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Justin Prado

Professor Trishia Briones

English 1302 – 227

21 March 2022

Introduction

Ever since the birth of video games there has been much controversy from every side of

the spectrum. At first it was a monumental occasion to be able to control something and “play”

on a digital screen for the first time with the game Pong being one of the first major video games

that grew in popularity when it first came out. But as time went on the number of video games

increased as well as how many different types of video games came out. Furthermore, the hate

and the negative energy surrounding the effects of video games on youth also increased

dramatically. As did the “positive” energy surrounding the “good” aspects of video games. Just

like how many parents, politicians, and more are quick to point the blame of any major event to

video games. Many other studies rose to rule out how video games do not cause violence. From

here on it is research and studies that are relied on to show whether video games are good or bad.

Many studies have been done to see if video games are bad, including those studies done on

violent video games and their affect on youth, video game addiction, and video game’s

correlation to violence. Other studies have been done to see the positive effects that video games

can have on people using video games in the field of medicine and in the field of education.

The Negatives of Video Games

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Studies that have been done to showcase how video games are bad have been done with

the correlation of video games and violence. In the article “Effects of Violent Video Games on

Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and

Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature” done by Craig A.

Anderson and Brad J. Bushman there was a study that focused on the effect of violent video

games and the correlation to aggression. In the study done it was proven that violent video games

played by people did correlate to a higher level of aggression, but it was also questioned whether

different types of video games may affect emotion differently. In another article titled “Is Video

Game Addiction Really and Addiction? Adding Video Gaming to the List of Recognized

Behavioral Addictions Could Help Millions in Need. It Could Also Pathologize a Normal

Behavior and Create a New Stigma.” done by Mark Zastrow is an article done about how video

game addiction should or should not be considered an addiction. In the article there are many

points against having video game addiction as a part of the list for behavioral addictions and

many that allude to video game addiction not belonging on the list. For the most part it is argued

that addictions are caused, and help should be provided, nonetheless.

The Positives of Video Games

Contrary to the studies that show how “bad” video games are. There is an overwhelming

number of articles that showcase the “good” that video games can bring. The article written by

Pamela M. Kato titled “Video Games in Health Care: Closing the Gap” shows how video games

can be used in the medical field to help in the education of doctors and nurses. The article states

how video games or simulations have been used to teach, educate, comfort, and for management

for all areas of medicine ranging from professionals to patients. Video games in the medica field

can be used to put new nurses and doctors in simulations that simulate real life scenarios. This
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allows for people to get the training and experience they need without having to deal with the

consequences of the real world. Video games have also been used to calm patients in anxiety

management and therapeutic care. Pamela also goes on to explain on how new and small scaled

the research on video games in the medicine industry is. She goes on to state that the potential of

video games in the industry is unknown, but from what there is right now; there is room for so

much more development and growth. Continuing from the education standpoint, the articles

“Video Games as Learning Environments for Students with Learning Disabilities” by Simpson

S. Elizabeth, “Video Games to Reading: Reaching out to Reluctant Readers.” By Kristie Jolley,

“Engagement in Play, Engagement in Politics: Playing Political Video Games.” By Jansz Jeroen

and Joyce Neys, and lastly “Video Games and Classical Antiquity.” by Dominic Machado and

Paul Christesen all show how video games can and are being use positively in terms of

education. In the article written by Simpson titled “Video Games as Learning Environments…”

Simpson explains how video games can be used to give students with disabilities a learning

environment that is made specifically for them. Simpson continues by stating that learning

environments produced through video games may facilitate learning and education for students

by giving them a curriculum that is customized to them. With this customization and the fact that

video games tend to “hook” students video games create the ideal learning environment.

Simpson states that with the learning environments and a learning curriculum provided by video

games, disabled children can reach their potential much easier. In the article “Video Games to

Reading…” written by Kristie Jolley, there is research provided that video games can and do

help reluctant readers become more comfortable in reading. In the article it is stated that graphic

novels based upon video games that the students have played or read about providing a strong

starting point for students that are reluctant to read. From there the students were able to be
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bridged onto more difficult texts slowly once they were hooked by the graphic novels related to

video games. In the book chapter “Engagement in Play, Engagement in Politics…” by Jansz

Jeroen and Joyce Neys, it is mentioned how for a democracy to work correctly there must be an

ample public that votes and actively engages in civic activities. Though through data it is obvious

that civic engagement is on the decline as less and less people are voting each time. The authors

hypothesize that if video games are used educate and inform people of the necessities and

importance of voting then civic engagement can go on the rise. Compared to other studies on the

effects of video games with education, it is not wrong to assume that games on civic engagement

may help greatly in trying to improve poll statistics. The last article “Video Games and Classical

Antiquity” by Dominic Machado and Paul Christesen states how video games can be used to

teach about history with a more “hand on” approach. With video games students do not have to

fly to Rome to learn about the coliseum, but instead can have access to it through the use of

virtual reality games. Video games can be used to simulate historical events as well to be able to

allow students to understand and grasp the concepts with much more ease.

Video Games: Good and Bad Comparison

With the studies done on video games to showcase both the good and bad of allowing the

youth to have access to them, it is overwhelming how much more data, articles, resources,

research, and books there are on the good that video games do compared to the bad that they do.

In an article titled “Do Video Games Kill?” written by Karen Sternheimer it is stated that despite

all the hate and controversy there is against video games and how they manipulate the youth to

do violent acts, there is no evidence that clearly draws the line and the correlation between

violence and video games. In the article it is stated that “even the FBI states that because school

shootings are so rare, there is no definitive general description to pin down a “typical” school
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shooter”. With this article and much more like it, there is simply not enough evidence to blame

video games for the violence that happens in the real world despite all the violent video games

out there.

Conclusion

With the data, statistics, research, and studies showcased by all these articles, it is

obvious that video games tend to be more useful and productive to society than not. There is just

too much data that focuses on the good of video games and not enough bad video games to

summarize that video games are mainly bad for the youth. Although there is indeed evidence that

video games are bad and do not really help in certain aspects of life, it is safe to say video games

are good.
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References:

Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive

Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial

Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological Science,

vol. 12, no. 5, [Association for Psychological Science, Sage Publications, Inc.], 2001, pp.

353–59, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063648.

CHRISTESEN, PAUL, and DOMINIC MACHADO. “Video Games and Classical Antiquity.”

The Classical World, vol. 104, no. 1, [Johns Hopkins University Press, Classical

Association of the Atlantic States], 2010, pp. 107–10,

Elizabeth S. Simpson. “Video Games as Learning Environments for Students with Learning

Disabilities.” Children, Youth and Environments, vol. 19, no. 1, University of Cincinnati,

2009, pp. 306–19, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.19.1.0306.

environments” stated by Elizabeth. She goes on to state that perhaps disabled children are

not necessarily disable but just need a little help to reach their potential.

Jolley, Kristie. “Video Games to Reading: Reaching out to Reluctant Readers.” The English

Journal, vol. 97, no. 4, National Council of Teachers of English, 2008, pp. 81–86,

https://doi.org/10.2307/30047252.

Kato, Pamela M. “Video Games in Health Care: Closing the Gap.” Review of General

Psychology, vol. 14, no. 2, June 2010, pp. 113–121, doi:10.1037/a0019441.

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Neys, Joyce, and Jeroen Jansz. “Engagement in Play, Engagement in Politics: Playing Political

Video Games.” The Playful Citizen: Civic Engagement in a Mediatized Culture, edited

by René Glas et al., vol. 1, Amsterdam University Press, 2019, pp. 36–55,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcmxpds.5.

sternheimer, karen. “Do Video Games Kill?” Contexts, vol. 6, no. 1, [Sage Publications, Inc.,

American Sociological Association], 2007, pp. 13–17,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41802732.

Zastrow, Mark. “Is Video Game Addiction Really an Addiction?: Adding Video Gaming to the

List of Recognized Behavioral Addictions Could Help Millions in Need. It Could Also

Pathologize a Normal Behavior and Create a New Stigma.” Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114, no. 17, National Academy

of Sciences, 2017, pp. 4268–72, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26480727.