Do Video Games Promote Cognitive Development? It needs to be at least 1500 words. Essentially, researchers have concluded that exposure to the aggressive content in video games “produces similar results” (Weiten 2008, 263). Stephen Johnson (2006) argues however, that video games by their very nature have the capacity to engage motor skills, memory skills, and a whole array of skills that function to promote cognitive development (19). It, therefore, follows that in the debate over the utility of video games it is entirely unfair to subscribe to the argument that video games are entirely bad for our youth.
The fact is, video games can be good for everyone, particularly the young child.It is essentially argued that the very thing that attracts individuals to video games produces ill effects. As the argument goes, video games are particularly appealing because it creates an isolated culture of simulations where images create microworld permitting the individual to create and engage in an artificial existence (Provenzo 1991, 83). Not only can this create an altered state of mind which might to similar conduct, but it also functions to promote social occlusion (Sheff 1994, 25).
On the other side of the debate, it is argued that video games promote cognitive development because it engages and develops a wide range of skills including, the ability to solve problems, recognition of patterns, hypothesis testing, skills relative to estimation, and many others (Sheff 1994, 33).One of the biggest concerns about video games is the amount of time that children spend playing these games. It is estimated that 64 percent of children in the US spend at least two hours a day playing video games (Sheff 1994, 3). Time spent playing video games means time spent away from social interaction with others, an important part of child development. The repetitive nature of the video game also has the capacity to influence the way that children develop both physically and emotionally.