Wake up tired, go to school, go home after school to play video games, and sleep.  Those who plays video games daily in this generation, games like Super Mario Bros, GTA, Call of Duty, Pokemon, or Super Smash Bros are no strangers to these gamers.  When playing a video games, chances are satisfaction will more likely come out of it.  Now what if it were to combine with academics?  Does staring at bright lights while mashing on a bunch of buttons actually help in education?

 What are video games really?  Video games are played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen.  Over the years, video games had a bad reputation for rotting our brains or distraction.  Now video games seems way beyond that concern.  According to an article, there are ways video games help kids in school.

 “Over time after playing with my friends, I met other people and I made friends with them,” said senior Alex Nguyen.  “So we get along and it’s like a really big friend group” said Nguyen.  Nguyen plays video games 2 days a week up to three hours.  In a research, 70% gamers play with their friends who are in the same room and only 20% play alone.  Playing video games is a highly-social activity.

 For games like Call of Duty or League of Legends, it’s those kinds of games that applies teamwork.  These games will put teamwork skills to the test making communication and impersonal skills the way to progress.  Behaviors like this are critical for a healthy social development.  Children with positive social skills are more likely to have good peer relationships, achieve in school, successful careers and marriage.

 “Video games are fun in general depending what kind of game it is” said senior Erik Zhang.  Zhang would spend 10 to 12 hours playing video games.  Video games can be suited for individualized learning.  It allows kids to learn at their own pace.  When solving problems, the game would make challenges difficult if correct and if kids struggle, the game adjusts the difficulty or present the same idea in a different explanation until the student gets it and figures it out.

 “Video games help in education because it helps you think of strategies, puzzles, and other stuff” said senior Michael Zheng.  Before, Zheng said that he used to play video games 7 hours a week.  Games help improve critical thinking skills and reading comprehension.  In history classes, students learn about a famous person or famous events in history and have to read about them in a book.  If you played Assassin’s creed 2, you probably knew who was Leonardo da Vinci during gameplay.  Video games allow you to put themselves in another character as they experience the place or culture they learned about in class virtually.

 “Video games to me is a way of just relaxing and just kicking back with your friends and just doing something that we all have in common” said Nguyen.  Playing video games can give a positive effect.  It gives you time to relax and benefits you mentally and physically.  Referring to the article, it reduces chances of getting heart problems and stroke, boosts memory, buffers against depression, helps make decision making, suppressing urges to stress-eat, and reducing acne.