Steven Johnson's Article: Why Games Are Good For You

It is often believed that children are better off spending more time reading books and less time zoning out in front of their video games. People claim that video games sanction and promote aggression and violent responses to conflict; and that most games are an immense waste of time. Steven Johnson, the author of “Why Games Are Good for You,” appreciates the virtues of reading books, but argues that playing video games may not be a complete waste of time. His purpose for writing this essay is to explain the impact of cybertechnology on human perception and communication, in which he defends the value of computer games. In his essay, Johnson fluctuates between the pros and cons of reading versus gaming to appeal to skeptics who believe video

He asks the audience to try a thought experiment where video games were invented and popularized before books. Children have been playing games for centuries and then books came along. He believes the argument would claim that reading books chronically understimulates the senses, that they are tragically isolating, downright discriminatory, and that they follow a fixed linear path. He acclaims, “Only a small portion of the brain devoted to processing written language is activated during reading, while games engage the full range of the sensory and motor cortices” (Johnson 483). Johnson doesn’t agree with the argument, but believes its contentions are somewhat true. It was risky for him to include this argument in his essay because of the negative effects supporters of reading may encounter. However his intentions were to get his audience to consider a different way of

A number of people want to cross a bridge to see what is on the other side. But sometimes the complexity of these games can make it time consuming and impossible to move on. Therefore children and adults buy guidebooks to help them get through. The author contributes a flashback when he spent close to a thousand dollars for cheat sheets, maps, help books, and phone support to assist a futile attempt to complete a video game. The need for guidebooks is new and people need them because the complexity of these worlds can be