Teenagers Should Be Playing Video Games

From a 2017 report by Statista, there are more than 1.8 billion gamers in the world, and 23% of them are below the below 18 years of age (“Number Of Gamers Worldwide 2021 | Statista” par 3). The statistics reveal that video games are a critical phenomenon in the present society. Due to the escalating consumption of video game products, a stiff debate has arisen on the impacts of video games on consumers, especially teenagers. While some games may be harmful, teenagers should play video games since they have mental health benefits, improve cognition, fosters the learning of crucial life skills.

Appropriate play of video games is an effective method for relieving stress and relaxing the mind, which improves their mental health. In daily life, there is numerous chaos that results in psychological distress, such as loneliness and anxiety. Such distress affects the functioning of the brain, which manifests as an imbalance in a person’s moods. However, Kircaburun et al. (7) report that from their study, video gamers have the emotional intelligence that is negatively associated with depression and loneliness. Besides, video games are similar to other kinds of play or sports, which act as mood regulators (Granic et al. 66). Notably, a game player focuses on playing the game and momentarily forgets other tasks requiring critical thinking, hence relaxing the mind. In that light, video games boost mental health for teen players.

Video games are a remarkable avenue to improve cognitive skills for teenagers. Through development stages, the human brain improves cognition and can understand more complex or abstract situations. Throughout video gameplay, players are faced with moral and ethical choices that impact their performance in a game (Vargas-Mendoza et al. 2). Hence, video games help teenagers in understanding the consequence of every action in video games regarding moral and ethical conduct. Besides enhancing their emotional intelligence, the ability to view situations and decide the course of action is a cognitive improvement benefit that teenagers get from playing video games.

Teenagers get to learn valuable life skills for their future. From the modern video gameplays, many gamers meet online to play from different locations. They can communicate, help each other, and even collaborate on tasks. Through gaming interactions, they are exposed to other cultures, languages, and social aspects of life (Rudis, and Poštić 120). In that, teenagers learn the art to interact, team play, solve problems, and conflicts, which may be replicated in real life. Notably, such skills are vital for the present globalized economy. Besides, the gaming world is less forgiving for mistakes since all gamers are up to championing the play (Dye et al. 1). Therefore, teenagers learn from the gaming experience the costs of mistakes or misconduct. For instance, in a war zone, naivety, and lack of resilience and diligence may lead to death or capture; hence, teenagers learn the value of crucial life skills.

To sum up, teenagers should play video games to improve their mental health, development of cognitive skills, and learn critical life skills. Study shows that games relieve stress, which is crucial for mental health. Moral and ethical game situations improve gamers’ cognition, and through multiplayer gameplay, teenagers learn critical social skills. However, it is imperative to identify the video games that are recommended for teenagers and are rated as appropriate or without harm.

Works Cited

Dye, Matthew W.G. et al. “Increasing Speed Of Processing With Action Video Games”. Current Directions In Psychological Science, vol 18, no. 6, 2009, pp. 321-326. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01660.x. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.

Granic, Isabela et al. “The Benefits Of Playing Video Games.”. American Psychologist, vol 69, no. 1, 2014, pp. 66-78. American Psychological Association (APA), doi:10.1037/a0034857. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.

Kircaburun, Kagan et al. “Trait Emotional Intelligence And Internet Gaming Disorder Among Gamers: The Mediating Role Of Online Gaming Motives And Moderating Role Of Age Groups”. International Journal Of Mental Health And Addiction, 2019. Springer Science And Business Media LLC, doi:10.1007/s11469-019-00179-x. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.

“Number Of Gamers Worldwide 2021 | Statista”. Statista, 2017, https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.

Rudis, Domas, and Svetozar Poštić. “INFLUENCE OF VIDEO GAMES ON THE ACQUISITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE”. Verbum, vol 8, no. 8, 2018, p. 112. Vilnius University Press, doi:10.15388/verb.2017.8.11354. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.

Vargas-Mendoza, Nancy et al. “Ethical Concerns In Sport: When The Will To Win Exceed The Spirit Of Sport”. Behavioral Sciences, vol 8, no. 9, 2018, p. 78. MDPI AG, doi:10.3390/bs8090078. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.