Side Effects Of Video Games Essay

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With such a large portion of people playing video games in the modern day, it is inevitable that we discuss the various side effects of this form of entertainment. According to Kuhn and Gallinat, “Today, people spend a collective 3 billion hours per week on video gaming. It is predicted that the average young person will spend about 10000 h gaming by age 21, twice the time it would take to earn a bachelor 's degree.” Video games very commonly provide both positive and negative side effects in the areas of health, performance, and aggression. Multiple studies have shown that long term exposure to video game entertainment can create faster and stronger minds, while at the same time making one more aggressive. There is a plethora of positive …show more content…

“There is growing direct evidence that intensive use of video games results in significant generalized improvements in cognitive function. The documented gains in processing speed, attentional control, memory, and cognitive and social control that result from playing specific games are expected” (Bavelier). Directly correlating with one’s positive health side effects, video games are a strong influence in building an advanced mind that can process much more swiftly than that of a non-gamer; however, this does not mean that one should play an overabundance of games whenever the opportunity arises. With primary focus on one’s education, and secondary focus being video games, one will likely result in extremely strong academic performance. “It should be noted that the daily time spent playing video games in school-age children has been shown to be inversely correlated with academic achievement, arguably because time spent playing video games is time stolen from reading and curriculum-related academic study” (Bavelier). Too much time playing video games will likely result in poor academic achievement. Video games should be considered an extracurricular activity that one can use to further strengthen their cognitive ability. If one burns too much of their time playing violent video games, it could develop a negative psychological impact on one’s

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