Charles Gong, Johnson, Academic Writing

Effects of Video Gaming

Video games, a trend that did not become mainstream until the 1970s is booming in the

modern day. With the rise of gaming, a new set of careers were founded ranging from content

creators to professional players, video games are taking over the globe and taking over the time

of children and adults alike. In recent history, games such as Fortnite smashed open doors for

thousands of people around the world to turn playing games into a profession. Fortnite, in its

popularity, became the primary occupant of millions of kids' time around the world. Fortnite

allowed you to compete to qualify in their “world cup” from home with no cash sign up. If you

managed to qualify you would earn at least fifty-thousand USD with the champion receiving a

total of three million USD. In recent years, gaming has become a serious problem for many

people around the world. Video games in nature are addictive, they spike dopamine levels in

your brain. This combined with the ability to earn vast sums of money through games such as

Fortnite, created a craze through the world that revolutionized the world of gaming forever. This

quickly became a problem, some students would move to online school in order to have more

time to try and practice in order to qualify for the “world cup” while many children would just play

the game for fun. Whatever the case may be, it occupied hours upon hours of time among

juveniles. In reaction to this massive spike in people playing video games, addiction became a

real problem among many people. In 2018, the World Health Organization or WHO officially

declared video game addiction as a mental disorder. Although, recently gaming is climbing and

reaching new heights, the studies behind gaming have been going on for years. With articles

ranging from psychological effects of exercise using video games to video games being able to

be used in a learning environment. Video games affect your brain in many different ways and

psychology has been trying to find positive ways to use video games, as a method of growth

rather than a distractive hobby.

 Playing video games as a child still in development can have a variety of effects on your

brain. In a study, conducted in 2005 by Nicholas L. Carnagey and Craig A. Anderson, they

explore the effects of violent video games and how reward and punishment in them can

determine aggressive behavior and aggressive thinking. In this experiment, the authors took

three different groups and tested them within a racing game that varied between each group.

Within the first group, all violence was rewarded while in the second group, all violence was

punished. The third group however, the game included no violence what so ever. The

participants were then measured for aggressive behavior, cognition, and affect. The results

showed that while rewarding violence increased both hostile emotions, aggressive thinking, and

behavior. While punishing violence increased hostile emotions, but did not increase aggressive

thinking or behavior. Overall, the study proved common sense, in that if you encourage

aggressive behavior through a system of rewards then you will see a spike in aggressive

behavior due to aggressive thinking. The way video games can affect your mind is intriguing,

but the real value in this study is the proof of the changes in behavior. Video games much like

books or movies have a plethora of genres to explore, ranging from violent games to games

where you simply just peacefully farm fields. This is just one of the many effects video games

can have on your brain and influence you.

Video games can also have a positive influence on your brain. In a study conducted by

William D. Russell and Mark Newton. They explore the possibility of an alternative form of

exercise through video games. During this study, Russell and Newton took a sample size of

college students in order to test their emotions, attention, as well as other factors in determining

the similarities between traditional exercise and exercise through alternative means such as

Interactive Video Game Technology or IVGT. The study consisted of several groups such as

ones who traditionally exercised, ones who exercised through the means of IVGT, and ones

who just simply played on the IVGT. The study concluded that although different IVGT, could

provide the same type of short-term effect as traditional exercise could while also opening a
medium to other students who aren’t traditionally into exercising. The positive effects from

exercising through video games could boost you psychologically in the same way traditional

exercise could. The psychological effect of video games on your brain in this case is positive,

and can help physical educators attract more students' involvement in exercise.

Video game addiction has been around long before it was deemed a mental disorder by

the WHO. In 2009, Douglas Gentile conducted a national study about the pathological use of

video games in youths aged 8 to 18. The sample size was 1,178 Americans who were randomly

selected across the country ages varying from 8 to 18 years old. The criteria for a pathological

gamer was straightforward pathological gamers spent on average about twice as long as

non-pathological gamers playing video games, and also received poorer grades in school. They

also suffered from attention problems. This method could determine pathological gamers

regardless of age, sex, and the weekly amount played. The results eventually concluded that

pathological gaming can be measured reliably regardless of other variables such as age, sex,

and weekly amount played. Gentile created a metric in order to deem if people were suffering

from a video game addiction. Video game addiction can lead to several problems mentally,

Gentile explores a few of these problems in the article, such as poorer grades in school and

attention problems.

Some psychologists believe in the positives of gaming and their ability to help those

already suffering from learning disabilities. In 2009, Elizabeth S. Simpson released a study

exploring video games’ ability to help those with learning disabilities. Drawing from literature on

Universal Design for Learning Principles and self-determination, the theory was constructed by

Simpson, that students with learning disabilities who suffer from the traditional classroom setting

could be helped through an interactive online classroom that utilizes video games. This change

allows for students to be autonomous, goal oriented, self directed, and successful in a way they

wouldn’t be able to before. This theory concludes that video simulations can provide optimal

learning environments more than a traditional classroom can. The study entails that teachers
need to incorporate video games into their classrooms as a tool to teach the youth of today. It

also finishes off the theory stating that perhaps the children we see struggling are just victims of

the normal classroom, and can succeed in a classroom brought about digitally in order for them

to reach their full potential as learners. With this study, Simpson found the ability to help children

by virtually constructing a scenario tailored just for the child and their specific needs. This

allowed the video games to help develop children and make them feel more included in

everyday school settings. The effect of video games in this scenario, can transform lives of

millions of students around the world, who struggle and suffer in classroom settings.

The mental effect of video games can come down to even just the timing of when you

start playing in comparison to other students. In 2010, A study was conducted by Weis and

Cerankosky, exploring the idea that the arrival of a video game system can influence a drastic

change in behavior. The study introduces a group of boys who have not owned video games yet

and promises them a new system. The boys then started with a baseline to gauge their

academics and then the study began. A group of boys was poised to receive the system

immediately while the other group was set to receive their system only after a follow up

assignment, the results are shocking. The boys who received the system only slightly later than

those who received theirs immediately, tested higher, were more engaged in after-school

activities, and had higher reading and writing scores overall. The amount of video game play

was directly proportional to the score they were receiving in school. The results show that the

time of arrival of video games can displace after school activities while also interfering with the

development of reading and writing skills in some of the children. The study was conducted in

2009 and proves correct to this day. The correlation between video games and children has only

risen with hit popular games such as fortnite releasing, causing a storm not only in the industry

but also in social media. The accessibility of games is becoming easier and kids are becoming

easily more interested in playing video games than their everyday reality. This study is proof of

the ability for the slight difference in timing can influence a great amount in the development of
children. Children who received gaming immediately suffered in comparison to those who

received gaming later on. This timing can change a lot in a child’s development.

The psychological effects of gaming are varied. They can range from an increase in

aggressive behavior to positive learning experiences. Although the effects vary one thing

remains a constant, video games have a huge impact on the development of children. In any

scenario, video games can rewire the brain of a developing child whether that be in a positive

way through IVGT exercise or a negative way such as increase in aggression. Video games can

affect your school work and your attention span. They create changes in your brain from an

early age and can even lead to an addiction. All things considered it depends on the user. Much

like a number of hobbies and activities, video games should be used in moderation. Gaming is a

fast growing genre, and will only continue to grow as we advance in technology. It is important

to know the effects of gaming and how they can affect you or a loved one.

Charles Gong, Johnson, Academic Writing

I Dream in Pixels

It’s 2:45 PM. I wake up and finish off what’s left of the Red Bull on my bedside table. I

dragged myself out of bed to the mental prison, I spent thousands of dollars building. As the

Windows startup sound blares through my headphones, I open my snapchat to see if anybody

has messaged me. Read, a word that has seemed to haunt my social interactions with girls ever

since I decided to leave high school in exchange for online classes. Nothing new here, I check it

everyday when I wake up and there’s never a response. Why would today be any different? I

guess you could say I have trouble talking to women unless they’re 2D or high definition. I

learned everything I know about social interaction through the internet. I would dream of finally

meeting a girl who understands me. My brain much like my iPhone and Twitter, was set on dark

mode. I longed for a genuine and real connection. Then my phone dinged... She’s beauty, She’s

grace, She had a profile picture of her gorgeous face. We would spend hours messaging each
other back and forth. I memorized everything she said, so when she fell asleep I could try and

guess her passwords. I couldn’t tell you what’s wrong with me but I’m scared, upset, and lonely.

I know I sound insane, but that’s included in the package. If she can’t handle me at my worst

then she doesn’t deserve my mental baggage. I think I might be a threat to myself. Why is she

running? I’m giving her half my monthly income, does she not like my ideas of affection? Maybe

my affection all this time was based around an artificial perception. Did I mention, I have

depression, although maybe it’s also important to state that it’s self diagnosed. I thought She

was going to be the one to fix me. I just wanted to be the guy who would stalk her affections. I

can’t seem the error of my ways. I scoured her social media for answers and couldn’t find any

just some liked pictures of a boy band. I’m obsessed, maybe a single message more will make

her forget every guy that has come before me. I like her and she liked my attention. We used to

sleep on call together, and while I slept she found other people to talk to. I liked her and she

thought I was a maniac. She skipped straight to the end and completely blocked all contact.

That didn’t stop me, I made another account and started massaging her again. That was the last

straw. She sought out police intervention. How can I live on without her? There is constant pain

in every direction, my body weeps, I am in a constant state of disbelief. My ideals were based

on obsessive media, maybe if I acted like all those other boys, you’ll respond to my DM’s. I’m

not crazy or obsessive, I just ooze masculine passion. Fine, who needs her anyways. I got

Alexa and Siri to keep me company. What have I done? Who am I? I have spent the past ten

years of my life wasting away my mental state with an RGB keyboard and monitor. I was in love

with a girl who I had never met before all because she decided to say hi to me. I can barely talk

to people, due to the social anxiety I developed with artificial connections online. I have dreams

of playing tetris. She was supposed to fix me but I ended up breaking her. Now I have a

restraining order, and an account suspension of every social media platform. My brain is a void.

It is a constant state of darkness and entropy. I don’t know what I’m capable of. Maybe she was

right, maybe I am a maniac. I grew up on the internet, it raised me like I was it’s child. I was
taught terrible things at a young age and I haven’t been able to forget them ever since. I’ve seen

everything there is to see on the internet. The internet is a toxic place but I’ve grown an

immunity. I’ve been taking daily doses of the poison and filth and over time my brain has grown

immune to the toxins of the internet, but then again maybe that’s just what I want to believe. I

can’t accept my own faults and my own character flaws. It must be something else it can’t be

me, that would make me insane and me being insane well that’s just crazy talk. I can’t think of a

time without the internet, without pixels clouding my vision of the real world. As I descend into

pure madness surrounded by individuals that are just figments of my imagination, I ponder life

and its meaning. I have nobody. I’m scared and lonely. I have fallen into the abyss and I’m never

going to escape. I can only embrace the darkness within me, I have dedicated myself to the

darkness. The only light I need is blue. My dreams will remain in pixels. After this revelation,

only one thought comes to my mind and will haunt me for the rest of my life. The internet has

ruined me.
 Bibliography

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882-889. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01632.x

Gong, Charles. (2020). I Dream in Pixels.

Gentile, D. (2009). Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18. Psychological
Science, 20(5), 594-602. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02340.x

Russell, W. D., & Newton, M. (2008). Short-Term Psychological Effects of Interactive Video
Game Technology Exercise on Mood and Attention. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.583.9284

Simpson, E. S. (2009). Video Games as Learning Environments for Students with Learning
Disabilities. Children, Youth and Environments, 19(1), children in technological environments,
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Weis, R., & Cerankosky, B. C. (2010). Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys’
Academic and Behavioral Functioning. Psychological Science, 21(4), 463-470.
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