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Shannyn Murphy

Professor McGriff

ENC 1102

18 April 2021

Video Games and Their Effects on Society

Many people, younger or older, play video games for many of their days. Video games

have a very positive effect on our community and society as a whole. Video games have some

positive and negative effects on people, but it is mainly positive. Through various research

articles it can be seen that video games have an impact on the world we live in today.

Video games can help with things such as communication skills, cognitive issues,

memorization, multitasking, working as a team, problem solving, hand eye coordination, and

many other things. According to the article titled “Does video gaming have impacts on the brain:

Evidence from a systematic review.”, it states, “The motivation to play video games might derive

from the experience of autonomy or competing with others, which can explain why video

gaming is pleasurable and addictive.” This quote explains how video games can become

addicting, which is why it is so important to understand how it affects our community and

society. This article also includes discussing how cognitive behaviors are affected. Certain video

games can help benefit people actively or socially. Parents often times worry about how long

their children may be spending on a game, however, it is proven that many benefits come from

gaming. Many individuals struggle socially, and co-op video games give them a chance to meet

and interact with individuals they may otherwise struggle to interact with. When looking at most
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video games there is one continuous goal which you and your teammates must work on. This end

objective helps with team development and ability to communicate.

Playing video games helps with multitasking, hand-eye coordination, concentration,

problem solving, and more. The article titled “25+ positive and negative effects of video games”

by Ronaldo Tumbokon, he discusses the positive effects, such as logic, spatial skills, planning,

resource management, logistics, multitasking, quick thinking, accuracy, strategy, situational

awareness, developing reading and math skills, memory, mapping, and many more. He also

mentions the negative effects, such as violence, social isolation, attention problems, impulsive

behaviors, anxiety, depression and more. It has been argued in the past that violent videogames

lead to violence in society. Many murder cases have been correlated with the games the

individuals have played as to why they became a murderer.

The next article discusses how playing video games affects mental health tremendously

in a positive way and helps work on communication skills, anxiety, and depression. The article is

titled,” The impact of gaming: A benefit to society.” by Kevin Anderton. It states, “Over 40%

said that gaming improves emotional well-being. That’s a serious benefit if you consider that one

in five people in America experience mental health issues each year.” This quote gives aq prime

example of how video games help overall positively. Emotional well-being can include many

things such as anxiety, depression and BPD. Video games provide an almost escape from reality

and allows many players to feel more like themselves. Games provide a sense of comfort and

warmth to those who made need it.

A good point to claim is how violent video games can possibly cause people to become

violent or see violence as ‘okay’. The video game community can also be very toxic and can

enrage aggression. Some games, such as call of duty, have very toxic communications that have
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no way to give someone consequences for their actions. According to the article titled,”

Protecting children from the dangers of “virtual violence” by Claire Mccarthy, it states,” The

AAP released the policy statement because they want people to understand that exposure to

“virtual” violence, through news, social and entertainment media, can be bad for children.

Multiple studies have shown that children exposed to violence may be more aggressive, and they

may have behavioral problems. They may also become desensitized to violence, which may be

the worst outcome — imagine a generation of children growing up thinking that violence is

acceptable and unremarkable.” This explains the issues with violence and aggression.

It is important to understand how playing video games can benefit and harm an individual. At

the end of the day, it comes down to who’s playing the game and what state they are in their

lives. Some games do remain inappropriate from some audiences and these games should be kept

that way.
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Work Cited

“25+ Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games.” Raise Smart Kid, 15 Feb. 2021,
www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-
games.
Anderton, Kevin. “The Impact Of Gaming: A Benefit To Society [Infographic].” Forbes, Forbes
Magazine, 25 June 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton/2018/06/25/the-impact-of-
gaming-a-benefit-to-society-infographic/?sh=162fdeec269d.
Brilliant T, Denilson, et al. “Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the Brain: Evidence from a
Systematic Review.” Brain Sciences, MDPI, 25 Sept. 2019,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826942/.
Claire McCarthy, MD. “Protecting Children from the Dangers of ‘Virtual Violence.’” Harvard
Health Blog, 24 June 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/protecting-children-dangers-
virtual-violence-2016080210036.