Technology is at its peak in the present day society and life would be absolutely beyond imagination without technology. Present day children grow up playing video games and while parents are horrified at the growing inclination of children towards the life “online”, the impact video games have in shaping lives and on modern society is often neglected. Teenagers spend long durations on their laptops playing these video games. Although, such intense usage may put some strain on their backs and they get posture problems. To correct your posture and boost your personality you may use the best posture corrector.
Video games have shaped our culture for the past thirty years, with games like Pong (1972) and Space Invaders (1978) that have earned acclaim of being classic games. Other masterpieces include Donkey Kong by Nintendo and Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega. Pokémon became the most popular amongst children in 1999 and its revival via an Android Game in 2016 speaks of its wide admiration.
7 generations of video games have come up in the span of these thirty years. From arcade games and consoles to online gaming and virtual reality, we’ve stepped into a new culture of gaming. Video games are influenced by historical events and spread knowledge about important world events via an interactive platform. NavidKhonsari, the Grand Theft Auto developer, developed a video game known as the 1979 Revolution, which is based on the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that was responsible for establishing the present day republic. Online gaming especially the money-making games have made it more convenient to play live casino games. Players now play online slot games easily at slotsadviser.com, right from their homes. The call of Duty series reflects current world affairs like the war against terrorism ongoing in the countries of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran.
Pokémon had started off with three games – Pokémon Red, Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Blue. As noticed by Kurt Squire in his work “Video Games in Education” – Pokémon has undergone a journey from a simple video game to a cultural phenomenon. It spin-off as a trading game, a television show, numerous movies with its own line of offline toys and an Android game in 2017, successfully being a staple food, the youth culture survives on.
Video Games & Their Impact on Education
Besides increasing growing conscious about current world affairs like wars against terrorism or important historical and mythological events among players, video games establish clear, attainable and meaningful goals that increase concentration and sense of purpose among individuals. Video games also have difficulty levels that are adjustable in nature, multiple goal and scoring structures, an element of surprises – all constituents of a good education system. Simulation games reflect all of these virtues and requires a player to build his own world from scratch like the Tycoon Series or the Civilization Series.
Video games also increase observational powers of an individual by allowing them to observe actions over a period of time and to see phenomena in new and altered perspectives.
Improving an individual’s decision making capacities
With constant difficulty levels to overcome and to choose paths, it makes one sound in decision making.
Brings about excellent hhand-eye coordination
This allows one to become more skilled and it can improve their performances in real sports activities like tennis and bowling. Simulation games like pilot or driver have improved to an extent that a virtual environment is used to train real-life drivers and pilots. This allows individual to control high tech machines without endangering lives. Video games also track your progress and reveal your improvement over a period of time.
Improve strategy skills:
Strategy games such as war video games which require an individual to devise a plan and pursue it help individuals to be well-versed in developing better thinking skills. Management games require careful planning so that a football manager can ensure the success of his team over a long period of time. Strategy games are also instrumental in allowing individuals to adapt to newer methods and think outside the established norms to develop unique coping skills.
It causes Social Alienation
Gamers spend most of their recreational time in the confines of their homes, playing for hours at an end without communicating with other individuals. Lack of human contact for a prolonged period of time can result in an individual being withdrawn from the ones around him and may negatively affect their skills to socialize, which might affect them in their later stages. Many gamers become imbibed in maintaining the online circle of friends. But not all online friends can be trusted due to issues pertaining to their authenticity.
Results in neglect of mainstream education
While gaming entails educational qualities in a child, it can keep a gamer separated from real-life education. Continual immersion in games can result in low attendance of students and eventual dropping out.
Isolation from Reality
Virtual reality becomes a consolation for reality and gamers stay engrossed in it. This might affect their personal relationships to a great extent. Their normal day to day activities are disrupted, their social skills are minimized and it can also make passive individuals violent and aggressive. It also leads to the objectification of women in minds, which can sometimes result in crimes.
While there are negative impacts video games has on modern society, no definitive research has been revealed that links video games to violent adult behavior. But restricted violent video games content are accessible by children and they depict violence as something normal and can grow up to be anti-social elements.
Video games continue to interest children and adult, like. The potential for imbibing what video games have to offer depend solely on individuals. While many turn out to be effective leaders in their careers while coordinating with others, others become abusive in relationships and personal spheres. People always seem to play their own selves in video games which allows them to recognize and build their areas of strength, recognize their weaknesses and work on the same. Task-based approaches accompanied with fun and competition prepares an individual to set and accomplish real-life milestones further in their lives. Video games have become a part of mainstream culture and in the present world, where there’s a fine line between physical reality and virtual, we should use them as acceptable and effective tools of knowledge propagation and individual collaborations.
