Are video games bad or good?

As a video gamer or a gamer in general, I can say that it is both good and bad, why?
Sometimes, a game can be as addicting as drugs and smoking. I myself have
experienced being addicted to one of the games I play, “League of Legends” ; this is the
game that I was addicted to. It helped me to overcome my fears , it was there when no-
one else was, this is one of the games improve my focus and mental capacity, in short
it helped me in a lot of aspects in my life but it killed one of the aspects of my life,
Religion. Before I was an Altar Server, it slowly killed my faith in God and spirituality.
Now here are the negatives I got from the game, it made me slowly fail in one of my
academic subjects, it made me violent as I am now, it killed my time when I was
supposed to do something important. Kids ranging from 7-10 are more engaged to low-
semi violent games, like somehow Minecraft, Roblox, etc.

Now, let’s discuss the good side of video games, Studies suggests that important skills
may be built or reinforced by video games. For example, spatial visualization ability (i.e.,
mentally, rotating and manipulating two- and three-dimensional objects) improve with video
game playing. Video games can provide elements of interactivity that may stimulate
learning. Video games also allow participants to experience novelty, curiosity and
challenge. This may stimulate learning Video games may help in the development of
transferable IT skills. Video games can act as simulations. These allow participants to
engage in extra ordinary activities and to destroy or even die without real consequences.
A benefit of video game expertise has recently been shown for task switching. Video
games can also improve your creativity in real life. Video games has helped some people
to develop multi-tasking, some people can do 4 tasks at a given time others can do 2, 3,
5 etc. This also can develop social skills, a new scientific study has suggested, who play a
lot of video games may be more likely to have better intellectual and social skills than
their non-gaming peers. It have been used in comprehensive programmes to help develop
social skills in children and adolescents who are severely retarded or who have severe
developmental problems like autism. The main study, conducted at the Max Planck
Institute for Human Development and Charité University Medicine St. Hedwig-
Krankenhaus in Berlin, Germany, found that playing video increases grey matter (size
of the brain) and helps refine learned and hard wired skills. Playing video games
directly affects and impacts regions of the brain responsible for memory, spatial
orientation, information organizations, and fine motor skills. Scientists chose two sets
of adults. The first set would play Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes a day, for two
months. The second set did not play any video games at all. Scientists used magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the size of the brain of the groups before the
start of the study, then again after the two-month period.

The results confirmed findings - that there were differences in the brain structure of
video gamers, and that by playing video games, there was a “direct link between
video gaming and a volumetric brain increase.”
Now, let us talk about the bad or de-buffs as we gamers call it, you can also call
it de-benefits. Believe it or not, video games CAN KILL brain cells and interrupt a
person’s sleep. Not only that, it’s bad for our eyes, brain, memory recollection. As I
have said before video games can and will get you addicted to it. Re searchers say
that people that play FPS( First person shooter) or generally shooter games damage
the hippocampus area of the brain. This is the area used for spatial and long-term
memories. Research states that this is because shooter games require excessive use of the
caudate nucleus rather than the hippocampus. A study conducted by Pyc and
Rawson showed that "video gamers" lose some of their short-term memory, but have
better long-term memory than non-gamers. A study on violent video games and the
stress they cause show that children playing violent video games have increased stress
levels. It could be due to the body's ability to "fight or flight" when presented with a
stressful situation, such as a shooting game.

Pros Cons
Video games improve basic visual
processes Video games can make people more violent

Video games can enhance executive

Video games can improve everyday skills

Video games may help ease anxiety and

Video games can play a positive role in our children’s lives, but we need to be there to
help set limits.

If you’re worried that your child is becoming too obsessed with games, then it is time to
sit down and talk. Be sensitive and nonjudgmental. Try to agree on a reasonable amount
of space for video games to occupy in your family life.

If you need help, enlist your pediatrician. He or she may have great tips and can even
recommend a therapist who specializes in tweens or teens.
Remember, even though video games have their place, they should occupy less time than
what kids need to devote to exercising, socializing, studying, and sleeping. In our ever-
more-connected world, we could all use a little more practice just being unplugged.

With that said, video games can be either bad or good for you. With the right
discipline, you can fight the temptation of being addicted to video games. Now, I
have a challenge for you, can you play video games without being subjected to
violence? Can you be well-disciplined in playing video games?

Again, video games can influence our lives by a lot, we would not want to get
caught up in the hype of video games.

I rest my case.