Want to know it? Pros and Cons of Video Games
By: Want To Know It
Here are some pros and cons of playing video games that are (mostly) supported by research (I made a few up myself!)
Pros (Advantages):
- Increases resistance to distraction (especially when playing action games).
- Increased visual acuity. Your peripheral vision is improved quite significantly.
- A great social activity, whether playing some games at a party or playing games online.
- Can teach people more about life. Virtual pet games, for example, can help teach people about what is involved in raising a pet.
- Puzzle, adventure and word games can help improve problem solving and logic skills. Sudoku is a game that greatly increases these skills. Adventure games where you have to complete certain goals can also help you to ‘think outside the box’ (note that if you use a walkthrough, you aren’t increasing any of these skills).
- Can be used to assist in education. Studies have shown that children playing educational games learn more because they do not realize that they are learning.
- Increases attention span.
- They are fun!
- If you are playing the Nintendo Wii, you can actually get a reasonable physical workout! Studies have shown that you use much more energy playing the Wii than the Playstation 3 (ps3), the Xbox 360 or the PC.
Cons (Disadvantages):
- Some people can become completely addicted to video games and they do not go to work (or school), do not eat properly and do not exercise enough.
- Playing video games (even on the Wii) does not constitute a proper physical workout.
- Some people can become desensitized to violence when they a lot of violent video games. There have been reports of criminals copying violent video game crimes (such as those featured in the controversial Grand Theft Auto series).
- Some people may think that taking drugs, getting drunk and smoking are not harmful when they are presented in video games without the characters feeling any effects from their behavior.
- Can give people false expectations of real life, as real life cannot be perfectly simulated by video games.
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31 Comments for Pros and Cons of Video Games
1. jacobchambers | February 16th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
the video games are very bad for your brain
2. Stephanie | February 19th, 2010 at 2:02 am
Video games RULE i am so addicted i would just die if i spent one hour without playing video games!! THEY RULE AND EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THEM!! stuff outside sports play video games and feel alive!!
3. Eddy dlossilc | February 19th, 2010 at 2:05 am
computer games are ok sometimes but aren’t good when played all day.
4. Matthew Wright | February 22nd, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Video games are a great invention. They increase reflexes and hand eye coordination. When people say that video games create violence that is complete crap. There are ratings for a reason and the violent games are meant for 17+ but parents are too nice on their kids now a days and let their six year olds play games meant for another decade. It disgusts me when people blame the game company for making a fun entertaining game meant for the right group when it effects their kid because of their actions. Video games are meant for entertainment only. If people take the game world as real world then something is wrong with their comprehension of life and the universe. When someone takes drugs and when someone asks why they took the drugs and they blame it on video games, that is wrong. Video games cannot control you or make your decisions for you so when you blame something like video games for your problems then you have bigger problems than that. Without video games then our military would not be as good as it is because of their training consists of playing simulations that are considered video games. If someone is against video games then they are against the future. I have been addicted when I was younger but I grew out of it like everyone else in this world will when their responsibilities come back and bite them. No one will be able to control their actions and how they will react to certain things except themselves. They choose to be violent, addicted, do drugs, and any other means how they comprehend the games they play.
5. fat man | February 23rd, 2010 at 3:46 pm
all i know is when the world is attacked by aliens or zombies i will be prepared
everyone else will get owned
6. harpreet | March 22nd, 2010 at 9:05 pm
video games are okay
but wii is the BEST
7. ryan masterson | March 25th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
video games rock i would die with out them let them rot ur brain who cares
8. Darck_elf34 | March 29th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Gaming is good to pass time and keep you entertained but i know from personal experience its easy to get addicted and not want to do anything but i still play em and violent video games settle me down not want to make me kill people i take out my anger on fake creatures
9. Marco Chavez | April 22nd, 2010 at 7:47 pm
video games are the best!! i dont care how many “scientists” say the opposite i could care less about them i love video games and i know im being backed up by millions of gamers out there!
10. James | May 4th, 2010 at 7:08 am
I agree with the other guy… who doesn’t want to play video games all day it’s great in fact why am I on the computer right now I? I gotta go play xbox… Later
11. La-a | May 18th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
video games are a complete waste of time that is part of the reason that americans are so obese these days. no one goes outside and plays anymore…its disgusting, people are ending up fat because all they do is play stupid video games!!!
12. quinn riedel | May 24th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
they’re the best thing ever
13. j | June 22nd, 2010 at 11:20 am
video games are fun for entertainment, i have been addicted before, it’s just a phase, don’t scold people for enjoying themselves. quit worrying about what everyone else is doing and focus on your own life..
14. LOL | August 2nd, 2010 at 12:54 am
LOL VIDEO GAMES ROK
15. fred | August 16th, 2010 at 4:55 am
i think that video games rot your brain but—- they are so awesome and thats what i think
16. death | September 7th, 2010 at 6:02 am
though video games are fun they ruin life and make it very hard for them when reality slaps them in the face with a book so video games yes 3-4 hrs then something else and not more video games
17. micheal k | September 28th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
i think that video games are the coolest and especially the ps3 omg id have my kids with that thing and ill play with em ever day
18. edgar | October 14th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
im on pros
19. goofy goober!(: | October 19th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I think video games are bad for your brain cause they can cause teen to have anger problems and also, very bad health problems. I would know cause I use to be addicted to video games myself.
20. Jay R | November 4th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Loooking at all the good and bad things that come from video games, you can see that the good out weigh the bad. Of all the crimes committed, less than 25% are because of video games. Even looking at the people who say that a game they played caused them to do it, eventually some of them admit they were just lying to try to either get out of trouble or get a lighter sentence. Video games teach good things that very, very few schools even attempt to teach. Games help with logical thinking, multi-tasking, hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, memory, reasoning skills, quick-thinking, and following instructions. Those out weigh anything bad that someone who should have never been able to pick up a controller can do. Most of the negative things come from parents not paying attention to ratings or limiting play-time. Poor judgment makes some parents give their kid games, even when it’s obvious the kid really shouldn’t have them. I play games every once in a while, but that doesn’t influence anything i say in the good vs bad arguments.
21. granola-monster | November 5th, 2010 at 1:08 am
Its like entering a new world! Doing things you wouldn’t ordinarily do! They really are fun
22. perplexed | November 9th, 2010 at 5:50 am
Video games and I have are in a very dramatic love-hate relationship. I do enjoy them immensely and i have for a good part of my life, but when i reflect on all the time that i have spent gawking at a television screen, it begins to repulse me. I sometimes think about it as this: a video game system, whatever it may be (360, ps3, wii, PC, ect.) is a machine, the use of which enables the user to escape from the physical world and enter a much different, usually much more fast-paced, world. It is a truly unique experience to be able to enter the interactive world that somebody else has created, and it is an enlightening experience to be thrust into a new world, its like embracing a piece of art and becoming one with it. But in all of that time that i have spent exploring other worlds, the more i have missed out on the physical world I inhabit. I am so blessed to be able to play video games, to type on this keyboard, and to have a roof over my head. So why should I throw such a blessed life away by abusing it through video games. I know this response is pretty unconventional in a thread like this, but if you had the patience to read this, my name is eddy jordan, and this problem is very real in my life.
23. nathaniel | November 9th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
video games are blamed for violence, language, and drug use but what about the many TV shows, movie, and music all should be blamed for it because they are easily accessible.
24. Chi Kho | November 14th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Hey guys im asian and a video game maker, they are really cool
25. madison | November 18th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
i love video games its like a adventure in a computer system
26. ajay cookie | November 30th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
games are amazing, they got me my gf they helped my get over depression and they relieve stress
27. Alice 'Ali' | December 7th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
I’m 14 years old and I love video games. I own a Wii, Xbox 360, PS2 and a DS Lite. I’ve been called “addicted” by my mother but I highly disagree with her and think she may not understand the point when someone is addicted. I’m not one of those gamers who plays 24 hours a day without a break. That’s just ridiculous. But you know… I think there are advantages to tech like this. For example, I’ve learnt proper grammar from the internet and anime videos (anime is a style of art that can only genuinely be done by the Japanese. Ever seen Spirited Away? Well that’s anime. Or a masterpiece as I say.) have given me a big interest in Japan and am now taking Japanese lessons. I’m not fluent, but I’m getting there. Video games have also helped me develop a style of art, without Sly Raccoon, Spyro and other animal games I wouldn’t have gotten the inspiration to draw. Some people have liked my drawings so much that I got a random women asking me if she could have a rubbish drawing of a griffin I made on some post office stuff and asked me to sign it for her!
Also parents, let me just say.. Have you ever played a video game yourself? Properly? No? Well, why not step into a teenage gamer’s shoes and have a go at a game. Maybe you’ll see what’s so fun and interesting about it. If it’s your first time, try Sly Raccoon 1 on the PS2. If your child owns an Xbox 360, try Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise for a more relaxing and colorful game experience. If your child owns a Wii, why not try Animal Crossing: Let’s go to the City? It’s a very fun, relaxing game that anyone can enjoy. I think if adults and teenagers can understand each other on the concept of video games, we’d all be in a better ‘world’. Just remember, you need to find the right types of video game. Don’t play some dull war game or that World of Warcraft rubbish, try something with an animal as the main character. It’s great for first time gamers and is infact even more fun than a war game. By animal game, I’m not talking some Disney cute stuff. Or pet simulation (except Nintendogs is the only really good game for that) I’m talking action games. In it’s own way, I consider some video games art.
-Alice.
28. basketball | December 7th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
all video games are good but we all tend to ignore exercise! Its not like we cant do both
29. miles | December 7th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
i luv video gamez but i cant always play them. i will play them all nite if theres no school the next day but thats it.
30. Barend | January 7th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Haha, Like the “They are fun!” Because they are! Especially Xbox 360!
31. Heavy Metal Queen | January 28th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
video games are fun but we gotta be careful about how much time we spend on them. get outside once in a while!
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