Video Games - Just Playing?

Having an opinion that playing videogames is a perfect time-wasting activity, I will do my best to argue that there are still certain positive aspects of it for both, individuals and society. Next, I will try to claim that some scientific evidence proving that videogames can encourage real world aggression can be found. Last but not least, I will describe shortly our group's favorite videogame (despite us not being big fans of it at all). Enjoy the lecture!

First group of videogames blurs the line between dream and reality. According to the video presented during the lecture, games such as: America's Army and Under Siege can be classified to this group. I do, certainly, think that this kind of videogames is the worst one. The logic behind my reasoning is strictly related to the fact that playing those games can make an individual confused about the visible line between what is real and what is not. The plot of both those games is based on real-world situation, supported by historical or current global issues. They are both about killing the enemies, and maybe it would be nothing wrong with it (since killing our friends would not be too logical) but this war computer game is about American soldiers killing Arabs. As we all know, there is a significant number of Arabians living in the USA, and, as we all know, there has always been certain conflicts between West and East beliefs. Doesn't this game encourage racism? Doesn't it strengthen the division between American society? In this post, these questions will remind open. The same situation goes for Under Siege - violence linked to political and ideological issues - not my cup of tea. Moreover, the above games are so called 'first-person shooter' ones, that were proved to have an enormous impact on human brain and the activity of those parts of the brain strictly related to aggressive behavior. And since the United States Army supports buying this game in order to teach young men how to be better soldiers, it needs to be effective. 
Despite all those aspects we need to look at this issue from another perspective. All the games that include any educational aspects, increase people's awareness about global issues. Nowadays, obviously, teenagers are used to technology and violence (due to the omnipresence of different television shows), therefore, maybe presenting various information in this incredibly immersive way is the only way to reach out to them?

The second group of videogames can be described as 'not so bad'. 'Remission' can serve here as an example. Here, young cancer patients kill cancer cells. Our group discussed that those being ill should do everything they can to take their minds off the topic - to watch some funny programs, or to try socializing with friends and family. But it is easy to say things like 'enjoy your life until you can' when being completely healthy. It was proved that this videogame helped young cancer patients to overcome the disease. And even if the examinations were not completely reliable, I truly believe that as long as those kinds of games give them a little bit of hope, they are worth playing.

The third and, at the same time, 'the best' group of videogames includes titles such as: 'Doom' and 'Postal'. Very violent positions but with no plot. Playing those games is all about releasing emotions. I could compare it to watching soap operas - you don't really see the purpose of doing it but doing it, somehow, makes you happy. 

As a group, we really have no experience of playing videogames at all. The only game all of us played when being kids is called 'Tamagotchi', which is a small egg-shaped computer that can be described as a digital pet. As players, we can see pet's needs, such as e.g. hunger or physiological needs, and we can measure its level of health or happiness. The player can care for a pet or not, but the outcome depends on player's action. I remember that this toy taught me how to be systematic and was a good prologue to having a real animal!