Videogames Argument
Videogames Argument
Eleven years ago in 2005, Sony alone sold a staggering quantity of ninety one million PlayStation consoles (Borusiak, Bouikidis, Liersch Russel). With a growing population and an increasing demand for technology, these numbers will only continue to rise. Recent advancements in science and technology allow people to access videogames at home, at work, or even on the go with mobile devices. More people are playing internet games than ever before. A hundred years ago, kids spent more of their free time outside, maybe at the baseball field or the park around the block. Now we live in the twentieth century where kids are constantly targeted by videogame companies and they eventually spend more time indoors with electronics. These new games have become an incredibly popular and convenient source of entertainment; however, they are played with serious physical and psychological risks. Even though videogames have benefits, they pose a negative influence that leads to harmful habits.
Videogames are played at a risk, yet people argue that they are more beneficial. A significant number of videogames are capable of arousing intense excitement from users. In Dr. Borusiak’s (2008) Need for Speed experiment, he measured how an individual's heart rate, breathing, and muscular response all change during a racing game. The study showed just how attached people can become with videogames, based on faster breathing and activated muscles. A new category of active video games has been researched to compare simulated activities with the benefits of real exercise. In a recent meta-analysis, Dr. Gao (2015) and his colleagues found statistics that prove the ability of active videogames to yield physical benefits similar to exercise. This data determines that people can get health activity from some videogames. Another benefit is that videogames can be used to reinforce good behavior. From a peer interview conducted at SCC, Josh Starmer (personal interview, 10 November, 2016) remarked that his parents only allowed him to play videogames on weekends, or after completing homework and chores. In this case, people can use their technology as a reward and a tool for success. Depending on how they are used, videogames can definitely have a positive effect.
On the other hand, videogames are not the most effective source of reward, activity, or enjoyment. Some people derive pleasure from videogames without acknowledging any consequences. Dr. Borusiak (2008) notes that the increase in cardiovascular activity when playing videogames may pose a health risk. There is a disproportional relationship here since people are typically seated, not burning any energy, when playing videogames. Also, the active videogames that mimic physical activity are not a substantial source of exercise. The meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Gao (2015) determined that active videogames are able to act as a healthy alternative to other seated behavior. Even though this category of videogames mimics physical activity, they cannot completely substitute exercise. In addition, videogames are not always successful when they are used as a reward. With the new DSM-5 approach, researchers analyzed the modern use of videogames and found that most people who use them will eventually start to abuse them (Petry, Rehbein, Gentile, Lemmens, Rumpf). As a result, the more people receive videogames as rewards, the more attached they will become. The benefits of using videogames are not exactly justified.
Using videogames easily leads people to undesirable consequences that are often not acknowledged. People can lose jobs and even lose personal relationships to their videogames. In Dr. Petry’s (2015) analysis of this issue, she found that many people become so attached with their technology that they miss out on opportunities. Under these circumstances, people are creating unnecessary problems for themselves due to their relationship with technology. Many videogames have direct physical effects. Through the Need for Speed experiment, researchers measured how the cardiovascular system is stimulated when individuals