Video games give gamers a sense of self, allowing them to reach outside of who they are, and empower them to tackle real-world problems. According to Jane McGonigal in her article “Be A Gamer, Save the World,” video games help fulfill human needs that society fails to entertain. Typically, gamers are typecast as escapist-an individual who tries to escape away from reality-but the reality is playing video games has helped players become the best versions of themselves. Throughout the article McGonigal provides information and research pertaining to the increasing number of people playing video games and why they can help increase the quality of life, and how they provide a genuine need that the real world does not but she fails to provide any …show more content…
Although players are not spending all of their free time playing video games, they have been devoting an increasing amount of time to playing them. To a gamer, the real world begins to feel like something is missing. It doesn’t offer a designed pleasure and thrilling challenges, or that powerful social connection that a gamer seeks in a virtual environment. Gamers are not just wrapped up in the video game world; they also have careers, attend school, and have families they care about. While playing a good game, gamers feel and see the impact that their efforts create, almost giving them a purposeful goal. Loving something so much that it gives you the empowerment to go out into the real world and try to make it happen, can give people a sense of hope for a better future. Through McGonigal’s personal research, at the University of California, Berkeley, it has been shown that video games provide some main ingredients for a happy meaningful life by offering the hope of success with strong social connection and a satisfying work environment, with a chance of becoming a part of something bigger. According to an article written by Drea Christopher titled “The negative effect of video game addition”, gamers who spend endless amounts of time gaming may cause relationships with friends and family to suffer. Gamers as tend to argue more about the …show more content…
Extreme gamers spend about 45 hours per week, while a typical gamer may play for about one to two hours per day. While the time gamers are spending online is increasing, they are beginning to question if the real world can offer those thrilling challenges that they get in their virtual reality, and if reality is effectively motivating them to be a better person and do better in their lives. While playing a game, many gamers feel blissfully productive. Furthermore, while playing a game that requires a certain skill, a gamer may be more likely to want to try that skill in real life. Gamers may not always be winning in a video game, but they continue to make an attempt until they get better. Thus, video games are creating a resilience in gamers that then transfers into the real world. For example, according to the evidence provided by McGonigal, “In 2010, more than 57,000 gamers were listed as co-authors for a research paper in the prestigious scientific journal Nature. The gamers, with no previous background in biochemistry, had worked in a 3D game environment called Foldit, folding virtual proteins in new ways that could help cure cancer or prevent Alzheimer’s” (paragraph 13). She further explains that scientists at the University of Washington, who developed this game, assumed gamers could outsmart supercomputers using creative