Essay 3 Idea

Should video games be played in schools?  Some people believe video games are a waste of time, especially a concern for parents.  Parents worry that their children are devoting too much time to their video games, instead of going outside to play sports or with neighborhood kids.  However, Jane McGonigal believes video games help children and that they should actually be playing more.  She thought if time was devoted to the right type of games, it would work in the children's favor.  She researches the affects of video games on society.  She discovered that video games bring out the passion, drive, positive emotions, bring about social relationships with others.  She also brought up that there was an emergence of cooperative games instead of competitive games, teaching children to work together and overcome the same goals.

Jane's research led to the discovery of eustress, positive stress that people tap into as a psychological state.When society can control their own outcomes, they tend to do better and feel more positive.  She believes that people tend to be more motivated, energized, positive, and willing to ask help.  She gave an example about a golf game.  In reality, if someone was frustrated with getting the ball in the hole, they would pick it up and put it in the hole.  However, in a game, they have to find a way to put it in the hole, supporting creativity and perseverance.  This leads to practicing something that you haven't done before.

Even callers are agreeing with Jane Mcgonigal's claim.  One teacher expressed her concern of technology interfering with children's capability of critical thinking and problem solving.  When she gave those types of problems on a piece of paper, they showed little interest.  But when it was computerized,  they went right to work and worked together as a team and developed more skills.

Jane McGonigal does talk about some bad aspects.  She promoted playing video games more often than parents would like them to.  But after about 23 hours per week, she says her research shows that is when benefits start to decrease.