Mitchell Post

Professor Morean

ENG 1101

5 November 2019

Annotated Bibliography

In my essay, I will be weighing the advantages and disadvantages of video games, and if

there needs to be a limit put on them. Many people think that video games come with no

benefits, and playing them will just rot your brain away. Recently, China just put a ninety-minute

time limit on video games into place for kids under eighteen and it is possible the United States

could put something similar into effect in the future. I will be looking at the social aspects of

gaming, how it is affecting people physically, and what kind of behavior it promotes in kids and

young adults.

Fox, James. “Video Games Are Bad For You.” The Signal, georgiastatesignal.com, 24 May

2018,

https://georgiastatesignal.com/video-games-are-bad-for-you/.

This article by James Fox talks about gaming disorder and how people can get addicted to video

games. He talks about how playing video games makes your body release dopamine and this

chemical is the same one that is released when people do cocaine. The World Health

Organization officially made gaming disorder a real condition and define it as putting gaming as

the top priority over everything in life. He also says that a report from the APA states there is a

relation between video game use and increase in aggression because the frontal lobe gets
deactivated after playing video games. This article will be useful because it shows the mental

disadvantages of video games with science.

Granic, Isabella. “Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review

Finds” American Psychological Association, apa.org, 25 November 2013,

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games.

This article by Isabella Granic talks about how video games are beneficial as they help develop

life skills. For instance, shooter games promote spatial awareness which can help in a field of

engineering or math. There are also strategic and role-playing video games that build up

problem-solving skills which is critical in becoming a better person. She says that more than

seventy percent of gamers play with a friend and multiplayer games have social communities

where people can easily meet each other. This article will be useful because it lays out mental

and social advantages to playing video games.

Halbrook, Yemaya J., et al. “When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the

Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being.” Perspectives on Psychological Science,

vol. 14, no. 6, Nov. 2019, pp. 1096–1104. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1745691619863807.

This abstract says that the effects of gaming on well-being are moderated by other variables.

They say that the inclusion of social activity in games can promote prosocial behaviors. They

also say that the relationship between violent video games and aggression depend greatly on the

individual outside of game play, so it cannot be said that one causes another. This will be useful
to me because it provides a unique perspective, showing that the effects of video games depends

on the person and certain attributes like aggression cannot be solely blamed on video games.

Hern, Alex. “Video games are unlocking child gambling. This has to be reined in.” The

Guardian, theguardian.com, 28 December 2017,

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/28/video-games-unlock-child-ga

Mbling-loot-box-addiction

This article by Alex Hern talks about microtransactions and loot boxes in gaming and how it

affects children. Developers can argue about the meaning of “gambling” but to a child,

microtransactions are the same as gambling and can promote the same behaviors as gambling

would. Introducing the idea of gambling to children at such a young age can hurt them in the

long run. These companies are manipulating kids that have no concept of currency into begging

their parents to give them money for a cool new skin or in some cases even taking their parents’

credit cards. This will be useful to me because it shows how games can promote an unhealthy

behavior in kids at an early age.

Tras, Zeliha. “Internet Addiction and Loneliness as Predictors of Internet Gaming Disorder in

Adolescents.” Educational Research and Reviews, vol. 14, no. 13, July 2019, pp. 4

65–473. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1222950&site=eds-live.
This abstract by Zeliha Tras talks about the relationship of teenagers’ internet gaming disorder

with their levels of internet addiction and loneliness. It shows that internet addiction and

loneliness predict gaming disorder. The variables are related to each other and feed off of each

other and this cycle that teenagers go through is horrible for their mental health. Mental health

for teenagers is at an all time low right now and gaming does not help. This will be useful to me

because it shows that gaming can promote loneliness and internet addiction.