https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jom8qEl9WHo

When I first thought of this topic I was against video games and thought they made children aggressive and were not beneficial but after doing more research I saw a different side. I was influenced by all the research done and was convinced that in fact video games were beneficial to young children. In the research I found that video games can help children with cognitive learning, behavioral development and social skills. All factors that will help a person succeed in life. It was very interesting to learn and see first hand that video games are helping today’s generation.

The purpose of my research topic is to bring this awareness to others. Most often video games are viewed as bad and harmful to our children but in fact its the opposite. When I first did some research every article was how video games were causing children to be more aggressive and lack everyday skills but after doing more in depth I finally found some research that said opposite. There has only been little research and studies on the positives of video games but in those short list of studies I was convinced that video games are helpful and decided to change my thesis.

It is predicted that video games can help improve and manage a child’s cognitive learning, behavioral development and social skills. These three processes all benefit from the use of video games. I am eager to learn more and do more research as I write this paper. My hope is to bring more awareness to the positives and hope people who were once against them change their minds and encourage others. I hope that parents in particular encourage and allow their children to play video games that will one day help them in the long run and for schools so see the benefits and keep in mind the ways they can help their students and therefore consider bringing video games into the classroom

While working on the introduction and bibliography for my project I have learned a lot and found myself questioning the topic I have chosen. Most articles I read have talked about the detrimental factor of playing video games. This made me ask myself is age a main factor when it comes to attention span or is the type of game being played the major factor. I believe the main factor is the game being played. When you are little, you will have trouble focusing, because little kids tend to get distracted easily. The type of game being played is the main factor I believe. I believe the game is the cause for attention deficiency. Some games takes more time and effort before you reach victory status. Some games may also contain hidden secrets or hints. Two questions I came up with is, does it depend on a certain age whether a kid suffers from a shorter attention span? Does attention span deficiency depend on the game being played?

In terms of replication, some kids would be playing video games, while another group of kids would be without video games. In the end you can test whether or not a child grade went down academically or went up. You can also test to see how long a child can pay attention for before they get distracted. My study can help, because it can give a little insight as to whether age is the problem or the games being played is the problem. This study can also help parents be aware of the situation and take charge. Parents can put limits of how much video game time their child gets. They can help their kids by putting a restriction on the type of games their child should play as well.

Thesis

For my research project, the process that I will be studying is the behavioral process. Specifically, the study will be focused on college students that use alcohol and other recreational drugs and the effects of it. This study is socially relevant and is also an interest to me because I am a college student and many of my piers turn to recreational drugs as a stress reliever. Many students end up becoming addicted and going down the wrong path. It is predicted that a stressor is the trigger of the recreational drug use among college students. Understanding why it happens can be used as a tool to help the students manage their stress in a non life threatening way.

The cognitive process I’m focusing on is the ability of how different individuals perceive information towards the same topics and how that relates towards logical thinking. The primary process I’m studying is how logical thinking could improve through a series of games that would consist of different areas of study. However, the difference in this game would be one group would be assigned a series of only educational material (e.g. math problems, English, Science, etc.) and the other game would be manipulated by it consisting of both educational material and real world issues e.g. (current world issues, relationship problems, every-day problems that we go through.) The group that will be focusing on both educational and non-educational material will be manipulated to investigate patterns of behaviors and responses to certain questions by their solutions to problems that would be presented to them.

Attention cognition is a type of cognitive process in which a selection is made for external (the 5 senses) or internal (thoughts) measures that need to be retained at a specific level of awareness. My study is socially relevant because around this age, many teenagers pay attention to the wrong things. Most people pay attention to their phones, drugs, and not the main priorities like school and family. Being aware of what is and isn’t important is critical for not only your sake but for your loved ones as well. Sometimes teenagers are brought up a certain way and act against their upbringing because of what catches their eye. Most time teenagers face certain obstacles like ADHD, in which attention is a daily struggle and reminder of how difficult it is to be aware of their surroundings. The unsolved problem my study will address is that why how can we as young mature adolescents figure out a way to stop ADHD.  This project interests me because I have a very close friend who has ADHD and though it is a struggle for him to remember or pay attention to a person talking or him or his phone ringing, he finds it in his mind to figure out what he should do. If I ask him a question, he would answer, yet sometimes the question would be unanswered purely to the fact that he would overlook the fact he was asked a question.

Thesis: ADHD can negatively affect school work and extracurricular activities when treated with prescribed medication.