Video Games Are Good For You Analysis

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“Why Games Are Good For You” by Steven Johnson explains how reading is on the decline and video games are becoming increasingly more popular in the modern world. At the beginning of this article Johnson is quick to share his view that video games are more of a waste of time as they are not as beneficial to the brain like reading is. He mentions that readers are generally more active and interested in events and the world around them, while gamers tend to live a more sedentary lifestyle. Johnson then attempts to illustrate a parallel universe where video games are released into the world before books are. In this alternate world people are outraged when books are released. Children are locking themselves in their rooms and shunning themselves …show more content…

He explains that they may not actually be a complete waste of time. Not only do they improve hand-eye coordination, but they also develop manual dexterity, and even visual memory. On the flip side, people who play video games tend to get very frustrated and even mad for a good duration of time when they are stuck at a certain part. Beating the game is now no longer about fun and becomes torturous. Johnson then makes the point that even though some games may have a lot of freedom and allow you to use your creativity, millions of guidebooks are sold to lead and direct players to their final goal. Readers on the other hand are given descriptions of setting and characters, but no actual vision of what these things actually look like. This allows the reader to paint their own picture with their imagination and let their mild run free as opposed to it being restricted to the visuals on the screen. At the end of the article Johnson reveals the potential science behind the addictiveness of gaming. It is easy to get hooked on a game due to all of the cliff hangers that force you want keep playing and discover what is next. Little rewards like unlocking new levels releases a chemical called dopamine which essentially makes you feel happy and satisfied. When dopamine levels are low, gamers grow disappointed and tend to crave that next unlockable making it difficult to put the controller

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