Much more serious than fun and games

Discover both the positives and negatives of video games, and how they impact players.

Playing games has been one of the greatest pastimes in American culture. During the early twentieth century, people have played games together as children like “Simon says” and “tag.” As technology developed, though, so did the games that people played. After the invention of television, people began to play video games. Unfortunately, video games can be very violent. Sometimes games like Mortal Combat could involve the player shooting targets on the screen. Other games like Super Smash Brothers involve players using cartoon characters to fight each other. Some of these games might look like fun, but they can actually be very dangerous if the players do not understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Even though video games can have a positive impact on the lives of people, they can also have a negative effect if people do not understand the dangers involved with excessive game-play.

That is because some people can become addicted to video games. The flashing colors and the loud sound effects can prompt people to play video games for hours. Such games can also be very distracting because people who play those games could actually do other activities, such as reading and cleaning. Therefore, players need to be careful so that they could enjoy their games without having the games consume too much of their time.

Children need to understand that all video games contain fictional elements, which means that the games involve fantasy rather than reality. For example, the Super Smash Brothers video game has cartoon characters like Mario and Luigi fighting each other. Both children and adults who play such games need to understand that the characters on the screen are imaginary. Children should also know that they should never try to imitate what they see in violent video games. Just because a cartoon character is hitting another character does not mean that children should hit each other in real life. That is because cartoon characters cannot feel real pain, but people in the real world could. Understanding the difference between fantasy and reality can prevent serious injuries that players can cause each other in real life.

Teenagers must also be very careful about video games that involve playing with fake weapons. For example, the game Mortal Combat involves a player using the game device to hold a gun that the player sees on the screen. While holding the device, the player could push buttons that would cause the gun to shoot targets. Sometimes the fake bullets on the screen can kill cartoon characters. The games can also show the blood of the characters that were shot even though they are not real. However, people in the real world might try to imitate what they see on the screen and accidentally commit murder.

The reason why dismal deaths sometimes happen is because the players forget that video games are meant to be a form of entertainment that could be played safely at home. If people think that life is like a video game, then they might accidentally harm others, which is a reason why video games can be dangerous. For example, players might try to imitate the action in video games by trying to meet up with their friends, and shooting each other in a real-life version of the video games. Sometimes young people also have a tendency to copy the behavior found in media, including video games, television, and film. Therefore, an important fact to remember is that visual media is really meant for enjoyment rather than something that they should perform in the real world.

Even though there are a lot of negative effects associated with video games, there are still at least two good reasons as to how video games can have a positive impact. One reason is that video games can teach people how to use their hands and eyes more quickly and accurately. The ability to have good eyes and hand coordination to accomplish tasks is called “hand-eye coordination.” That is because people who play video games have to use their hands in order to push buttons and use joysticks, and they also have to watch the screen carefully with their eyes so that they can know what they are doing while playing the video games.

Having good hand-eye coordination can be very helpful in real life because such skills are necessary in order to play sports like basketball and baseball. That is because basketball players have to use their hands to play with the basketball while also using their eyes in order to get the ball into the basket. Baseball players also have to make sure that they hit the baseball with a bat to have good target and aim. Another reason as to why video games could have a positive impact is that they can be played for fun. Sometimes people need time in order to relax, and video games can be very entertaining.

In the end, video games can have both positive and negative impacts on people. People can have fun with video games, but they must also remember to be cautious so that they would not confuse fantasy with reality. Understanding the difference between what is real and what is not can help people enjoy video games because visual media can sometimes confuse people into thinking that what they see on the screen can apply to real life.

There have been numerous cases in which children accidentally hurt both themselves and other people through the imitation of inappropriate behavior. For example, children might attempt to imitate a violent movie or television show, and would then make the excuse that they just wanted to copy what they saw on a television screen. In fact, some people accidentally kill each other by copying violent showdowns found in classic Western movies through gun usage. Therefore, people need to remember that what they see on a screen should remain as a visual rather than a form of reality.