video games: good or bad?

Video Games: Good or Bad? Spending hours upon hours playing video games, one would think that they would start to influence the day to day life. This controversy is brought up in the article “Defending Video Games: Breeding Evil?” written by the editor of Ecomunist.com. The article argues that violent video games do not necessarily make viewers violent, but may in fact be beneficial to the user’s health. The main topic is proving games do not influence their audience to the extent of behavioral changes in the gamers. The editor uncovers how most research gives little evidence to support that claim. He shows that in fact games can be used as outlets for anger to decrease the amount of stress in users’ life. This article shows compelling arguments to prove video games do not promote violence or addiction for viewers. The editor uses proven research, logos, and concrete facts to persuade readers. The editor shows in many examples the research on violent video games. First he brings to light that during the time gaming has become most popular, violent crime has fallen by half. Showing this makes the reader recognize that games may not be the cause of the misbehaved youth, but instead it may be from thousands of other problems citizens face in their lives. It also leads one to think that possibly the fact that teens are locked in their bedrooms playing games all day, they will have little time to do anything else, like committing a crime. The editor also uses a successful tactic to take most of the blame off of video games by comparing the amount of time users played video games, to the amount of time they spent watching television. Teenagers spend almost twenty five hours watching television every week, where they only play games about thirteen a week. Comparing the two makes readers step back to think about where the real problem of negative influences comes from in edition to how they might be contributing to it. Most parents would agree that the content on television would be highly influential to their children, making video games seem a little bit more harmless to the reader, where as television would become the villain. The use of logos in the article is to show readers how the users are not affected by the intense violent behavior in some games. To show contrast the editor incorporates how good games can increase intelligence, and educate viewers. Readers are pulled in by the fact that games can be a useful tool to spread education for schools and businesses. The editor was successful in making a strong argument to prove games can be a positive thing. He also made the point to explain how users can be tasked with making quick decisions and evaluating risks to further prove his point. The editor uses logic to persuade his audience by saying “gaming actually makes people less violent, by acting as a safety valve”. Most readers would agree that having a creative outlet to get rid of stress would decrease the amount of anger and aggression they have. This article is targeting the older audience to persuade them to have a more open mind towards things they don’t fully comprehend. The editor compares generations by reminding the audience of Socrates, and how he thought the people relied on written text to much rather than talking to each other. Socrates said that reading would “create forgetfulness in the learner’s souls”. The editor uses this to remind readers how not all things are as black and white as they seem witch will appeal to the logic in most people. Many people today would say the complete opposite of books and instead praise them for giving children more imagination. They would possibly find it illogical to not read books. Is it not safe to say the same about games? In every game is a different story line, with many adventures that challenge the users mind into finding their own creative solution. The editor incorporates quoted facts into the article to show the reader how games are not America’s worst problem. The reader can see the undeniable argument with this approach. He tells of how Waltz music and dancing was condemned in the 19th century when teenagers then had the courage to step out of line to try and express their own creative thoughts. By giving almost identical issues a head on glance the reader sees a new prospective on video games. Having in mind the change in generations, the reader will think back to a time when they were young and their elders disapproved of many of the choices they made when they took a stand for what they loved. Taking the reader back to their childhood is an effective way to argue against video games. It brings the nostalgia of the audience’s youth back to them. These statements make the topic of violent video games seem like the issue will disappear in the not to far off future when today’s generation finds an issue that seems more demanding of their time. The editor incorporates the fact that there is no evidence that can connect violence to video games, making it hard to believe games are all that bad. Readers see a pattern that concedes the statements against video games are false by the many undeniable facts, proven by research. The statistics, logos, and facts in this article proved to be a successful way to grab the reader’s attention. The editor’s points changed the way readers viewed games and provided a new image in their minds. His arguments were well pointed and used many tactics on how to grab the reader’s attention. “Defending Video Games: Breeding Evil?” can be considered a well rounded article that made readers think hard on what is really causing the violence and misbehavior of today’s children. The article had many tactics that were used to persuade the user effectively. When presented this article most readers would agree with the statements made. Reading this, parents would almost want to encourage their children to play more educational video games to improve their intelligence.