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Justin Prado

Professor Trishia Briones

English 1302 – 227

21 March 2022

Video Games: Friend or Foe

Introduction

Ever since the birth of video games there has been much controversy from every side of

the spectrum. At first it was a monumental occasion to be able to control something and “play”

on a digital screen for the first time with the game Pong being one of the first major video games

that grew in popularity when it first came out. But as time went on the number of video games

increased as well as how many different types of video games came out. Furthermore, the hate

and the negative energy surrounding the effects of video games on youth also increased

dramatically. As did the “positive” energy surrounding the “good” aspects of video games. Just

like how many parents, politicians, and more are quick to point the blame of any negative major

event to video games, specifically school shootings. Many other studies rose to rule out how

video games do not cause violence. From here on it is research and studies that are relied on to

show whether video games are good or bad. Many studies have been done to see if video games

are bad, including those studies done on violent video games and their affect on youth, video

game addiction, and video game’s correlation to violence. Other studies have been done to see

the positive effects that video games can have on people using video games in the field of

medicine and in the field of education. Evidently only research and studies can truly see whether
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video games are the proprietor of violence and aggression of if the games are just getting a bad

reputation from the showcase of blood, gore, and violence in violent video games.

The Negatives of Video Games

Studies that have been done to showcase how video games are bad have been done with

the correlation of video games and violence. In the article “Effects of Violent Video Games on

Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and

Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature” by Craig A. Anderson

and Brad J. Bushman there was a study that focused on the effect of violent video games and the

correlation to aggression. In the study done it was proven that violent video games played by

people did correlate to a higher level of aggression, but it was also questioned whether different

types of video games may affect emotion differently. They hypothesized that if violent video

games can cause a certain degree of aggression, can other types of games cause other In another

article titled “Is Video Game Addiction Really and Addiction? Adding Video Gaming to the List

of Recognized Behavioral Addictions Could Help Millions in Need. It Could Also Pathologize a

Normal Behavior and Create a New Stigma” by Mark Zastrow is an article about how video

game addiction should or should not be considered as an addiction. In the article there are many

points against having video game addiction as a part of the list for behavioral addictions and

many that allude to video game addiction not belonging on the list for the fear of food and sex

addictions being added afterwards. For the most part it is argued that addictions can be caused by

video games, and help should be provided, nonetheless.

The Positives of Video Games

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Contrary to the studies that show how “bad” video games are. There is an overwhelming

number of articles that showcase the “good” that video games can bring. The article written by

Pamela M. Kato titled “Video Games in Health Care: Closing the Gap” shows how video games

can be used in the medical field to help in the education of doctors and nurses. The article states

how video games or simulations have been used to teach, educate, comfort, and for management

in all areas of medicine ranging from professionals to patients. Video games in the medica field

can be used to put new nurses and doctors in simulations that simulate real life scenarios. This

allows for people to get the training and experience they need without having to deal with the

consequences of the real world. Video games have also been used to calm patients in anxiety

management and therapeutic care. Pamela also goes on to explain on how new and small scaled

the research on video games in the medicine industry is. She goes on to state that the potential of

video games in the industry is unknown, but from what there is right now; there is room for so

much more development and growth. Continuing from the education standpoint, the articles

“Video Games as Learning Environments for Students with Learning Disabilities” by Simpson

S. Elizabeth, “Video Games to Reading: Reaching out to Reluctant Readers” by Kristie Jolley,

“Engagement in Play, Engagement in Politics: Playing Political Video Games” by Jansz Jeroen

and Joyce Neys, and lastly “Video Games and Classical Antiquity.” by Dominic Machado and

Paul Christesen all show how video games can and are being use positively in terms of

education. In the article written by Simpson, she explains how video games can be used to give

students with disabilities a learning environment that is made specifically for them. Simpson

continues by stating that learning environments produced through video games may facilitate

learning and education for students by giving them a curriculum that is customized to them. With

this customization and the fact that video games tend to “hook” students, video games can create
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the ideal learning environment. Simpson states that with the learning environments and a

learning curriculum provided by video games, disabled children can reach their potential much

easier. In the article written by Kristie Jolley, there is research provided that video games can and

do help reluctant readers become more comfortable in reading. In the article it is stated that

graphic novels based upon video games that the students have played or read about providing a

strong starting point for students that are reluctant to read. From there the students were able to

be bridged onto more difficult texts slowly once they were hooked by the graphic novels related

to video games. In the book chapter by Jansz Jeroen and Joyce Neys, it is mentioned how for a

democracy to work correctly there must be an ample public that votes and actively engages in

civic activities. Though through data it is obvious that civic engagement is on the decline as less

and less people are voting each time. The authors hypothesize that if video games are used

educate and inform people of the necessities and importance of voting then civic engagement can

go on the rise. Compared to other studies on the effects of video games with education, it is not

wrong to assume that games on civic engagement may help greatly in trying to improve poll

statistics. The last article “Video Games and Classical Antiquity” by Dominic Machado and Paul

Christesen states how video games can be used to teach about history with a more “hands on” or

“eyes on” approach. With video games students do not have to fly to Rome to learn about the

coliseum, but instead can have access to it through the use of virtual reality games. Video games

can be used to simulate historical events as well to be able to allow students to understand and

grasp the concepts with much more ease.

Video Games: Good and Bad Comparison

With the studies done on video games to showcase both the good and bad of allowing the

youth to have access to them, it is overwhelming how much more data, articles, resources,
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research, and books there are on the good that video games do compared to the bad that they do.

In an article titled “Do Video Games Kill?” written by Karen Sternheimer it is stated that despite

all the hate and controversy there is against video games and how they manipulate the youth to

do violent acts, there is no evidence that clearly draws the line and the correlation between

violence and video games. In the article it is stated that “even the FBI states that because school

shootings are so rare, there is no definitive general description to pin down a “typical” school

shooter”. With this article and much more like it, there is simply not enough evidence to blame

video games for the violence that happens in the real world despite all the violent video games

out there.

Conclusion

With the data, statistics, research, and studies showcased by all these articles, it is

obvious that video games tend to be more useful and productive to society than not. There is just

too much data that focuses on the good of video games and not enough bad video games to

summarize that video games are mainly bad for the youth. Although there is indeed evidence that

video games are bad and do not really help in certain aspects of life, it is safe to say video games

are not the sole proprietor for violent act and blaming video games for a horrendous act of

violence is only drawing attention away from the true problem.

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Works Cited:

Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive

Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial

Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.” Psychological Science,

vol. 12, no. 5, [Association for Psychological Science, Sage Publications, Inc.], 2001, pp.

353–59, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063648.

CHRISTESEN, PAUL, and DOMINIC MACHADO. “Video Games and Classical Antiquity.”

The Classical World, vol. 104, no. 1, [Johns Hopkins University Press, Classical

Association of the Atlantic States], 2010, pp. 107–10,

Elizabeth S. Simpson. “Video Games as Learning Environments for Students with Learning

Disabilities.” Children, Youth and Environments, vol. 19, no. 1, University of Cincinnati,

2009, pp. 306–19, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.19.1.0306.

environments” stated by Elizabeth. She goes on to state that perhaps disabled children are

not necessarily disable but just need a little help to reach their potential.

Jolley, Kristie. “Video Games to Reading: Reaching out to Reluctant Readers.” The English

Journal, vol. 97, no. 4, National Council of Teachers of English, 2008, pp. 81–86,

https://doi.org/10.2307/30047252.
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Kato, Pamela M. “Video Games in Health Care: Closing the Gap.” Review of General

Psychology, vol. 14, no. 2, June 2010, pp. 113–121, doi:10.1037/a0019441.

Neys, Joyce, and Jeroen Jansz. “Engagement in Play, Engagement in Politics: Playing Political

Video Games.” The Playful Citizen: Civic Engagement in a Mediatized Culture, edited

by René Glas et al., vol. 1, Amsterdam University Press, 2019, pp. 36–55,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcmxpds.5.

sternheimer, karen. “Do Video Games Kill?” Contexts, vol. 6, no. 1, [Sage Publications, Inc.,

American Sociological Association], 2007, pp. 13–17,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41802732.

Zastrow, Mark. “Is Video Game Addiction Really an Addiction?: Adding Video Gaming to the

List of Recognized Behavioral Addictions Could Help Millions in Need. It Could Also

Pathologize a Normal Behavior and Create a New Stigma.” Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 114, no. 17, National Academy

of Sciences, 2017, pp. 4268–72, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26480727.