Kevin To

WP2 Final For Now

Dr. De Piero

TOPIC: Playing Video Games is good for the mind and body

Rhetorical Situations

Exigence: As a gamer, I feel that gaming does benefit the mind and body and it doesn't just rot

your brain.

Writer: Me, being a writer I love playing games, I have been playing games for 7 years

Primary Audience: My primary audience is parents

Secondary Audience: My secondary audience would be other fellow gamers of all ages

Goal: My goal is to persuade anyone who thinks gaming is not beneficial for the mind and body.

Venue: “Parents” Magazine.

Context: I have been gaming for so long and people (adults specifically) always tell me that

gaming is not good for you, stop playing it so much. Like even my mom thinks gaming is bad

and hates when I play it. I just want to show those people that there wrong and that gaming is

beneficial.

Model Op-Ed: ID Tech

Playing Video Games are Bad For You? I Think Not!

 Today's day and age, technology is growing so fast, with the fast improvement in

technology. It is also improving video games as a whole. Video games have come along way

since the first-ever game that was created in 1958 called "Pong" it was a simple back and forth

ping pong game. With the advancement of video games today, there are so many game genres

from First-person shooter(FPS), Third-person shooter(TPS), Role Playing Games(RPG), Mass

Multiplayer Online(MMO), and etc. With a variety of games, there are, people of all ages are

interested in at least one game. With the mass amount of games, there are a lot of people who

think playing games is just for fun and will not benefit you and just rot your brain, when actually

gaming can actually be beneficial for the mind and body. People that think videogames are bad

because of the bad stereotype that's been going around for years like, for example, parents that

always tell their kids to stop playing so many video games. The bad stereotype comes from

parents thinking gaming will change how their child will behave, in ABC an article I found it

states that "Many worry that playing video games might have a bad effect on the way their child

behaves. For example, if a video game has lots of fighting in it, they worry that playing it will

encourage their child to be violent.". This shows that parents worry about their kids playing

games, which is why so many parents are restricting kids from playing games.

Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "how is gaming going to benefit the human

mind and body?" Personally, I have been gaming since 5th grade, so 7 years now. From my

experience in playing like FPS and MOBAs, I can see that my brain thinks and reacts faster

because I'm improving at a particular game mechanically. It is also building muscle memory and

hand-eye coordination, according to "howstuffworks." For example, if you see an enemy on the

left side of your screen, you can flick fast with your mouse to the enemy and start shooting him
before he kills you. This builds up reaction time, as well. Gaming also brings out a social side

out of you because when you're playing multiplayer games, your meeting people online.

When I was playing semi-professional for Fortnite, I met so many other semi-professional

gamers from around the world. It brought more of a social side out of me connecting with them,

and it also gets out of my comfort zone and lessens my shyness, don't just take it from my own

personal story, here is Andrew Fishman, in Psychologytoday. He states that "Even if players

were to only spend time talking about the game itself, games would still be a great way to bond

with other people". He also states that 3.2 time socioemotional messages were sent between

people over task-oriented ones, so that means people online that are playing games aren't just

talking about how to play the game instead is people complimenting each other or small-talk,

like "thanks for the help" or "wow, that's funny". "Playing video games isn't just sitting there and

looking at a screen, there are games that you have to move in order to play. Their games are

called exergames, exergames are where it involves the player to actually move around instead of

just using their fingers like a traditional game. This is benefiting the body, getting you to move

could help with getting in shape. For example, games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Just Dance, and

etc. All these games require movement. You cannot play the game if you're just sitting there. In

WebMD it shows a chart that playing certain games burn more calories than others. For example,

if you play an exergame, like tennis, you burn 159 calories in 30 minutes, or if you are playing a

boxing exergame, you burn around 216 calories in 30 minutes.

 Playing video games is good for the mind and body, and you don't have to take my

personal side for it. Here is another Op-Ed was written by Vince from "ID Tech" that shows that

gaming is good for the mind and body. In the article, he states, "The prefrontal cortex is the part

of the brain responsible for decision making, social behavior, personality, and cognitive

planning." This shows while playing games, the prefrontal cortex of your brain is being used for

smart planning in a game (strategy). This can be seen in Hearthstone, a turn-based strategy game

where 2 players have to plan out what cards they're gonna deal cards and try to attack the player's

face card. Here is another example I found on "Mental Floss" it states, "The rise of multiplayer

experiences online has given way to a new form of socializing in which players work together to

solve problems" this quote shows that multiplayer based games are causing kids to socialize

more.
 So in conclusion, playing video games does not rot your brain, but instead, playing video

games is actually good for the mind and body. Mind, because it increases reaction time, head-eye

coordination, builds muscle memory when playing games like FPS, TPS, or MOBAs. With

playing those games, it also increases the socialization of someone, because you meet new

people from around the world. The body, because it can help you be active and get in shape

when playing games that get you moving like Wii Sports or Just Dance.

My Moves/Reflections

● I chose to give a lot of information about myself about being a semi-pro gamer because i

wanted to show readers that im not just a regular gamer that plays on their free time,

instead im a hard-core gamer that plays a lot and can see the benefits

● I chose the venue “Parents” Magazine because it fits my primary audience the most.

Parents magazine is a place where parents can read and get useful and important tips on

raising a child, this makes it a perfect place to talk about my Op-Ed about their child

playing games.

● I added that picture to my Op-Ed because it's a good visual representation of how your

brain is working when playing games

● I talked about a lot of games about FPS and MOBA more than other because there one of

my favorite types of games to play

● I added games that require movement to show that there are games that benefit you other

ways than just the brain.

● I talked about some history of gaming because it shows how long ago ago gaming been a

thing.
Work Cited

● Vince, Vince, et al., “Video Games Are Good For You, Brain and Body: Why They Are
Beneficial.” ID Tech, Vince Vince Has Worked as a Camp Director for ID Tech.
Previously, He Spent over 20 Years in the Video Game Industry, Working for Companies
like Sony, Microsoft and Disney. Vince Has His Nerd Card Fully Stamped, with His
Favorite Stamps Including: Pokémon, D&D, Comic Books and of Course, Video Games.,
www.idtech.com/blog/video-games-are-good-for-you.
● Fries, Wendy C. “Exergaming: Can Exercise Games Help You Get Fit?” WebMD,
WebMD, 19 Sept. 2011, www.webmd.com/parenting/features/exercise-lose-weight-with-
exergaming#1.
● Fishman, Andrew. “Video Games Are Social Spaces.” Psychology Today, Sussex
Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/video-game-health/201901/video-games-
are-social-spaces.
● Kershner, Kate. “Do Video Games Really Improve Hand-Eye Coordination?”
HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 20 July 2015, electronics.howstuffworks.com/do-
video-games-improve-hand-eye-coordination.htm.
● “15 Surprising Benefits of Playing Video Games.” Mental Floss, 8 July 2019,
www.mentalfloss.com/article/65008/15-surprising-benefits-playing-video-games.
● “Why Do Adults Think Video Games Are Bad?” The Conversation - ABC Splash -
Http://Education.abc.net.au/Newsandarticles/Blog/-/b/2564477/Why-Do-Adults-Think-
Video-Games-Are-Bad?Null, education.abc.net.au/newsandarticles/blog/-
/b/2564477/why-do-adults-think-video-games-are-bad.