Sally Chen Outline

Introduction

Hook: Playing video games, a term that used to describe people that were nerds and adults that still live in their parent’s basement, doing nothing. Growing up in the twenty-first century, technology was everywhere. There were many different types of game consoles and different games being developed every year, and with the internet, these things became more accessible to everyone. 

Statement of the Problem/Debate: Video games have become so much a part of our lives, but we still lack the knowledge about the effects it has on us. Scientists have been looking more into the positive effects of video games on the gamer.  Playing video games has been proved to mentally benefit the gamer. In the human brain, different parts of the brain are affected positively like the attention span and regulation of the brain when playing video games. Many studies have found gamers mentally benefit from playing video games, especially violent video games. Gamers benefited from playing video games in four main ways cognitively, emotionally, socially, and motivationally. The effects have been found to be very beneficial to the users since they learn valuable skills they will need in the future.

Thesis Statement: Video games are associated with negative effects, it’s also crucial to understand video games are beneficial to their users cognitively, emotionally, socially, and motivation.  

Body Paragraphs:

Subargument # 1: Cognitive skills improve when people play video games. 

Support 1: In a meta-analysis, found spatial skills improved by playing a shooting game, the effects were similar to high school and university courses made to develop this skill (Granic et al, 2014). The spatial skills can be trained with video games relatively quick and the effects are long-lasting (Granic et al, 2014). 

Support 2: Attention spans increased for gamers, when asked to identify happy faces from a bunch of facial expressions, adults on average were able to identify 3 to 4 objects, while gamers were able to identify 6 to 7 objects in the same time frame  Bavelier, June 2012).

Support 3: Two meta-analyses published in Psychological Bulletin in 2017, found that over the span of 15 years players’ cognitive skills improved for gamers (Warnick, October 2019). “They found that video game players scored higher in tests of attention, perception, cognitive flexibility and spatial cognition” (Warnick, October 2019).

Subargument # 2: Video games create an environment that is beneficial to one’s emotional well-being. 

Support 1:Many studies have shown how playing video games improved mood or increased positive emotions (Granic et al, 2014). Playing puzzle video games with minimum interfaces, a short-term commitment, and easy accessibility promotes better mood, stay relaxed, and not feel anxiety (Granic et al, 2014). 

Support 2: According to an Oxford study, it was founded by playing four hours of the game Animal Cross it was found that the players were happier (Hern, November 2020).

Support 3: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, stated the idea behind flow is the mental state that gamers experience when they are so engaged in the game is linked to the production of positive emotions like high self-esteem and a feeling of achievement (Vitelli, February 2014).

Subargument # 3: Playing video games has allowed the development of many important social skills. 

Support 1:Video game players have been able to gain important prosocial skills when they play interactive video games like cooperation, support, and helping behavior (Granic et al, 2014). 

Support 2: Playing video games is a very common free time activity for children to work in teams. As a result, many children that play video games are socially able to connect with their peers and adapt to the school environment (Anonymous, March 2016). 

Support 3: Professor of psychology at Nottingham Trent University, Mark Griffiths, he did a survey with 900 people in 45 different countries on people who played online multiplayer games and found that one-third of both male and female participants responded they made good friends when playing games and the average amount of good friends made was seven (Gregory, April 2020).

Subargument # 4: Gamers have been able to develop motivational skills from playing video games.

Support 1: Video games allow the player to face failure with optimism, when they face failure the player in the video games are motivated to return to the same task and complete until they win (Granic et al, 2014).

Support 2: Video games have many difficult tasks for the player to complete (Vitelli, February 2014). This allows the player to see that they can achieve their goals and stay determined (Vitelli, February 2014).

Support 3: Video games implement the incremental theory of intelligence to its players (Granic et al, 2014). In video games when completing a game task the player is rewarded and they believe intelligence can be malleable and achievable through their time and effort put in (Granic et al, 2014). 

Conclusion: 

Summarize:  Video games have been described to have many negative effects on their users, in reality, many positive benefits to its user these are the development of cognitive skills, emotional skills, social skills, and motivational skills. Playing video games has allowed the individual to gain the main important skills needed in different aspects of their lives. 

Final Comment: Video games are the new version of what people consider leisure activities. With the popularity on the rise, the need for understanding the effects of video games is key to the understanding of how individuals will become in the future. Video games have left an imprint on us, and the effects will last forever.

References:

Alex Hern Technology editor. (November 16, 2020, Monday). Video gaming can benefit mental health, find Oxford academics. The Guardian (London). https://advance-lexis-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:619H-27N1-DY4H-K1FW-00000-00&context=1516831.

Bavelier, D.(Performer). (2012, June). TED [Video file]. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games

Granic, I., Lobel, A., & M. E. Engels, R. C. (2014). The Benefits of Playing Video Games. American Psychologist, 69(1), 66–78. https://doi-org.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/10.1037/a0034857

Gregory, S. (2020, April 22). Video games benefit quarantined kids in covid-19 pandemic. https://time.com/5825214/video-games-screen-time-parenting-coronavirus/. 

(March 8, 2016, Tuesday). Time spent playing video games may have positive effects on young children. Medical Xpress. https://advance-lexis-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5J86-DX01-JCMN-Y1PW-00000-00&context=1516831.

Vitelli, R. (2014, February 10). Are There Benefits in Playing Video Games? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201402/are-there-benefits-in-playing-video-games. 

Warnick, A. (2019, October 1). Video games and health: Sorting science from popular beliefs – Many believe games cause gun violence. The Nation’s Health. https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/49/8/1.2.