The Effects of Playing Video Games (Essay Sample)

The Effects of Playing Video Games
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Adachi, J. P. and Willoughby, T. (2012). Do Video Games Promote Positive Youth
Development? Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(2):155-165.
Adachi and Willoughby (2012) used a previous publication to hypothesize that playing video games is associated with positive development in youth. The authors also noted that most studies on the effect of playing video games focused on the negative outcomes of playing video games. As a result, the authors conducted a study to examine the positive effects of gaming. It is notable that the authors relied on secondary sources of information for their study. The study concluded that some of the positive effects associated with playing video games include an improvement in cooperation, reduced in-group bias, and improved problem-solving skills.
This study is useful when examining the effects of playing video games owing to the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, the study examined both positive and negative effects of the subject, but focused on the positive effects of gaming. This implies that this publication would be useful for weighing the pros and cons of gaming. It is critical that the study relied on secondary sources of bias implying it is subject to bias.
Carbagey, L. N., Anderson, A. C., and Bushman, J. B. (2007). The Effect of Video Game
Violence on Desensitization to Real-life Violence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43: 489-496.
The authors conducted a literature review and hypothesized that exposure to violent video games causes desensitization to violence. As a result, they conducted an experiment to test the hypothesis. This study selected the sample for the study by randomizing college students and emerged with a sample size of 257 students. The authors used statistical tools such as analysis of variance, and graphs to analyze the data that was collected. Consequently, the publishers concluded that playing violent video games cause desensitization to real violence.
Carbagey et al., (2007) used a thorough experiment to demonstrate that playing violent games causes desensitization to real violence. It is also notable that using primary sources of data improved the credibility of their study because primary sources of data are not subject to bias from a second party. Additionally, the fact that the authors conducted a literature review improved the credibility of the study because they could avoid mistakes made by previous researchers.
Commonwealth of Australia. (2010). Literature Review on The Impact of Playing Violent Video
Games on Aggression. Retrieved from
This study was conducted because several scholars argued that playing violent video games have adverse social effects on gamers. As a result, the Australian government wanted to control access to violent video games to adults. The authors surveyed several credible studies before making the following conclusions: The effects are short-term, alternative theories on the subject have not been exhausted, third variables could affect the result of several studies, and violent video games may not have greater impact than other violent media.
It is clear that the study in question focused on credible sources to reach its conclusion. This owes to the reality that the author greatly relied on published journals to conduct the survey. Nonetheless, the study still relied on secondary sources implying it is subject to second party bias. It is also crucial to point out that the conclusion of the study is relevant because the entire study focuses on the effect of playing video games.
Hotz, L. R. (2012, March 13). When Gaming is Good for You. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203458604577263273943183932
The writer to this article discusses the subject of video games by examining various studies on the subject. According to the reviewed studies, video games improve creativity, perception, and decision-making. This owes to the fact that video games improve hand-eye coordination and boost night vision ability. The author also revealed that gaming could alter brain activity by creating depression. Other negative effects of gaming include obesity and overweight cases.
It is notable that the publication by Hotz (2012) has useful content on the effect of video games. This is enhanced by the reality that the author examined both positive and negative effects of playing video games. It follows that such a publication can be useful for people who want to understand the effects of gaming. Another important point about the publication is that it is cohesive owing to the meticulous flow of ideas from the onset of the argument to the end of the paper. Nonetheless, Hotz (2012) fails to take a side on whether playing games is useful or harmful to gamers.
Norcia, A. (2014). The Impact of Video Games. Retrieved from /parenting-
teens/general/media-web/videogames.html
Norcia (2014) also examined the effects of playing video games on gamers. According to the author, children between the age of 8 and 18 years spend seven and a half hours playing video games. The author reviewed studies by examining both positive and negative effects of playing video games. As a result, the author concluded that video games have positive effects such as improving intellectual ability and improve pro-social behavior. The author also noted that playing violent video games could also increase aggressive behavior among children.
It is clear that the video games have positive and negative effects on gamers. This is highlighted by the argument from Norcia (2014) who cites statistics from different studies. It follows that the use of statistics from the author improves credibility of the study because statistics is known to emerge from primary data. Nonethele...