Executive Summary
What are the positive effects of video games on adolescents, and some ways of realizing these effects? Today, video games exist in various forms and have become a typical resource for pastime activities. While video games provide a positive approach to spending leisure time, there are multiple concerns researchers have raised about their use. However, the issue is that there is no simple strategy for controlling video game-related issues, such as by banning them. People should realize that digitized games are an advanced form of traditional games such as hide and seek. The world is increasingly moving into digital solutions, and video games are part of this process (Groves & Anderson, 2016) . The statistics behind the number of gamers also increase daily. The research hypothesis, therefore, takes up a unique perspective. Instead of focusing solely on the negatives of such games, researchers should also look at their benefits. These games evolve rapidly, and people should expect more functions and developments in this field. It is the role of responsible parties such as the state, video game makers, academic facilities and more, to find helpful strategies for creating video games. Doing this will help reduce and map out the ways games can be both beneficial and disadvantageous to society. The research method will involve surveys on adolescents who engage in regular gaming. The researchers will classify them based on demographic factors.
Introduction
Video games are part of the immense technological evolution occurring globally. While many people associate video games with adverse effects, research shows that such a resource can have positive benefits. The use of video games among adolescents is particularly concerning to the modern-day community for various reasons (Prot et al., 2021) . First, it is the age stage where individuals develop an identity and habits they will probably carry across life. Second, it is the age stage when adolescents are likely to become prone to various forms of antisocial behaviour. However, as research shows, video games have more benefits to an adolescent's life than would expect. The purpose of this study is to identify these positive effects of video games. The significance of the study is to highlight there is a better approach required to the use of such technologies among teenagers. The issues include the lack of adequate research on the topic and the lack of initiative from gaming companies to improve the industry in general. The hypothesis for this study is that video games can have positive effects of video games when used correctly.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Problem Statement
The problem statement involves the development of video games as a pastime activity. The video game has developed into a multibillion industry, with millions of adolescents taking it up as their hobby. The problem with video games relates to their addictive and deviant side effects. However, while people's general perspective over video games, there is another positive side to consider. Video games often involve concept settings, context, and situations that can help boost adolescents' cognitive performance (Vuorre et al., 2021) . These benefits can become much better when video game makers and researchers work together to create improvements.
Literature Review
There are many varying perspectives relating to the use and presence of video games today. A good example would be in the von der Heiden et al., (2019) report that video gaming is a unique leisure activity. Over two billion individuals globally subscribe to it as a pastime activity. However, parties such as the media and academic facilities have only been quick to focus on its adverse effects. The researchers in this study focused on identifying the relationship between video gaming cognitive functions. The study involved using questionnaires as a data collection method and sending it out to over 2,700 individuals. The researchers showed a negative relationship between problematic gaming and various cognitive functions. These include affectivity, coping, and self-esteem issues. While the researchers in this study showed the positive benefits of video gaming, they also showed that more research is needed to realize its advantages. The findings are relevant to the thesis of the study that shows using video games requires an informed approach. The problematic and addictive gaming tendencies have adverse effects. Therefore, researchers have to find new strategies and techniques for making video games beneficial. The researchers also did well to show that the average number of gaming hours increased from 5 to 6.6 hours each week in 2017. The known benefit of video gaming, according to this research, is to improve focus and working memory. However, they also cited the possible adverse effects, including making gamers prone to various issues. These include poor career attainment, truancy, social problems, and similar problems. The researchers also point out an important fact. Video games are evolving and becoming an essential part of the modern world. Instead of fighting against its presence, people should focus on better ways of making it part of society. The current study focuses on providing gaming knowledge on its benefits and cognitive functions. Problematic video gaming can lead to various academic issues, and it is good to also focus on these issues.
In this publication by Apa.org (2021) , we realize that video games are becoming a popular pastime activity. The research shows that up to 90% of adolescents have played video games for at least an hour each day. Most studies have focused on the negative aspects of video games, such as violence, depression, and addiction. The value of this research is to identify a more balanced approach required to the studies relating to video games. The statement is similar to the hypothesis of this study which focuses on the positives and ways of using video games better.
The researchers in this publication have also called out an important point relevant to this study. Video games have evolved significantly over the past ten years. The games are becoming diverse, realistic, and complex, so researchers have to focus on these factors when carrying out research. The occurrence of more publications documenting the benefits of video games is an indicator of the benefits they could have. Part of the research on the positive effects of video games should focus on the cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social aspects. The researchers will also have to consider social, positive, and developmental psychology factors. The availability of evidence and theoretical insight will be the basis of further research on the positive benefits of video games on an essential portion of future generations. Video games have a long and rich history that any researcher must consider. The games share various similarities with the traditional games, only that the former versions are digital. Both types of games are voluntary and often include multiple contexts that help adolescents develop psychologically. It usually involves pretend situations where users have to engage in specific gaming activities. The games provide a unique social approach to interact more than most researchers previously expected.
A good example is that gamers nowadays can play online with family, friends, and various individuals across varying locations. Games also allow individuals from different cultures, backgrounds, and socioeconomic backgrounds to interact. People's tremendous amount of time into digitized games offers more interactivity than traditional games. The gaps that exist in these benefits of video games require in-depth conceptualization. Researchers today should focus on the benefits these games can provide for such individuals' mental health and well-being. The psychological reward and punishment concept will be helpful in video game research (Lorenz et al., 2015). The researchers also point out an important concept: video game brands have failed to develop games with this perspective in mind. The statement aligns with the thesis of this statement which focuses on the positive effects of video games and the importance of using better research methods.
Özçetin et al., (2019) also comes another unique perspective on the effects of video games on adolescents in young adults. According to Özçetin et al., (2019 , video games have become immensely popular among these groups of people. Thus, the researchers of this study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of video games on cognitive functions. The cross-sectional research evaluated specific effects on memory, attention, and executive functions and evaluated video games' cognitive benefits. The study focused on attention, memory, and various executive mental functions. The research involved a total of 46 adolescents who engaged in video gaming for at least 1 hour each day. The other requirement was that each participant provides demographic data, medical information, and preferred game types. The result was that there was no considerable variation in each group based on their specific demographics. The outcome also showed that the visual memory performance of some individuals was much better than those of their peers. The researchers' unique perspective was that there is more research required on the specific effects of video games.
Benefits of the Study
There are various benefits of orchestrating this study. The first would be that the study will help underscore the significant benefits of video games on one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Adolescents are prone to various adverse life decisions and habits. Furthermore, the study also aims to focus on this specific age group to help boost the accuracy and conciseness of the results it can provide. The second benefit of the study is that the study will also focus on outlining a few helpful strategies in making video games beneficial. Video games have a huge potential and entities such as video game makers have to participate in creating helpful solutions (Lobel et al., 2017). There is a severe lack of concise information on video games' benefits for adolescents. The lack of information is also one of the main reasons most people have a limited view of the benefits of video games. The term "limited" is vital in this context for various reasons. It shows that most people video games as bad things, and there is more required to make the games beneficial. Traditional video game studies have to stop focusing only on the negative impacts of video games. The third benefit of the study is that it will help in mapping out any serious issues that are likely to occur in the video game industry in general. Video game makers and health experts have failed to come to a clear conclusion about the known effects of video games.
Research Design
The research will involve a few essential phrases. The first phase will be the sampling design, where the researchers will focus on the ideal sampling methods for the researchers to use. The simple sampling method will apply best for this study. The reason is that it allows the researchers to choose a subset of participants from a large group. The participants will include anyone adolescent who engaged in regular video-gaming activities. The recommended age group for these individuals is between 18 to 40 years. The data collection design will involve questionnaires and observation methods. The total number of participants in the study will be about 200 adolescent people. Adolescents have unique social preferences and development issues which researchers have to consider (Hastings et al., 2009). Each will behave varying demographic characteristics to help improve the accuracy and outcomes the study can provide. The questionnaires will involve specialized questions that focus on the specific tendencies of the video gamers. The observation will include seeking insight into various behavioural aspects of the adolescents. These can consist of accessing records such as academics and insight from the participants' peers. Through this approach, the researchers will have a better view of the behaviours or lifestyle tendencies that one might pick up due to gaming. The instruments for the study include questionnaires and surveys, which shall involve customized questions.
The questionnaires will primarily be available through online survey platforms because they are convenient. The following instrument the researchers will require is data aggregation software such as STATA. The software offers a convenient way for researchers to organize and disseminate large data amounts. The procedure will involve acquiring the participants first. Next, the researcher will give out a consent form for each study participant. The research form will identify the specific ways the researchers hope to use the information each participant shares from the study. The study will also have various ethical requirements. A good example would be that the researchers have to respect the stipulations in the study contract. They will also have to research professionally and legitimately. Issues such as negligence or the mishandling of the data acquired in the research are not acceptable.
Nature and Form of Results
The nature of the result will involve many different formats. The result will be in different data formats because the researchers will be acquiring various data forms. The process will also involve varying instruments, which will impact the study results' nature. The responses the applicants provide will go into specific categories of responses. The researchers will have to categorize the results because each participant likely has varying insights to offer. The researcher will also have to format the data based on specific demographic and socioeconomic factors. Demographic factors are crucial when conducting studies that involve a specific age group of people (Blumberg et al., 2019).
Doing this will make it easy for the study participants to map out the positive impacts of video games on each significant group involved in the study. The use of STATA software will also help bring out helpful patterns and trends relating to the nature of the study. The software will produce data in the excel sheet format, with specialized graphs and correlated data. The researchers might have to process the data, so it is easy for the average user to process or consume. The study also involves different types of data, including various behaviours, gaming preferences, and types of games. Analysing the data will include categorizing the results into these different categories, so it is easy for each individual to process. The result will also include the recommendations that parties such as parents, academic facilities and society for handling the issue of video gaming. Entities such as the state and the government will also have to get active in this process.
Budget
Various costs will be involved in the study. The first cost will be the purchase of the STATA software. The software is available on a subscription basis, and the researchers will have to place an order for a quotation. The other cost will be the use of online surveys services. Online surveys are best because they are easy to share and such companies have experience in handling such experiments. It will also help reduce the burden researchers have in working on the project. Survey services also provide quotation-based services, which will also relate to the nature of the study. The data below highlights the expected costs of these practical tools and other requirements for the study:
STATA Software - $100.
Survey services - $50.
Researchers - $200
Internet connectivity - $100
Data presentation solutions - $100
Schedule
The study will also involve a unique schedule with different phases. The first phase will be the sampling of participants of the study. The researchers will choose the participants based on various demographic factors. The sampling process will take an average of one day. The milestones include sampling the total number of people required for the study. The primary deliverable will be that the researcher will have a concise database of all the relevant study participants. The next step will be to create specialized questions to help bring out the helpful information from the participants. The questions will require thorough research from previous similar studies and the researchers' insights to produce. The timeline for this process will be on the second day of the study. The milestones will include developing the questions and sending them out to the online survey platforms. The final step is to start the research and acquire data from all the relevant parties. The milestone will be to complete this process in one day, and the deliverables should include data responses from the appropriate parties.
Ethical considerations
Ethical considerations are an essential aspect of conducting any successful research study. The considerations help ensure researchers can perform studies based on recommended guidelines and in a professional manner. The first ethical consideration will be for the researchers to assign consent forms to the study participants. The research forms will ensure that each individual realizes the scope of the study and the way the researchers plan to use the data. Doing this is vital in stopping issues such as lawsuits from people who were unaware of the study's scope. The researchers will also have to consider privacy policy measures when conducting this study. Some participants are sensitive about their data, and researchers will have to curate a coherent policy to support such a privilege. The policy should also reach the participants and the individuals involved in orchestrating the study. The participant's rights also include being given full access to the researchers' results from the survey. Doing this is part of the professionalism that the researchers will have to demonstrate to the study participants.
Implications and Considerations
There are various implications and considerations the researchers should consider for this study. The consequences of the study include that it will help to map out the possible benefits that video games can have to society. Most people and researchers have a limited view of the benefits of video games. The research will help add the growing body of knowledge that tries to map out the benefits video games can have to adolescents who are part of the incoming generations. The other implication of the research is that it will help create better measures for realizing the positive benefits of video games to society. The information will come from the possible benefits researchers learn about adolescents who engage in video games.
The considerations are also unique for this study. A good example would be that the study participants have different demographic factors. These include age, gender, sex, location, and socioeconomic factor. The researchers will have to realize this view and address it accordingly. The other consideration would be that some participants prefer their information to be private.
References
Apa.org. (2021). Apa.org. Retrieved 3 December 2021, from https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf.
Blumberg, F., Deater‐Deckard, K., Calvert, S., Flynn, R., Green, C., Arnold, D., & Brooks, P. (2019). Digital Games as a Context for Children's Cognitive Development: Research Recommendations and Policy Considerations. Social Policy Report , 32 (1), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/sop2.3
Groves, C., & Anderson, C. (2016). Negative Effects of Video Game Play. Handbook Of Digital Games And Entertainment Technologies , 1297-1322. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-50-4_13
Hastings, E., Karas, T., Winsler, A., Way, E., Madigan, A., & Tyler, S. (2009). Young Children's Video/Computer Game Use: Relations with School Performance and Behavior. Issues In Mental Health Nursing , 30 (10), 638-649. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840903050414
Lobel, A., Engels, R., Stone, L., Burk, W., & Granic, I. (2017). Video Gaming and Children’s Psychosocial Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Study. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence , 46 (4), 884-897. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0646-z
Lorenz, R., Gleich, T., Gallinat, J., & Kühn, S. (2015). Video game training and the reward system. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience , 9 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00040
Özçetin, M., Gümüştaş, F., Çağ, Y., Gökbay, İ., & Özmel, A. (2019). The Relationships between Video Game Experience and Cognitive Abilities in Adolescents. Neuropsychiatric Disease And Treatment , Volume 15 , 1171-1180. https://doi.org/10.2147/ndt.s206271
Prot, S., McDonald, K., Anderson, C., & Gentile, D. (2021). Video Games:: Good, Bad, or Other? . Retrieved 3 December 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003139551200017X?via%3Dihub.
von der Heiden, J., Braun, B., Müller, K., & Egloff, B. (2019). The Association Between Video Gaming and Psychological Functioning. Frontiers In Psychology , 10 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01731
Vuorre, M., Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. (2021). There Is No Evidence That Associations Between Adolescents’ Digital Technology Engagement and Mental Health Problems Have Increased. Clinical Psychological Science , 9 (5), 823-835. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702621994549
