The Positive and Negative Effects of Playing Video Games - Essay Example

Writing this research essay was a very good experience for me. I learned a lot while doing this project in terms of style of writing, requirements of academic writing, paper structure, organization of information, and validation of information. It took me at least three revisions to come up with the final version of research essay. I was very cautious not only because this was a graded research essay, but also because the topic I discussed in it is very sensitive. The fact that stakeholders of this research essay are found in every other home as noted in the research essay i.e. “Video games have recently experienced a substantial amount of growth in sales since more than 97 percent of US adolescents engage in video game frequently”, makes it even more important and put more responsibility on my shoulders to project the right opinion. My concerns and interests are to advocate all such means of learning that are enjoyable and at the same time, effective. Video games qualify as such a means of education as “it is the most efficient way of developing mental skills and the best way to introduce children to computer education.” Therefore, I carried out detailed research to investigate how it affects children and adults in their personal and social lives. I revised my paper until I was sure that the paper is suitable for release as it conformed to the standards of academic writing. In the initial phase, I carried out detailed literature review to see what experts say about the topic. I documented the findings of literature review in my first draft. In the second draft, I arranged and organized the information in a way that both the negative and positive aspects of playing video games were separately discussed e.g. “The amount of commitment required can lead to development of new skills or a decline of an individual’s mental state and ability to maintain a healthy social life.” In the third and the final phase, I critically analyzed the information, and concluded the research in such a way that it can be easily understood by everybody. I structured my research essay into three broad sections, namely introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction ended with a thesis statement that contained the crux of what was discussed in the body paragraphs i.e. “However, video games could be helpful to children and it can affect them mentally, but how video games mentally affect children and teenagers in social life.” Each body paragraph started with a title statement giving direction for the rest of the lines in that paragraph. For example, the title statement “The idea of an independent individual fighting an evil force can lead the player to develop a mentality that everyone else is the enemy” is followed by discussion of aggression and social distancing of the players as a result of constant playing of video games in the paragraph. I tried to smoothly transit from one paragraph to another to give the paper a flow. For example, the last sentence of one paragraph was, “So, game consoles are building online base that all players can connect with one another.” And the title sentence of the paragraph immediately following it was, “Moreover, if players’ fail in the first attempt of a violent video game, they can keep trying until they achieve the highest possible levels.” In this example, “moreover” has been used as a linking word between the two paragraphs that suggests that what is discussed in the following paragraph is in line with the subject of discussion in the previous paragraph. I have separately discussed the positive and negative effects of playing video games on children and adults. Unlike most research essays, my essay is not biased as it throws light upon both aspects of effects of playing video games, rather than being inclined toward only positive effects and rejecting all negative effects e.g. “The repetitive tendency of video games can be used as a way to reinforce teaching. However, it can also create a perception that is more steered towards violence.” In the initial two versions, I had only discussed the positive and negative effects. But in the final version, I critically analyzed the information and also included what critics have to say about the popular opinion I had discussed. For example, I wrote, “Critics of violent video games argue such game encourage selfish acts, since video games rarely allow more than one player at a time”. I purposely included critics’ opinions with a view to challenging the information and validating it again by providing solid proofs in support of my claims. For example, in the aforementioned sentence, I discussed the critics’ opinion that playing video games makes the players selfish as they do not socialize. But I argued that many of these video games are played by multiple players simultaneously and supported it with a credible source; “Teens can play the same game from their own homes without leaving their rooms (Subrahmanyam, Kraut, & Greenfield 132). Social skills are a necessity for the existence of any human.” Sources for this project were chosen mostly from scholarly and peer-reviewed sources including published journals with high impact factors. Some of the journals that were cited included Journal of Advertising, Psychological Science, and Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. I mostly used scholarly sources because they are trusted for support of arguments in academic papers whereas proofs retrieved from non-scholarly sources are considered untrustworthy and dubious. I provided relevant context to the readers by drawing their attention toward such statistics as how many children play video games and discussing the findings of latest research. For example, I wrote, “The gaming industry earns a revenue of more than 12 billion dollars annually” and provided source after it. I tried to include most sources from latest research in general and particularly within the last five years. Most sources I have cited were published between 2009 and 2014. The reason I chose to include sources published and/or released in these years is that they are most up to date and draw upon the body of research and literature that was published before them. If I selected very old sources, they would have been inconsiderate of the findings made after their publishing, so the information would be outdated. My rhetorical situation guided me in selection of the relevant contextual information as I cited sources that said something either in support of or against the argument I was making at different points through the body of the paper. Elements that make my research project a critical inquiry-based project include but are not limited to its structure, organization, depth of research, evaluation of critical views and response to them grounded in scientific research, and adherence to academic writing standards. I tried to provide examples, wherever required, to make the paper more elaborative. For example, I gave the example of Grand Theft Auto to show how games require the players to make decisions; “For example, Grand Theft Auto, there is decision in the game were the player have to choose which one of character friend to lives and which one dies.” I went beyond merely summarizing my position to include the consistency and contrast between my ideas and ideas of other experts and scholars by drawing upon research and critical analysis. I tried to include sources both that support and others that negate my opinion. I described and analyzed the positioning of sources with respect to each other by drawing inferences from the statistics they provided, comparing them against each other, and drawing conclusions on the basis of the more reasonable and stronger arguments. Read More