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Zackary Roberts
Erin Rogers
U of U Writing
17 April 2016
Argumentative Paper
Ever since video games were created in 1958, there has been the conservational question
of whether or not video games are useful to the individuals taking part in this world wide
phenomenon. Many people have the idea that video games are addictive and wicked for young
children and adolescence and it is contributing to anti-social behavior. The fact of the matter is
video games are not as toxic as people bring them to be. Video games, according to recent
studies, suppress some mental disorders, promote social skills, help with education, and enhances
an individuals heath along with daily functions in his/her life.
Ever since introduced to the world, by William Higinbotham (Atteberry P.1), video
games themselves have evolved to have many different variations within the large concept such
as: action, adventure, sports, horror, strategy, etc. The first video game, Tennis for Two, was very
simple to understand and even easier to play. The concept for Tennis for Two, stated by Geek
Trivia was there was a net, a ball that bounced over the net, and a large aluminum controller that
allowed [individuals] to hit the ball over the net (Geek Trivia P.1). As for games in the 21st
century they are much more complicated and harder to understand. For example, one of the
newer games Call of Duty: Black Ops III has many different factors towards the game itself.
Black Ops III has many different game modes including campaign, multiplayer, and zombies
each game mode with a different set of challenges and obstacles to overcome. Multiplayer itself
has multiple different game modes such as: team death match, demolition, search and destroy,

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gun game, and safeguard which requires different strategies and skills. From the first video game
ever made to one of the more recent, the video game industry is constantly improving.
Aranda Fernndez and her colleagues agree that video games were created for the
original purpose to entertain certain individuals, but into todays society video games serve more
than just entertainment. Video games serve as a way to help individuals with mental disorders
which include: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder,
schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. Jerry Grillo supports this statement with his comment that:
A child with [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] (ADHD) may be easily distracted
or easily bored and have difficulty sustaining attention, but video games are constructed
differently. They require short bursts of attention and fast responses which is helpful for
people with ADHD (Grillo par.7).
Jerry believes that video games can help with ADHD due their face paced nature and attention to
detail. Fernndez then went on to say that video games have progressively been applied in
several mental, disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorders, schizophrenia, eating
disorders, addictive behaviors and anxiety disorders (Fernndez par. 7). Heather Leutwyler
states that Older adults with schizophrenia need physical activity interventtions to improve their
physical health then later saying physical activity programs [are] using the Kinect for Xbox
360 game system in older adults with schizophrenia (Leutwyler par. 1). Leutwyler states that
video games are a more effective way for schizophrenic individuals to get involved with physical
activity.
When video games were introduced to the online multiplayer arena, there was a huge
increase in social skills amongst gamers. Social skills are defined as the ability to communicate,
persuade, and interact with other members of the society, without undue conflict or disharmony

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(What are Social Skills? P.1). Since massive online servers such as Xbox Live and PlayStation
Network have surfaced only 24% of gamers play games alone, which means 76% plays games
with other people at least some of the time (How Video Games Can Be Social P.1). This makes
gamers, that play online, partake in a social atmosphere with other players across the world,
whether they want to or not. The Pew Study, conducted in 2008, stated:
Gamers were more civically active than their non-gaming counterparts. Gamers that
played with other people in the room were more likely to take part in larger experiences
outside the game. This includes commenting on internet message boards and acting
civically and politically (How Video Games Can Be Social P.1).
Lisa Bowen then supports this claim by stating multiplayer games become virtual social
communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to
lead a group (Bowen par. 9). Voulgari, along with his colleagues, support both Bowen and the
article How Video Games Can Be Social statements with their own statement of:
Players search for facts, plan, strategies, understand the ethos of the game, manage their
resources, develop sociability, collaboration and communication skills, learn the game
collaboratively, actively participate in the construction of knowledge, exhibit leadership
and virtual team management skills, and they are emotionally engaged and
motivated, all within the integrated environment of an [massively multiplayer online game or]
MMOG

(Voulgari P.1 par.1)

These online multiplayer games have changed the gaming experience for years to come, when
involving social skills in children and adolescence.
Education is important for every individual, due to the fact that, without education there
would be no progress in todays society. Education, for some, start at a very early age, usually

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starting in kindergarten or maybe even pre-school. As technology increases regular paper and
pencil classrooms are turning into computer based environment. Which then can lead to more
involving ways for a student to participate in class, as well as a new way of learning. There are
two categories of educational video games, edutainment, which focuses on teaching the player
certain specific skills: mostly algebra, spelling, problem-solving, and other basic skills
(Egenfeldt P.3 par. 3) and researched based, these [video games] often challenge the existing
formula of edutainment (Egenfelgt P.4 par.1). Math Blaster, an edutainment video game made in
1987, helped turn boring math exercises into something students could look forward to
(TeachThought par. 11). Math blaster not only made math and reading a fun experience, but it
also made the children want to learn how to do math and read because of its addictive nature. On
the other hand, Oregon Trail, a researched- based video game made in 1985 for the Apple II, as
the article A Brief History Of Video Games In Education states [Oregon Trail asked] players
to successfully lead a family of settlers along the Oregon Trail, battling swollen rivers, broken
axles, and the dreaded dysentery along the way[this] game was among the first to show just
how engaging a game with an educational context could be (TeachThought par. 6). Along with
Oregon Trial, there are many video games that help with early childhood development, these
games include: GeoSafari, SimCity, Treasure Mountain, Loom, and many other game titles.
Video games throughout their time of existence have been thought to make players
uneducated, but through research video games have been proven to improve mental. Isabela
Granic quotes that Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as
Angry Birds, can improve players moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety then she
continues by stating If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a
fundamental emotional benefit to consider (Isabela par. 6). What Granic is trying to convince

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that if video games have the potential to make people happy, why not invest more time and effort
into making them?
Along with mental health is physical health. The basic video game player stereotype
portrays a sweaty fat man, overwhelmed by pimples and black heads, with glasses, and being
overrun by junk food and mountain dew. The fact of the matter is not all gamers are like this and
due to recent technological advancements video games can potentially make you become in
better shape and have overall better health. Video game developers have been trying to make the
video game industry more active than it has been in previous years. With the addition of the
Xbox Kinect, PlayStation Move, and Wii these consoles and console additions are trying to
promote movement when gaming.
To conclude, video games propose a more positive outlook as they undergo more
technological advancements. Video games not only show how it can help certain individuals with
certain disabilities, but also how it portrays a healthy life style and educational values. Video
games have been proven to be more of an advantage then of a disadvantage in todays society. So
when deciding whether or not video games are unhealthy or even anti-social remember all the
benefits they bring to the table.

Work Cited

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<http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/a-brief-history-of-video-games-ineducation/>.
Atteberry, Jonathan. "Who Invented Video Games?" HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com.
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Bowen, Lisa. "Video Game Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds."
Apa.org. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://apa.org/monitor/2014/02/video-game.aspx>.
Dewer, Gwen, Ph.D. "The Effects of Video Games on Social Behavior: Games That Promote
Helpfulness."ParentingScience. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.parentingscience.com/effects-of-video-games-prosocial.html>.
Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon. "{Overview of research on the educational use of video games}."
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Fernndez-Aranda, Fernando, et al. "Video Games As A Complementary Therapy Tool In
Mental Disorders: Playmancer, A European Multicentre Study." Journal Of
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Health 21.4 (2012): 364-374. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

"Geek Trivia: What Was The First Video Game?" HowTo Geek RSS. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/what-was-the-first-video-game/>.
Grillo, Jerry. ADHD and Video Games: Is There a Link? WebMD. 6 Mar. 2016.
"How Video Games Can Be Social." Positive Effects of Video Games on Society. Web. 19 Apr.
2016. <http://positivevideogaming.web.unc.edu/sample-page/>.
Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD The Benefits of
Playing Video Games, American Psychologist, Vol. 69, No. 1. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

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Leutwyler, Heather, Erin M. Hubbard, Sophia Vinogradov, and Glenna A. Dowling.
"Videogames to Promote Physical Activity in Older Adults with Schizophrenia." Games
for Health Journal. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3833370/>.
Voulgari, Iro, Vassilis Komis, and Demetrios Sampson. "Learning Outcomes And Processes In
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