Are Video Games a Problem to Learning?

Every coin has two sides, and video games have both positive and negative impacts on learning. Obviously, a number of students are addicted to video games and spend a lot of their time playing them. Video games could waste time and affect learning, but they also provide fun and relaxation in students’ life.

Some experts in education consider the negative consequences some games could have on children’s thinking. Lots of popular video games contain violent elements. According to Valve Corporation, the most popular games played on PC all involve killing (Player Unknown’s BATTLEGROUNDS, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2). Video games also seem to contribute to violent or extreme anti-social behavior. Mark Appelbaum of the American Phycological Association stated: “the link between violence in video games and increased aggression in players is one of the most studied and best established in the field.” This could be true because as more people start to play violent games, there are also more aggressive shootings and murder.

However, people also believe that these video games don’t have a negative effect, some evidence even shows that video games are also being used for educational purposes nowadays. For example, the training of new staff has been done using video games. There are simulations available for jobs such as surgeons and nurses; according to Mentalfloss, these games also improve the body coordination of these employees. The University of Colorado conducted a study about how video games improve performances. Consequently, the trainees had a 9 percent better retention rate and 11 percent better factual knowledge level compared to normal employees. Moreover, recently 11,000 children in Britain participated in a study to test the effects of video games on children. The results show that playing video games do not affect the behavior of children.

In conclusion, there is evidence that video games have both harmful and beneficial effects, so it is still difficult to decide whether or not video games are a good thing or not.