of improving skills. 

Works Cited

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