Logan O'Leary: Outside Reading 3

As someone who loves computers and video games, I've read a lot of studies on the impact that video games have on people and the global culture. One such study was titled "The Impact of Gaming" and looked into many factors surrounding the topic. While over 95% of people who play video games are under the age of 35, many people can agree that there has been a large increase in the amount of attention that they foster in the last decade or two. Man people unfamiliar with the subject fear that they are not good for people and that they may spur acts of outrage and violence. However almost every study on the topic shows otherwise. This study showed that about 40% of people actually  have a healthy increase in their mental state from playing video games, and almost all of the rest have little to no effect. This is a stark contrast to the opposing view which the study also reported nearly 95% of gamers find completely untrue. In fact, with the increase in internet quality it is actually becoming a sort of social event to play video games. The study also found out that 2/3 of people who played video games have made at least 5 friends through the medium. Studies also show that a significant amount (over 1/3) of people have an increase in their cognitive functions from playing video games. Finally the study reported that video games can actually be inspirational, and they reported over 1/3 of people said they have been inspired to try careers in a different field like history and art. While they are not a perfect medium (they reported cases of addiction and a few other rare negative side affects like other media such as television), it is important to note the good that they can bring. Video games are an increasingly common media that will continue to grow in popularity, and the truth that they are not all completely bad for people should be dispelled.