Category: Synthesis Letter

My topic is how remote learning will affect students?

Dear Professor Beacher,

Throughout my hardworking in researching for sources of my reflected annotated bibliography entries; I have found 4 effective sources, where I got them from the Baruch library database. Even though these 4 resources might seem to be scattered, all of these resources are connected in some way, just like brisks pile up from 4 different sides of land that build a room in the end. These four resources reveal the main idea that remote learning has negative impacts on students of remote learning in 2 major categories, which are physical health and mental health, and various aspects. And knowing these negative impacts will help us to avoid the consequences that might be happened in future remote learning. 

All of the resources that I chose, focus on different aspects of how remote learning affects students but they all demonstrate the bad side of online learning’s impact. Aguilera (2020) explored college students’ perceptions of their adoption, use, and acceptance of emergency online learning. The factors analyzed in his study were their attitude, affect, and motivation; perceived behavioral control( ease of use of technology, self-efficacy, and accessibility), and cognitive engagement. In the second piece of resource that I chose Gurumurthy et al. (2020). argued that students were both physically and psychologically affected by the quarantine by the lack of socialization, and this pandemic had caused a major fluctuation in the mental attitudes and anxiety levels of students.  Also, Araby et al. (2021). argued that quarantine has a notable impact on eating, sleeping patterns, as well as mood and behavior of children. In other words, quarantine has a potential crisis for further diseases or disorders. Last, in the fourth resource that I chose, Fruehwirth, Biswas, and Perreira (2021). argued that there are negative effects of the quarantine on the mental health of college students, by showing the statistics of the prevalence of moderate-severe anxiety that increase after quarantine began. And all the authors of these four resources have conducted experiments, such as questionnaires through Gmail, to retrieve their data and charts.

By researching this topic, I believe I have learned lots of new information from these four entries. This information indeed acknowledges the negative sides of the impact that online learning or quarantine had brought on students and that information will help me with the problem of my topic. I will do my best to make my writing piece argumentative, informative, and also with specific details that my audience is able to understand what is my argument, even though they have no prior knowledge in this field. By doing so, I will try not to use professional terms, and use simple terms with the same meaning instead; I will provide a full explanation in the case that I have to. 

In conclusion, I have learned lots of information that are related to the bad side of the impacts of online learning on students, and effective evidence that can support my thesis. Therefore, I will be able to form a “conversation” or argument by putting those four “puzzles” or the information that I have gathered together and inform my audience of the negative impact that online learning had brought on students. Hopefully, people can do something about it to make the situation better.

 

Sincerely,

Julison Yan

 

Topic: Technology vs Education

Research Question: 

1.What are the positive effects technology has on schools in the U.S?2.How are schools at a disadvantage without access to new technology?

Synthesis Letter:

Dear Professor,

While researching technology impacts on school, I encountered many problems and I kept losing myself. I realized many articles were either repetitive or just weren’t too related to my topic. Scholarly articles were also really hard to find, so it was a long and complicated process. However I did come past several good points on technology benefits that I might’ve missed or haven’t thought about. Statistics from interviews or personal reports also gave me a further understanding on my topic.

My first article talks about the benefits of technology use in classrooms. He lists out several good key points like the change in student-teacher roles and increase in self-motivation. Although he does include one small negative impact of technology (paying more attention to aesthetics rather than the actual assignment), his article sounds more of listing ideas rather than an argumentative one. Although it’s kind of obvious, there were still no signs of studies or statistics, so I can’t be so sure about the accuracy. My second article I found was quite similar to the first, but I felt it was stronger. The author has his own position/claim and uses strong words like “should” and “important to note”. She feels educators should take advantage of the fast-advancing technology to create a better learning environment to support student needs. She listed out several good points and included a counterclaim. She also mentioned Covid-19, a more recent problem which proved the importance of technology. Without access to these products, students would have a hard time catching up in their studies.

In my third article, it was a pdf I got from scholarly. I had a hard time converting it to APA format citations and couldn’t open it with a link, so I got it downloaded. My article was interesting. It talked about the step by step process of incorporating technology into classrooms. Teacher went from a questioning/worried tone to a more trustworthy attitude throughout the process, which clearly portrays the success of technology in education. Lastly, my video depicted a series of interviews from teachers to students talking about their experience or thought on technology. Many of them feel it was more beneficial and helped them stay organized. However, some also mentioned how technology can cause distractions(social media, youtube, etc) and impact engagement. There was a balance of pros and cons, which can help me support both sides of the argument.

I learned a lot through my research as I have seen the problem through several different perspectives. There were students, teachers, parents and even researchers. Overall, there was a more positive attitude towards technology so there is a lot that I can incorporate into my argumentative essay. This will allow my audience to think from a different perspective and see all the different outcomes and how these problems can be overcome. 

Sincerely,

Jenny Zou

Dear Professor,

While going through many articles and videos that discussed my choice of topic, I’ve found some of the most helpful sources that would help back up my argument. While some of them may be short, they establish important information I would like to discuss in my essay. Each source brings information regarding ethnic minorities and how they have been affected by the global pandemic. It’s important to bring awareness to mental health, specifically, for those in groups that are most vulnerable in our current situation. By educating more people on this issue, we could find ways to help minorities in the United States.

In Robby Bermans (2020, September 19) article they discuss statistics in a study made on adults living in the United States. The author provides a neutral tone throughout his writing and just shares information from this study. He uses pure statistics to make conclusions on how the pandemic has affected low income workers. Similar to this study, another article by Rura, N. (2020, September 30) talked about a poll sent out during the pandemic. Since both sources have information from the time the pandemic had lasted around half a year, it can be safe to assume that both resources have appropriate information for a topic relating to the effects of the pandemic. Both articles show no bias and focus on sharing information to their audience, discussing only their findings from their studies and surveys. 

Another source that shared its statistics and opened a conversation of the impact the pandemic has had on minorities comes from USA Today. Deborah B. Berry (2020, April 13) shares her thoughts and explanation on how covid has negatively impacted her community. She focuses on the Black community and uses emotion to bring her point across. Some points she discusses while taking to the audience and her interviewer aren’t backed up by proper statistics. Additionally, her discussion is focused around the unequal impact covid has caused on people of color. Lastly, an article on the American Psychological Association (2021) page shared its findings related to stress, specifically among the hispanic community. Unlike Deborah Berry’s emotional tone it focused on statistics that can be used as an argument for the impact covid has had on minorities. 

More importantly, this last source leads onto the idea that because of the situation many minorities are currently facing, discussed in both Bermans’ and Rura’s, it has resulted in increased stress. As a result, it raises a significant impact on the mental health of these people. The use of these three sources along with the extra findings in disproportions from Deborah will help create a discussion and explanation as to why minorities are being faced with increased cases of diagnosed depression. 

Looking into this topic has made me understand how much a sudden change can impact the stress and probability of being diagnosed with depression. The statistics that I have found through research have also helped me understand that a large portion of minorities are currently being affected and drained mentally due to the situation that they are in. Whether this be due to health, or economic reasons it still highlights how vulnerable minorities currently are.

Sincerely,

Giselle Meza Tlacotia

Topic: How has Covid-19 impacted the world of soccer? 

Research Questions: 

1. Has Covid-19 had a direct impact on soccer players’ careers? How so? 

1. What is going to happen with the development of teams? 

Dear Professor Beacher, 

 

In the process of researching the impact that Covid-19 has had on the soccer world, I found many useful sources and I picked the ones that I thought are more reliable. Not only do these sources help in providing information about the connection between soccer and Covid-19 but they also made me learn more about my topic as well.  

The first article focuses on how soccer is the sport where players get injured the most, and since the start of the pandemic, the injury rate has only gone up. This is a result of the overloaded schedule of games as seasons across the world were postponed due to the virus. The article also mentions how the international federation of soccer (FIFA) has been trying to prevent the frequency of injuries by amending some new rules, such as increasing the number of substitutions a team can make in a game. The second article gives more insight about the impact of Covid-19 on soccer clubs. It talks about the thrive of academy players, which is one of the few positive effects of the virus, the financial hits which according the article are not as severe as they are shown in the media, the development of technology and how teams are trying to use it to make profit etc. 

The third and fourth articles mainly focus on the damage that the pandemic has caused to some specific European soccer leagues such as German and English leagues. These two articles touch on the inability of fans attending the games in the stands of the stadiums and how this has affected teams. Not having fans in the stadium is quite a big disadvantage for home teams as they would provide motivating force to their players. In addition, in the articles it is pointed out that authorities have been trying to apply new regulations to keep people safe but at the same time they have been unable to bring them back to the stadiums. They suspended the leagues for a certain amount of time but it seems like the absence of supporters in the stadiums will last longer than expected. 

 

I believe the information I have obtained from these 4 sources will help me better address this topic and also explain it more transparently to the audience. Now I have more knowledge about the effect of Covid-19 on soccer and this will definitely help me present in a better way to whoever reads my research. That being said, I have to combine all the information together and if need be, add more in order to make it seem clear and precise. 

Sincerely, 

Donald Perdoci 

Topic: Body Dysmorphia: How have various social influencers perpetuated unrealistic body standards? Do eating disorders arise from body dysmorphia?How does body dysmorphia affect a person? 

Synthesis Letter: 

Dear Professor, 

Throughout the readings and search for various sources for my essay, I have come across various factors that cause and affect body dysmorphia due to the depictions of the body on social media. I have tried selecting reliable sources from the Baruch database and Youtube for my entries. All of these sources describe various factors such as the ideal body standard that leads an individual in the US to developing body dysmorphia and further developing eating disorders to attain or maintain a “thin” body standard.

Kirsh S. (2010) addresses the evolution of how body standards overtime become thin and obese bodies were represented as “undesirable”, “ugly”, and “lazy” to further glamorize thin bodies. From as early as the age of 6 through Barbie dolls and Cartoon figures kids play with to the social media influencers adolescents see on the internet. Moreover, Sanders and Eaton (2018), used cultivation theory, increased media exposure causes people to believe that the ideals portrayed in media exist in the real world, suggesting the connection between body dysmorphia and social media. Due to the overexposure of “ideal” bodies on the media, these individuals start believing their bodies are unnatural in a way. For instance, in Dr, K (2020), the guest Ingrid further supports the notion of body dysmorphia by talking about how she perceives her own body as something unnatural and the discomfort she faces daily due to feeling this way. While, in Weir K. (2016), the author  presents another aspect of the constant representation of “thin” bodies as the “ideal” bodies by addressing how people with all BMIs  resort to different unhealthy eating habits to attain and/ or maintain their desired body. However, unhealthy eating habits can lead to various eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and/ or binge eating.

I believe that the information I learned through reading all of the sources mentioned above will help me properly express my ideas about the topic on my paper. I have more knowledge about the development and various aspects and reasons for body dysmorphia and how this disorder can even lead to the development of eating disorders. I will try being informative and detailed so my audiences can understand my topic even if they have no prior knowledge about the topic itself. By doing so, it will be easier for my audience to engage with this topic and reflect upon how social media influences them.

The knowledge I learned will create a ‘conversation’ about the problem because my paper will include the 5 ws and h itself, why, what, when, who, where,and how. This will give the audience to understand and question various aspects of my topic. Thus, I will write my paper differently from all the sources mentioned in a way so there is a smooth flow to the entire paper by interpreting these topics based on my own thoughts and beliefs using proper logic and citations. I will not disregard or misuse any of the sources above to prove my point in the process.

Sincerely,

Zumanah Perveen

Topic: Teenage Schizophrenia

Research Questions:

1. What are the signs of schizophrenia in a teenager?
2. What is the differences between teenage schizophrenia and adult schizophrenia?
3. What are the impacts and treatment plans for teenage schizophrenia? 

Synthesis Letter: 

Dear Professor Beacher,

               In the process of researching adolescent schizophrenia, I found many useful resources. Here I chose these four more persuasive and reusable resources. These resources come from authoritative organizations related to the subject, which makes them more convincing and reliable resources. These resources may seem scattered, but all items are connected in some way. This gives the main idea that adult schizophrenia and juvenile schizophrenia have similarities but some differences. The signs of adolescent schizophrenia are not so easy to detect, and its diagnosis and treatment options are also different from those of adults. They help us understand how to view juvenile schizophrenia in a correct way and how to prevent juvenile schizophrenia. 

            Androutsos Ch. (2012) and Dr. Rochelle Caplan. (2010) both found through research that the proportion of adolescent schizophrenia is usually less than that of adult schizophrenia. But this does not mean that he should not be taken seriously, because part of adult schizophrenia is developed from early adolescent schizophrenia. Androutsos Ch. (2012) mentioned in the article that although the DSM-IV and ICD-10 schizophrenia standards are applicable to all age groups, they are difficult to apply in earlier ages. Both authors believe that the incidence of young schizophrenia mostly increases during adolescence, which is between 13-18 years of age. Dr. Rochelle Caplan. (2010) believes that adolescents in adolescence are moody and moody due to unstable hormones in their bodies. They often show tension and anxiety, and anger and quarrel are their behavioral expressions. This affects the sleep of adolescents and severely causes behavioral disorders. Such as self-harm, alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide. Jamison Monroe (2020) also agrees with this view. The author mentioned in the article because most teenagers have changeable thoughts and unstable emotions during adolescence. Many adolescents often feel anxious due to the academic and social pressures of adolescents, as well as developmental diseases without proper guidance and emotional expression. Sick teenagers often feel nervous and fearful, which may interfere with daily work and school activities. Many teenagers abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to paralyze themselves, hoping to eliminate mental harm. But the fact is just the opposite. The use of drugs and alcohol aggravated their condition. Long-term use can lead to addiction. These various mental illnesses are all related to the adolescent schizophrenia I studied. The behavioral disorders, depression, and eating disorders mentioned in the article are all complications related to schizophrenia. Caplan. (2010) also called on more parents in the video to use the above-mentioned signals to find out their children’s psychological problems as early as possible.

               Androutsos Ch. (2012) believes that in addition to an emotional imbalance in adolescence, genetic history is one of the reasons for most adolescent schizophrenia. If one parent or both families have a history of mental illness, this will greatly increase the child’s chance of suffering from schizophrenia. Compared with adults, pre-morbid neurodevelopmental disorders are more common and obvious in people who develop schizophrenia during childhood or adolescence. Therefore, ordinary diagnostic techniques are not effective for teenagers with schizophrenia, because most of the main symptoms of psychosis are usually hidden. This is different from adult patients, which causes delays in diagnosis and treatment are common. Regarding the treatment of schizophrenia, Goff, D. C. (2021) mentioned two generations of antipsychotic drugs and psychosocial and rehabilitation interventions in the fourth resource. Regarding the fact that Androutsos Ch. (2012) mentioned genetic inheritance, Goff, D. C. (2021) mentioned in the study that this part of patients belonged to lifelong patients. The author also mentioned that the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia are apathy, loss of emotional expression, and cognitive deficits, which are the same as the concept of schizophrenia by other authors. In terms of drugs, the first-generation drug named clozapine was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1990 for the treatment of drug-resistant schizophrenia. Although the symptoms are alleviated, side effects also exist. The second-generation antipsychotic is olanzapine, a chemical mimic of clozapine. Compared with the first-generation drugs, olanzapine reduces many adverse neurological reactions, so the treatment effect is better. But this still does not solve the problem, and medical treatment requires the cooperation of social assistance. It is very important to provide a wide range of evidence-based psychosocial services for patients with mental illness, such as establishing psychological service stations in schools and communities. Family psychological education should also be carried out at the same time, with regular psychological education and emotional counseling for young people. This is consistent with the ideals conveyed by Dr. Rochelle Caplan. (2010). Family psychological education has played a vital role in preventing adolescents with schizophrenia.

               Now, I have gained knowledge of adolescent schizophrenia symptoms, prevention, and treatment options from these resources, which will help me explain and show the topic to the audience better and more clearly. I believe these four resources can better help me understand adolescent schizophrenia. I will avoid using too many complex and difficult technical terms and should use words that are easy for the audience to understand. This can make my article clear, easy to understand, and straightforward. Because the number of cases of youth schizophrenia is rapidly increasing worldwide, I hope I can integrate these resources and the knowledge I have learned to share these with the audience.

Sincerely,

Melody Lin

 

Research Topic 

• I wanted to research something about video games as it is something I am really fond about. Usually the common stereotype is that people who play video games are typically really unhealthy and I wanna look into that. Why is this happening and maybe there will be a way to fix it.

Research Questions

• How has video games affected a person’s physical health?
• How has video games affected a person’s mental health?

Dear Professor,

Throughout the process of me researching both positives and negatives of playing video games to a higher degree, I have found many sources that I concluded can be extremely useful. I found 3 research studies and 1 journal just saying both potential negatives and positives of playing video games. Like how some of the positives can be used to positively affect some people with ADHD while some negatives can be said to raise awareness of these sorts of issues. I plan on only incorporating one side of the argument in my next assignment but for now I found a way to put all these together.

In my first article, Peter Grinspoon introduces us about the world of video gaming addiction. It is a good opening from a Harvard research article talking about the positives of gaming like building a virtual community to the negatives which is IGD, internet gaming disorder. They talk about how gaming can be useful by saying that it can help some people not feel as lonely by connecting people and can improve spatial reasoning. They then go talk about the negatives where gaming injuries can happen like the “Gamer’s thumb” or “Playstation Thumb” where a “person’s tendons that move the thumb becomes inflamed”. They also talk about how IGD can lead to many issues like “loss of relationship, educational, or career opportunities” and “gaming to escape or relieve anxiety, guilt, or other negative mood states”. I will use this article to introduce the world of “ video game addiction” and maybe even talk about some benefits of gaming and some tips on gaming.

In my second source which is a video from WIRED where they discover what kind of benefits there are to being a professional gamer through a variety of mini tests. When they were running through a test, their editor Peter Rubin went up against a pro gamer, named Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham, and the results were as expected. The professional gamer did really well in all the tests that had concentration, quick snap decision making and removing distractions while focusing on the object at point. The pro gamer placed at the 98th percentile while Rubin got placed at the 60th percentile showing the massive difference it makes to have these kinds of skill sets. They then go try out a FDA approved game marketed towards ADHD kids and I can use this information to prove how useful video games can be to help others. Later Peter Rubin went to cryotherapy to try out what it was like for fun as gamers believe that it helps out a lot. The idea of cryotherapy can give a person a surge of energy after playing extremely too many games. They conclude that gaming can be extremely useful in the body with hand eye coordination but have not truly justified how useful they are in real life situations. I am planning to use this video to just talk about how videogames can help people better themselves.

In my third source, I used an experiment to find out how people get addicted to video games. They split the groups into a “promotion” and “prevention” group, where the promotion players are players who use games to get good and be a better person and prevention players are players who play video games to escape life, which can lead to addiction. They find that playing games with negative messages can lead to better self control in a person while positive messages lead to addiction in a prevention player. I can incorporate this into my final project on a way to design stuff as this shows me that designing things with a negative message can further a person’s self control while decreasing addiction causing the many problems brought up by the Harvard article and the next article I am about to bring up.

For my final article I found an article written by Israel Oluwasegun Ayenigbara talking about gaming disorder and I can fit this article to tell others how not to play video games and the dangers of it. Researchers found that “Gaming disorder” a more extreme version “IGD” has the exact same symptoms as other health conditions. They find that it is connected to major physical health disorders like vision issues, musculoskeletal problems, obesity and overweight, and seizures. It then talks about possible prevention, like getting education on it or counseling. I can incorporate it into my counter argument which then can be used also as a way to bring up some possible dangers of addiction.

I found that I can connect video game addiction through all these articles except in the second one butI find that that one is really useful in the fact that it is a fun video to show how useful video games can be. They all take about all negative side effects of video games addictions like all the potential health problems, but also all talk about the usefulness of video games and how you can easily prevent yourself from getting addicted which lead to those issues. I will use this as a way to try to start a conversation if video games are actually good or not as that is still an ongoing debate in many areas.

Sincerely,

Jun Wei Zhen

Topic: How quarantine affects our health.

Research Question:

1. How does quarantine affect physical health?
2. How does quarantine affect mental health?
3. How does no exercise affect your health?

 

Dear Professor,

 

During my research I came across a lot of resource that I could use, it was hard to choose among them since at first my topic was just about “how quarantine affect physical health” but I gradually realize it was too hard since not many reliable source is out there since there not much incident that is about quarantine. As a result I expanded my topic to how it affects our health which made the whole thing much easier to find more sources. The possession was helpful since I was learning about my topic and was able to adapt to make things better since the topic is more recent and there is less information on it.

 

My first source CDC(2019) introduced how physical activities are important to the human body. It later branched out on how being physically inactive will lead to many problems like heart disease and diabetes. They also benefit from being physically active during everyday lives. This source might be a bit off my topic and I believe so but it introduces the point of importance of physical activities. My second source is from Mattioli(2020), it talked about how during quarantine we are less likely to be physically active since there are not many ways to be physically active at home leading to cardiovascular disease. Unhealthy diet is also introduced along the process since many store products are limited because of  manufacturers unable to provide enough product contributing to more physical problems. My third is from Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes(2020) is a professional therapist that does study on psychological health, she talks a lot about how fear and lack of information has a direct effect of the quarantine. Fear brings stress to a person leading to a higher chance of mental illness. Lack of information is also related to fear in sort of a way since she talked about if the government misleads information to the public it would bring fear to the citizen since unknown is a scary factor. Source 4 (Doyle 2021, March 04) was an example of how a student being quarantined was being extremely stressed out and lonely during his time of quarantine. This was meant to be an example of how quarantine can change a person and the mental damage it can cause to a student. Hansen was the student being in this source, he was lonely and was not able to concentrate on what he was doing.

 

After reading these sources I further understand how quarantine impacts our health. Now I understand the effects of quarantine, it brings fear, isolation, and insufficient physical activity. These factors will affect both our mental and physical health. There is still a lot that I need to find in order to have a better outcome since the topic is still a bit hard since it is something that is recent so things are a bit complicated to write. I believe that using these sources I will be able to write a clear fact that quarantine is not something great since we are social creatures and we need to interact with each other and move in the outside world.

 

Sincerely

Jon Li

Primary Topic: How does the internet supplement our ability to communicate face-to-face?

Research Questions:

1. How does the internet let us connect with others? 
2. Does the internet strengthen our community as a whole?
3. Do generation Z prefer communication through the internet or face-to-face?
4. What does it mean to be a “heavy internet user” or “newbies” and how does that differ from others?
5. Why is there often the negative connotation around the use of social media?

Dear Professor Beacher, 

While researching how the internet assimilates and supplements our ability to communicate face-to-face I came across multiple sources that taught me more about my topic. Allowing me to be more specific about my research question and also expand the sub-questions that I need to address in my essay. Out of those multiple sources, these four are what I believe not only addresses my topic but also supports a connection between them.

The first article, by Wellman, addresses how the internet affects our voluntary community participation while placing emphasis on the difference between “heavy-users” and “newbies”. Wellman explains that while we might see an increase in heavy-users voluntary participation in the community there is isolation in “newbies”. This is because newer users report to be more stressed out when using the internet and harder to connect to a community. The second article, by Baym, further the first article in exploring the different factors that need to be isolated to properly analyze the effect of the internet on face-to-face communication. Not only do we need to determine how often they use the internet but also take into account which platform they use, what they use it for, and when studying the social ability we also need to understand the relationship they have, whether they are speaking with family, friends, co-worker, or schoolmates. The first two articles help me simplify my topic, as well as understand that I need to address more factors that play a role in determining the effect of the internet. 

Article three, by Downey, talks about the term “social ability”. He mentioned that because of the difficulty of conducting an experiment on the internet on the ability to communicate face-to-face there isn’t any real data. This is why today’s term for social ability is determined by teachers and parents. This connects with the fourth article, by Westerman, because he brings up the idea that many of the negative misconceptions are started by parents and teachers. We were taught to believe that face-to-face is the optimal form of communication while the internet is a distraction. Article four is also an important article because it talks from the viewpoint of the students. Generation Z is one that is known to grow up with the internet and a generation that is highly assimilated with the internet as we grew up with it. So it is important to have evidence and support from their viewpoint.

Overall, while studying and researching more about my topic I learned a lot more about the internet on users. I learned that there are multiple factors that need to be taken into consideration when discussing this topic, which is why I decide to focus more on college students and mention differences between different platforms and how the internet affects face-to-face communication for specific relationships. 

Sincerely 

Vanness Liu

Group Topic: The effects of screen time use on humans.

My Topic: The positive effects of playing video games on mental health.

Question: 

1. How have video games improved mental health for gamers?
2. How has playing video games had an impact on psychological development in children and teens? 
3. Do internet games and video games vary in the ability to improve the mental health of its players? 
4. Does the advancement in gaming change the effects gaming has on their mental health?

 

Dear Professor Beecher, 

   Throughout the research process, I encounter many different types of sources related to my topic the positive effect of playing video games on mental health. Out of the sources I found, I pick four to analyze more deeply. My sources all have their different views on how playing video games are beneficial, but in some ways, things interconnect with each other. All my sources focus on the benefits people can obtain from playing video games for their mental development and health. After analyzing these four sources, I am more educated in how video games can improve one’s mental ability. 

     According to (Granic et al, 2014) research article, claimed that playing video games has emotional benefits as it makes the gamer experience positive emotions, which is really just happiness. (Hern, November 2020) wrote a news article to support this claim because according to an Oxford study, it found that people who played video games for four hours a day, were more happy when they did. Both sources show how playing video games allowed the player to experience happiness, which is a key in maintaining good mental health. The Oxford study provided relevant scientific backing to the claim playing video games allows gamers to be happy. (Granic et al, 2014) explains people gain social benefits from playing video games and they learn to cooperate with others around them. In source three, a study done on children explains how children who play video games had better relationships with their peers around them(Anonymous, March 2016). It proves that gamers are able to maintain social relationships with others around them and are able to cooperate with each other. These three sources came from different sources of information, which provided different details and tones for my topic. 

      Source four a video source stated, gamers had cognitive improvements when they played games like being able to develop spatial skills ( Bavelier, June 2012). It provided extra details to explain cognitive skills like spatial skills improved and are supported by source one (Granic et al, 2014). Source four, provided experimental evidence to support the idea gamers are able to develop spatial skills, which is a very important skill to learn to be able to analyze things better. Source four, provided a lot of information and scientific data to support my research. Since source four was a ted-talk it provided visuals and interactions between the audience, which allowed me to have a better understanding of the information being presented. All four sources revolve around action games or video games, since not every type of game has the same benefits as video games can have for the human brain. Also, all four sources wanted to explain scientific data and research done on the benefits of video games.  

      These four sources have allowed me to understand the mental benefits of playing video games better. Each source provides a different perspective on video games and how it benefits us. The source covers topics from social, emotional, to cognitive abilities of people, allowing me to analyze my topic through different factors affected by playing video games. All the sources were written to inform people about the benefits of playing video games. Since a majority of studies and research papers are written about the negative effects video games have on people. Through my research, I want to bring more awareness to people that video games are not really that bad. I want people to realize video games will only become more popular, so we should be educated and understand their effects on us. To achieve this goal, I needed to analyze and make strong connections between my sources to create a strong argument for my claim. 

Sincerely, 

Sally Chen