Video Games: Do the Advantages of Video Gaming Outweigh the Drawbacks?

The video game industry has become a multi-billion-dollar industry due to its diversity and appeal to the mind and senses. Nowadays, it is not difficult to access and play video games. According to statistics in 2015,” Over 59% of Americans play games” and “48% of gamers are female” which means the amount of both genders play video game are equal. However, spending too much time playing video games could lead a player to become a game addict. On the other hand, spending enough time to play video games helps people achieve lots of benefits. In order to get advantages from playing video games effectively, a player should control the time they spend on playing as well as be aware of the risk of violence. Therefore, the advantages of video gaming absolutely exceed the drawbacks due to the huge benefits a player could achieve from playing video games.

Video game is a type of electronic game using electronic devices to create an interactive system. Video games have been developed since the 1950s, but they did not become mainstream until the 1970s and the1980s; when players started to know more about technology, arcade games, gaming consoles and computer games turn out to be so popular. For instance, two-dimensional electronic displays, game designers have upgraded video games to three-dimensional electronic displays, which changes the graphics into a better way. Gradually, video games have evolved into a trend of entertainment as well as an important part of modern culture. Presently, many devices are only created for gaming, such as

PlayStation, PlayStation Vista, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Wii. Besides, there are lots of new video games that are produced monthly and a lot of genres for gamers to select from with affordable prices. That’s the reason why there are many game museums around the world, such as Computer Game Museum in Berlin or the International Center for the History of Electronic Games.

According to the CQ Researcher, more than three-quarters of American youths own electronic devices, specifically video-game consoles, at home; and at least forty percent of them play video games every day. However, playing too much video games, especially mature games, could lead to many problems, such as health problems. It also affects badly on daily activities of teenagers. In addition, it could cause violence or game addiction.

The first problem is that playing video games can seriously impact health, both physical and mental. Sitting in one place and focusing on a screen in for many hours is never good for the health. The eyes will get strained and it may cause myopia easily. Furthermore, sitting in a place without doing exercise can lead to obesity, which increases the risk of heart problems, high blood pressure and the inability to sleep. Video games also can cause mental health problems. Playing violent games has even been associated with school shootings. According to a study conducted by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, sixty prevent of middle school boys who played at least a mature game beat up or hit others, while thirty-nine of them who didn’t play mature games didn’t. Tracy Dietz has shown that aggressive behaviors of players tend to increase due to the reward for the violence in video games. Sometimes players could be desensitized to real life by violent video games. Gradually, players may get confused between virtual and real life. The more they play video games, the more they are far away from the reality and have no interest in real life.

The second problem that could be caused by playing video games is their effects on daily activities. There are a lot of video games that are produced for single player, so they could easily segregate players from their family and friends. Moreover, some of the time players spend playing video games should be replaced by the time they do something productive and sociable. If a player spends too much time playing video games, there is no doubt that they could become addicted. They could pay a lot of money for buying games, hardware or software to satisfy their addiction.

On a certain aspect, the development of video games has a negative effect on traditional ethical values. Typically, the violence or depravity of several games is being spread, while the youth is the ones who are directly affected. With the development of technology, people can create unlimitedly. It is a good sign. On the other hand, there are many games which are not suitable for children, so and the consequence of their exposure to them is unpredictable.

Video games have lots of disadvantages. However, if a person plays video games in the right way, they can even avoid disadvantages and achieve a lot of advantages. Some particular benefits a player could achieve from video games are relaxation, stress relief, an effective learning method, cognitive abilities, the ability to coordinate hands and eyes, and the ability to stimulate the imagination.

Games are plain fun, so there is no doubt that playing