Joeruel-Mae Diaz

Expository Writing 2
Mrs. Yuasa
April 27, 2015
Commentary #5
The general argument made by Keilman in the article, Are video games
good for you? New research suggests answer is yes is that video games are having
positive effects on the people who constantly play them. First Keilman includes an
insight of the life of a gamer by the name of, Roman Rivera. He grew up playing
games his whole childhood life, and is now at the age of 21. Keilman includes that
Rivera was an honor student, as well as, a member of the debate team during High
School, and is now studying economics at the University of Chicago. Keilman
quotes Riveras thoughts on gaming, You pick up skills from whatever you do,
and you can decide to aim those skills in an intellectual direction; They definitely
enhanced the abilities I needed in life that werent always directly present. Without
a doubt they have benefited me. In this quote, Keilman is showing how gaming
benefitted Riveras life. In addition, Keilman claims that due to Riveras beliefs a
new wave of research emerged expanding on the advantages of gaming, which was
once viewed as a waste of time. To support this idea, he specifically writes, Social
scientists have recently linked gaming with enhanced mental skills, moral
sensitivity and even physical fitness, creating a new image of this ubiquitous but
controversial pastime. In this quote, Keilman is explaining that social scientists
noticed that this activity has enhanced areas that wasnt thought possible. Keilman
also includes, Researchers have done thousands of studies on gaming since the
1980s, often with unmistakably negative results. Some associated video games
with an increased risk of epileptic seizures, while others cautioned that the games
could provoke dangerously elevated heart rates. Many studies also linked violent
games to aggression and anti-social behavior. In this quote, Keilman is explaining
what researchers have been noticing when gaming first started to become an
obsessive activity in the 1980s including the negative effects of it. But he counters
this piece of information with explaining that there have been dozens of studies
showing that violent video games do not contribute to societal aggression. To
support this idea, Keilman writes, They allow us to practice moral decision-

making we cant do in the real world. Games can be this really important tool for
teaching people what the right decisions might be. Maybe one way to do that is
showing what the consequences of wrong decisions would be. In this quote
Keilman explains that gaming helps understand what is right and wrong. Although
Keilman does not say so directly, he apparently assumes that people who are
gamers and who dedicate large amounts of time in doing such an activity, improve
their attention, focus, coordination, as well as, self-awareness. Basically the
essence of Keilmans argument is that the positive studies on gaming dismisses the
negative aspects of it, and is proving to scientists that it could enhance and improve
many skills.
In my view, Keilmans argument is valid because as a person who plays with
virtual games at times, I understand what it is like to play for hours. And in all
honesty, gaming has benefitted me when thinking about real-world problems, and
understanding what should and shouldnt be done. I accept Keilmans claim that,
Young gamers have been shown to make superior laparoscopic surgeons,
performing faster and making fewer errors than more experienced peers, although
I question whether this is a proven fact. While Keilmans argument has some merit,
it would be stronger if she considered including actual evidence that proves such
facts of achievements that she talks about. Although this topic might seem relevant
to only a select group of people who have a hobby in playing games, it should in
fact matter to anyone concerned about the issue of how playing games can
positively affect a person.

Works Cited
Keilman, John. "Are Video Games Good for You? New Research Suggests
Answer Is Yes." Newsela. 4 Feb. 2015. 27 Apr. 2015.
<https://newsela.com/articles/videogames-health/id/7116/>.
Vocabulary
Evaded (verb) - escape or avoid, especially by cleverness or trickery.

Original Sentence - He grew up captivated by games from Pokemon to

Call of Duty, and evaded his moms screen time limits by covertly playing his
Game Boy after lights out
Own - I evaded my parents rules and went out partying with my friends, that
is how i got grounded.
Own - She realized i was trying to grab her hand, and she evaded it by
turning around.
Reviled (verb) - criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.
Original Sentence - Bavelier has focused on cognitive performance, finding
that first-person shooters one of the most reviled categories of video games
can help improve a persons vision and ability to pay attention
Own - Just because he is of different color you shouldnt revile him.
Own - He was evil, he killed many, he deserved to be reviled.