Video games and their effect on High School students
On a snowy Monday morning, many students rush to their Xbox after hearing the news of a snow day. Video games are a part of everyday life for teenagers in America. At EC, video games are played just as much as in any other school. Do these video games affect our classmates, or are they just a fun social activity to do with your friends?
When asked if video games have a positive or negative effect on his life, Charlie Veenema says, “Positive, because I get to be with my lovely friends. I can get closer to my friends online so when I see them in school, we are closer and can talk about more things.”
Video games have a wide variety of categories, allowing for many different games to be created and played. There are sports games, gun games, adventure games, card games, mobile games, horror games, multiplayer games, and mystery games to name a few. At EC, the popular genres are gun games and multiplayer games. These games allow for the most fun with friends. Multiplayer means that you can invite friends to play the same game as you at the same time. Gun games have always been a staple in gaming, and most gun games are multiplayer games. Call of duty, Fortnite, and Rainbow six siege are examples of gun games, while golf with friends is a multiplayer game.
Since video games are so captivating to young teens, the question of if video games affect schoolwork arose. When questioned, Daniel Lim said, “A bit yeah. I mean I’d rather play video games than do my homework.” Video games have shown to be a distraction in young men as they procrastinate and forget about their homework. Many students get home from school and head to their Xbox or PlayStation, rather than the work assigned to them by their teachers.
Many popular video games have depictions of guns or fighting in some way. Interviewee Jaden Ritsma says, “I don’t think it makes me a violent person, but there have been many broken controllers.” While overall video games don’t make you a violent person, in most cases, there are definitely times where it can inflict rage which is taken out on walls, controllers, chairs, couches, ping pong tables, and sometimes even other people.
“Video Games just get me closer to my friends. That’s the main reason I play too” Charlie Veenema says.