Alison Nguyen

4th Hour
2/10/14

Technology

The dust cleared, but there was no kids in sight. The neighborhood parks are
abandon. In the house next door you can hear frantic typing and constant clicking. Their
eyes glued onto the screen. The kids talk strategy into their pristine headphones. They
cheer and congratulate each other when they take down the other teams tower. They
whole time not seeing each others faces. Technology has created a new entertainment
franchise; gaming. Computer gaming alone brings in 25 billion dollars a year to the
entertainment business. Gaming brings a new form of communication and it helps grow
the brain; however gaming can make it harder to focus on the real world.
Hanging out with friends after school has now changed to playing video games
after school. Gamers communicate with each other through the game but in most cases
they never really see each other in person. Games like World Of WarCraft have
connected people from all over the world with a common ground of playing a game and
having fun. Many people make long lasting friendships on video games (Dretzin).
Gaming leads to new friends and connections and can also improve already existing
relationships. People who play video games with family members get more family
communication time. Cuihua Shen, an assistant professor at University of Texas in
Dallas, agrees with this statement and says "If I am playing with existing family and
friends, I am extending my social life in cyberspace, and that is actually good for me
psychologically" (Huggins). With that in mind games do bring people from all other the
world together, and communicate with each other. One of the advantages to gaming is
the new form of communication.
As more people get addicted to gaming, could it be taking over their lives.
Gaming can take up time, money, and in the most extreme cases it can take a life. In
2012 a 18 year old man collapsed and died over the weekend after playing Blizzard's
Diablo 3 for 40 straight hours without stopping to eat (Sinclair). This is not the first case
for someone dieing from playing games for such an extended amount of time. Cases
like this raises a lot of question on whether gaming is eating at our lives. Many people
who play video games whether on console or computer get addicted to them and don't
know how to quite. According to The Wall Street Journal 11 million or so registered
users of the online role-playing fantasy World of Warcraft collectively have spent as
much time playing the game since its introduction in 2004 as humanity spent evolving
as a speciesabout 50 billion hours of game time, which adds up to about 5.9 million
years (Hotz). Thats a lot of people spending most of their time, and years just playing
video games. The video game wasted their time with imaginary levels instead of
bettering their self or their life. A major disadvantage of gaming is that it is addictive and
can be a big waste of time.
Gaming can help develop and better your brain power. Games have been proven
to increase decision making without sacrificing accuracy, increase creativity, and help
women mentally manipulate 3-D figures. Most gamers can make a decisions six times a
second which is 4 times faster than most people (Hotz). That is quite an improvement
that can be developed just from playing video games. Usually men are better at
mentally manipulating 3-D figures that is an essential skill for math and engineering. A
study show that women trained in action video game become better at mentally
manipulate 3-D figures (Trudeau). This is very beneficial in helping get rid of the gape
between gender. This also can help open up opportunities for women in jobs with math
and engineering since they would be better at mentally manipulating 3-D figures.
Gaming has also been studies and have been proven to increase creativity. According
to The Wall Street Journal A three-year study of 491 middle school students found that
the more children played computer games the higher their scores on a standardized test
of creativityregardless of race, gender, or the kind of game played (Hotz). Gaming
helps open your mind to creative possibilities. Gaming helps grow your mind and also
helps grow new skills.
Technology has changed the entertainment fransie. Gaming has become a big
part of the entertainment fransie. It has major advantages like communication, and
increasing brain knowledges and skills. Along with gamings advantages it also has
many disadvantages. One disadvantage is that it can become addicting and disconnect
you from the real world. Gaming itself is going to continue and grow.Technology for
gaming is always increasing and finding better ways to help gaming be more attractive
to more people. With the gaming fransie growing the list of advantages and
disadvantages is sure to grow.





Citations
Hotz, Robert Lee. "When Gaming Is Good for You." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones &
Company, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240529702034586045772632739431839
32>
Huggins, Charnicia. "Online Gaming With Real-World Friends Is Healthier: Study." US
News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
<http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-
behavior/articles/2011/05/06/online-gaming-with-real-world-friends-is-healthier-study>.
Sinclair, Brendan. "GameSpot." Gamer Dies after Diablo III Marathon. N.p., n.d. Web.
11 Feb. 2014.
Rushkoff, Douglas and Rachell Dretzin. Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier
Frountlin.PBS:
WGH, Boston
<http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamer-dies-after-diablo-iii-marathon/1100-
6387472/>.
Trudeau, Michelle. "Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills." NPR. NPR,
n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132077565/video-games-
boost-brain-power-multitasking-skills>.