Video Games Dbq

According to John DiConsiglio between 70% and 90% of teens in the United States play video games and it is said that 5% to 10% of those kids are addicted to gaming, but what about the other 80%? Although people may argue that the internet or video games cause adolescents to have antisocial personalities that isn’t necessarily true for every person. The internet and videogames can have positive impacts on both the world and people’s lives. The internet and both online and video games aren’t detrimental to adolescents’ intellectual and social development because they can be used for educational tools and they allow teens to become more involved in the world around them.
According to document D, games are used as educational tools in school. Pilots, surgeons, and soldiers also use games to educate themselves and assist them in becoming more successful in their professions (D). There are many games out there that require you to develop strategies, make hypotheses, and solve problems (D).The games also teach gamers how to juggle
several different tasks, evaluate risks, and make quick decisions (D). These skills that are acquired through gaming can benefit classroom students in various subjects such as science and/or math. If the topics that the adolescents are learning in the classroom are inside of the game, then that may get the students more engaged in what they are learning. These specific skills are useful in the real world and are important to know in your daily life.
Gaming and the internet can also help adolescents social skills.
When gamers play with their peers they may do something that the person they are playing with didn’t know how to do, therefore that person can explain what they did which increases their social skills and it will help them gain credibility with their peers (D). There are many gamer communities on the internet and through gaming consoles such as the website Twitch, or Xbox Live, and some people even make gaming videos on Youtube. These communities are composed of groups of people that all share the common interest of gaming. The people in these communities bond and talk about the different video games they play, the strategies they use, and they even play together as a group so that in a way is increasing their social skills. Although they are communicating through the internet they are still being social with each other and making friends that share a common interest with
them.
Although the internet is filled will raunchy content, games, misinformation, and many other negative things, there are also many positive aspects to the internet (B). These days there are kids that use the internet to become social activists, debate issues, and to register to vote (B). This information shows that kids all over the world are finding a way to use the internet in a beneficial way and to become involved in the world. These websites that are enabling kids to debate world issues and to become activists are allowing kids to become good citizens through the internet if they can’t do it out in the real world. Although there are kids out there only using the internet to play online games and to spend money, there are other kids out there using it to better not only themselves but the world around them and that’s what is important.
As you can see out of the 70% to 90% of teens who participate in online or video games not all of them are “addicts”. The vast majority of them are using their video games and internet use to create something positive in their life such as making a difference and/or meeting people from all over the world who share a common interest with them.