Are Video Games Bad

How many of you have played video games within the past month? Well we aren’t the only ones. 59% of Americans play video games. 48% of that being girls. Now how many of you have heard something along the lines of “video games are bad for you!” and “videos games rot your mind”? I know I have. There are countless reasons why people think video games are bad for you. Many people perceive video games as a waste of time; they make a person socially isolated, and they rot your mind.

But in reality, they are not what people think they are.

Many of us as high school students are going through a lot of stress, barely finding time to relax. Many parents scold us when we start slacking off, especially when we play video games. They tell us to go do something productive instead of wasting our time playing an hour of games. We work as hard but are scolded when we take a little break.

I know that when I get home after a rough day, I like to just jump online and play a game with some friends. It helps me get rid of my bad attitude and relax before getting serious and doing work. When coming home from a rough day of school with no motivation to do anything, video games are there to help. By playing games you get to focus on something else for a bit and let your mind rest. A study shows that it is proven that after playing with video games, you will feel refreshed and also get your mind ready for another session of stress.

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Another rumor going around is that gamers are socially isolated. A perfect counter example can be seen right here at School. Many times that I walk through the halls I hear someone talking about a video game. This proves that video games are a topic of conversation allowing people to bond and create new friends. We have online chats, social media groups, clubs, and so much more. Online and multiplayer gamers also allow us to play with friends or even meet other people. One survey found that more than 70 percent of people in the US who play video games do so with a friend, either cooperatively or competitively. Gamers basically have their own community.

As mentioned before, a common phrase you may have heard is that “it rots your mind”. This is a myth. Video games are food. Such as how certain food provide many benefits, certain video games provide many benefits such as sharpened and enhanced mental abilities, and I’m not talking about educational games. For example, while non-gamers have a normal vision, action gamers actually have an improved eyesight. Along with eyesight, action gamers also have improved memory and concentration. This is because that while playing games you are exercising these abilities. A report published in the 2014 January issue of American Psychologist points out that shooter games can improve cognitive performance, while all genres of video games enhance problem-solving skills. Games such as Call of Duty require a player to focus on several things at one time while noticing any change in color or movement on the screen. In addition, games can enhance hand eye coordination and reflexes. Action games, according to a study by the University of Rochester, train the player’s brain to make faster decisions without losing accuracy. This benefits us in real life especially if you’re in a sport.

Here’s another way it can benefit you in real life. Many of us are guilty of multimedia tasking which is basically being on Instagram or Twitter or Snapchat while doing homework while listening to music or anything along those lines. It is stated that multitasking is just changing one’s point of attention, however it has been proven that video gamers are actually better at multitasking. With the increased concentration gamers have an attention span of 6 or 7 objects of attention compared to the normal 3 objects. I’m sure many of us would be happy if we were able to do multiple things at once with maximum effort.

Overall, video games do not affect people negatively.