Showing posts with label gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gaming. Show all posts

May 22, 2015

Position Paper: Video Games

There are vast canvases of opportunities for us to distress our minds. But some people would rather resort to their tiny screens where they can crash kill get into ridiculous gunfights, die, and then start over. Violent role playing games would activate the nervous system’s underlying addiction and reward, resulting in the attraction to more violent activity. Evidently, entertainment in the 21st century has been altered, and no doubt will come with consequences.

Some say that role playing games helps teens improve their problem solving skills, relieve stress and provide motivation by providing quick reward for winning. This in only the case if video games are played in moderation. According to an article written by Forbes Studies have shown that video games increase aggression, while others show the opposite. If one is constantly engaged in violent activity, the traitorous games can lead to teens living lives with disrupted routines which eventually impacts their health, makes it harder for them to concentrate and might engrave negative values into their minds.

A source from Vanderbilt University calculated that “an average 13-18 year old games for about 14 hours or more per week.” Playing these violent role playing games frequently would make a teen constantly think of ways to advance within the game, or in other words be addicted to it. This addiction might often lead to stress because of the inability to balance their priorities.

With a disrupted routine comes health consequences. “Students who have played a violent video game had a higher heart rates, reported more dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts as to those who played a nonviolent game.” states an article from Vanderbilt university. These gamers would get so engrossed into their game that they would forget the lives that lie outside their screens. Making them neglect their health, and forget their responsibilities.

Most may argue that gamers are allowed to communicate within the game, enabling them to work on their collaboration skills, and to become friends with people. Gamers pick up foul language as well as rough behaviour within the walls of this game. Like the saying when in Rome, you do as the Romans do. Additionally, most gamers lack social skills because their interactions with people face to face are limited to a minimum or to zero.

The distinction between fiction and reality are often challenging to separate for some who spend majority of their daily routine glued to screens. Violent role playing games have detrimental effects on their users. as they engrave fake morals into their minds. Causing destruction and killing are glorified and rewarded. Forbes rightly said “You are what you eat is an adage that applies equally well to the images and experiences we code into our brains”

Many game content might also not be age appropriate and given the lack of control around them are readily available for being download by anyone. In multiple games, women are portrayed as weaker characters or that they are helpless, while some professionals spend all their time talking about gender equality.

However there are games, which while played in moderation can have a positive effect on teens. Scientists have claimed that certain games can help the brain in numerous ways some like boosting intelligence and improving memory. In some games the player manages to learn to manage resources and work on decision making skills. It also trains the players brains to think of creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems.

Therefore, I am not taking a stance on saying that any role playing games are bad or should be avoided. It is pretty much unavoidable because of the presence of technology in this modern environment. The point that I am trying to enforce is that certain violent role playing games promote killing, stabbing and shooting to resolve a conflict. The instant gratification of progress through the game as the gamer kills more enemies encourages kids to become more violent. This cannot be a good thing. Additionally, playing many of these games would make teens addicted to the game causing them to lead a disrupted lifestyle. We should stop our society from imploding and educating teens and making them aware of some of the consequences from gaming for too long, too often.


By Manini 

October 8, 2014

Are Tech Devices Taking Over Our World?

After school in the library of UWCSEA East, the vault of silence gets dramatically cursed by the witches of middle schoolers. Computers, phones, gaming devices all summoned, geared with all gaming armory. “Everyone ready?!” someone screams. Sooner or later students are gaming all around the library. Some together, some alone, all get sucked into the void of games. Turning them to more than witches, even into a big fierce monster acting violent to their friends by swearing and insulting. Words of inevitable failure floods throughout the library, but others filled with triumphant laughter. Out of the mist comes a sound of a bell, ringing through the void. Magically transforming the ferocious beasts into a busy high schooler. All gaming gear back into their school bags and flashes down the stairs in a blink of an eye, into their buses. Of course it hasn’t stopped yet. The void isn’t too hard to escape from.

At school, at home, in buses, taxis... Everyone has their phones or their computers out. A lot of tech devices are bought every day all around the world. Phones computers are now starting to become a need to human beings. An average person usually spends about 7 hours on their tech devices, which is about ⅓ of our day. Could tech devices ruin our lives? Are there any ways to solve this?

People all over the world go through a big and crucial problem with their tech devices. All around the world billions and billions of money are getting used on tech devices. Almost everywhere you go, a tech device always comes in handy. Sometimes it can be a really big distraction at school, work, etc… Many murdering cases have occurred due to people (mainly young kids or teens) that get mixed up with their online life and offline life. “Too much inappropriate gaming can make you be influenced by the game…” Dylan Tsao Grade 8 student of UWCSEA East. Not only were gaming addiction causing murder cases, a case in South Korea, where a student has been an outcast online in a chatting application. Not only was he abandoned by his friends, he was also insulted and basically cyber-bullied. This made him a very suicidal person, and sadly killed himself because he decide he couldn’t take it anymore. Therefore, it is important for us to use technology properly, since it could affect us and other people around us.

We have to learn to manage a consistent balance between our online and offline life. This way we can enjoy our time online and also maintain a healthy lifestyle. We have to retain technology from taking over our lives, sooner or later even babies will know how to work a tech device. As Orison Swett Marden quoted “Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man’s being.

Written By Youngchan