Video games nowadays are a part of every child´s life. There is an enormous variety of games and genres to pick from to satisfy the different things people find amusing and entertaining. This specific type of media is still one of the most used by kids and teenagers, but the amount of time they spend playing each day and the games they play have an impact in various aspects of their lives such as their bodies, their minds, and the decisions they make. The articles “New Study: Video Games and Teen´s Behavior” by John Cramer and “Playing Video Games is Good for Your Brain” by Mark Griffiths stand out because of the different perspectives they give about the effects of video games, but both of them also share some ideas in common.
First of all, both authors agree on the fact that video games “have an appeal that crosses many demographic boundaries such as age, gender, ethnicity, or educational attainment” (Griffiths). Furthermore, they also affirm that negative consequences are “strongest among the heaviest game players” and usually do not involve moderate or light players (Cramer).
Moreover, both of these articles state that previous studies often show that negative effects of video games include aggression and addiction. Griffiths accepts the fact that in some cases it does bring negative effects but he states that they tend to get far more media coverage than positive effects. On the other hand, Cramer states that his study is important because it is the first to suggest that video games can cause teenagers to engage in behaviors beyond aggression such as alcohol use, smoking cigarettes, delinquency, risky driving, and risk-taking sexual behavior.
Despite having some things in common, these articles mostly differ on the effects they believe video games have on teens. Cramer states that action games, especially those that are mature-rated (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, etc.), can cause a “change in the users´ personality, attitudes, and values, specifically making them more rebellious and thrill seeking.” Additionally, his article explains that character-based games that revolve around anti-social protagonists appear to affect how adolescents think of themselves. As a result, teenagers are prone to reckless behavior that can lead to accidents and long term consequences. In this new study, performed to determine these behavioral changes, researchers conducted a nationwide investigation involving more than 5,000 randomly sampled U.S. teenagers who answered a series of questions over four years in telephone interviews (Cramer).
Opposite to that, Griffiths´ article focuses on the positive effects video games have. He describes that they can be put to educational uses since they can be fun and stimulating, which would keep the undivided attention of a teen for a longer period of time and they could be a more appealing way of learning than traditional methods. They can also be used to provide feedback, reinforcement and self-esteem by performing activities that they enjoy and that they are good at; it gives them an opportunity to develop transferable skills or practice challenging activities.
In his article, he explains that playing video games can improve reaction times, hand-eye co-ordination, and spatial visualization. He supports his points by talking about a study performed by Vikranth Bejjanki in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which they demonstrate that people who played action video games had an improved performance in perception, attention, and cognition. This study consisted of a series of experiments on gamers which showed that "those with previous experience were better at perceptual tasks such as pattern discrimination than gamers with less experience" (Griffiths). Mark found that games designed to teach a specific skill or address a specific topic were benefitial because they were motivating, engaging, interactive, and provided rewards or reinforcement to improve.
In my opinion, video games can have both a positive and a negative impact on a teenager's life but it ultimately depends on how much time they spend playing and the games they play. It if is controlled and used correctly, this type of media can bring a lot of benefits besides entertainment but if it is not, it can have serious consequences on a child's life and who they are going to be in the future. These articles are very important because one should always consider both the benefits and dangers of the things that surround us and that kids or teenagers are exposed to. Furthermore, video games are a part of almost every person's life in one way or another and by being aware of all these consequences we can get to know how to use this media for our advantage and improvement instead of it harming who we are.
First of all, both authors agree on the fact that video games “have an appeal that crosses many demographic boundaries such as age, gender, ethnicity, or educational attainment” (Griffiths). Furthermore, they also affirm that negative consequences are “strongest among the heaviest game players” and usually do not involve moderate or light players (Cramer).
Moreover, both of these articles state that previous studies often show that negative effects of video games include aggression and addiction. Griffiths accepts the fact that in some cases it does bring negative effects but he states that they tend to get far more media coverage than positive effects. On the other hand, Cramer states that his study is important because it is the first to suggest that video games can cause teenagers to engage in behaviors beyond aggression such as alcohol use, smoking cigarettes, delinquency, risky driving, and risk-taking sexual behavior.
Despite having some things in common, these articles mostly differ on the effects they believe video games have on teens. Cramer states that action games, especially those that are mature-rated (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, etc.), can cause a “change in the users´ personality, attitudes, and values, specifically making them more rebellious and thrill seeking.” Additionally, his article explains that character-based games that revolve around anti-social protagonists appear to affect how adolescents think of themselves. As a result, teenagers are prone to reckless behavior that can lead to accidents and long term consequences. In this new study, performed to determine these behavioral changes, researchers conducted a nationwide investigation involving more than 5,000 randomly sampled U.S. teenagers who answered a series of questions over four years in telephone interviews (Cramer).
Opposite to that, Griffiths´ article focuses on the positive effects video games have. He describes that they can be put to educational uses since they can be fun and stimulating, which would keep the undivided attention of a teen for a longer period of time and they could be a more appealing way of learning than traditional methods. They can also be used to provide feedback, reinforcement and self-esteem by performing activities that they enjoy and that they are good at; it gives them an opportunity to develop transferable skills or practice challenging activities.
In his article, he explains that playing video games can improve reaction times, hand-eye co-ordination, and spatial visualization. He supports his points by talking about a study performed by Vikranth Bejjanki in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which they demonstrate that people who played action video games had an improved performance in perception, attention, and cognition. This study consisted of a series of experiments on gamers which showed that "those with previous experience were better at perceptual tasks such as pattern discrimination than gamers with less experience" (Griffiths). Mark found that games designed to teach a specific skill or address a specific topic were benefitial because they were motivating, engaging, interactive, and provided rewards or reinforcement to improve.
In my opinion, video games can have both a positive and a negative impact on a teenager's life but it ultimately depends on how much time they spend playing and the games they play. It if is controlled and used correctly, this type of media can bring a lot of benefits besides entertainment but if it is not, it can have serious consequences on a child's life and who they are going to be in the future. These articles are very important because one should always consider both the benefits and dangers of the things that surround us and that kids or teenagers are exposed to. Furthermore, video games are a part of almost every person's life in one way or another and by being aware of all these consequences we can get to know how to use this media for our advantage and improvement instead of it harming who we are.