What are the Benefits of Video Games

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Video games are virtual worlds where a person is allowed to live in the life of somebody else. In some cases you are able to play as a wealthy, retired criminal and are free to do whatever your heart desires. Whether it’s shooting everyone in sight, or planning huge bank robberies with a crew composed of a bunch of friends, you can do it all. In other instances, you are placed on a team and are armed to fight other real people in an online, modern warfare environment. Although it may sound like fun, video games like these are on the “first to blame” list whenever kids do anything violent. The Sandy Hook shooting is a prime example, Helen Pow explains, Adam Lanzan was the gunman in the Sandy Hook shooting on December 14, 2012. He shot 20 elementary school students and six adult staff members. The incident jumpstarted debates on whether video games were too violent and whether games like Call of Duty should be banned. According to Pow, Adam Lanzan was supposedly obsessed with Call of Duty, therefore, the media was quick to point their finger at first person shooter games and blame them for influencing Lanzan to go on a killing spree. Along with being blamed for promoting violence in young people, video games are often thought to be a waste of time, and useless in the sense that they don’t leave you with true benefits outside of the game. However, people need to understand that video games are not all bad. Actually, they are beneficial for everybody, whether it’s job training, or want to improve your senses, virtual realities can help anyone. Video games bring a lot of benefits to the player that they can later use in real life. For example, Grand Theft Auto teaches the player about dieting. On the article Eating PS2, you learn tha... ... middle of paper ... ...ters Real-life Experience - Online First - Springer. Phsychonomic Society, Inc., 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. "Overview." Call of Duty® XP. Activision, 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Pow, Helen. "Should Call of Duty Be Banned? Sandy Hook Massacre Reignites Debate over Violent Video Games That Arm Players with Automatic Weapons." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Roach, John. "Video Games Boost Visual Skills, Study Finds." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 28 May 2003. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Vries, Lloyd. "Video Gamers Make Good Surgeons." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 7 Apr. 2004. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Xinghua. "People's Daily Online - Counter-Strike, China Police's Latest Tool of Anti-terrorism." People's Daily Online - Counter-Strike, China Police's Latest Tool of Anti-terrorism. N.p., 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

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