Promotions through the Advent of Videogames

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In our modern age there is a constant need to point fingers and call something evil that was only made to better people’s lives. It happened with the television, it happened with the internet, and now this epidemic has set its sights on videogames. This media has been unfairly criticized, mainly by parents, since its release. They claim it causes violence and isolation but more over, in their arrogance, claim it is nothing more than a blatant waste of time. What these people don’t see is the true nature and potential for videogames and those who partake in the experiences they have to offer. Videogames provide a person with not only the opportunity to enhance their social and analytical skills, but also offer them the potential for tangential learning. If you’re a gamer you already know how videogames build a person’s social skills. You go home turn on your council of choice for a relaxing game of Call of Duty, Halo, or Star Craft if you’re in to that sort of game. Most likely the next step is to plug in and put on your head set, immersing yourself in a social experience unlike anything you can find in real life. Most of videogame play is socially interactive. “Almost 60 percent of frequent gamers play with friends. Thirty-three percent play with siblings and 25 percent play with spouses or parents.” (Jenkins) And it’s not just cooperative game play that provides social growth, but competitive game play as well. “Two players may be fighting to death on screen and growing closer as friends off screen.” (Jenkins) The large misconception here is that videogames are socially isolating, a kid sits in his room and tunes out the rest of the world, while in fact they are connecting to more people than they could po... ... middle of paper ... ... Lives. Penny Arcade. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. Jenkins, Henry. "Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked." PBS. PBS. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Meyers, Katy. "Lessons from Assassin's Creed for Constructing Educational Games." Play The Past. 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Olivia Bruner and Kurt Bruner. "Video Gaming Is a Waste of Time," Video Games. Laurie Willis, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Olivia and Kurt Bruner, Playstation Nation: Protect Your Child from Video Game Addiction. New York: Center Street, 2006, Copyright © 2006 Olivia and Kurt Bruner. Quinn, Sean. "Historical Accuracy of Video Games: Assassin’s Creed’s Masyaf." Historical Accuracy of Video Games: Assassin’s Creed’s Masyaf, HalfBeard's HUD. HalfBeard's HUD. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. “Tangential Learning.” - Extra Credits Tangential Learning. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.

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