IN THE ENGLISH LESSON
Video Games
There isn’ t a single teenager reading this who hasn’ t heard of video games. In fact, some of our most memorable childhood experiences came from one. Whether it is a late night spent chatting with friends while battling each other online that comes to mind upon hearing this, or sitting by yourself, customising your character to your liking, video games have, in one way or another, at some point been the source of our joy. So, what is it about them that is so appealing?
Let’ s begin by setting some facts straight. In recent years there has been an everincreasing concern over the implications of exposure to video games primarily among children, albeit adults aren’ t excluded from the“ victims”. Games online have shown to be highly addictive, and that addictive nature may lead to mental issues such as manic overspending, constant dependence, social isolation, etc., as well as physical ones, such as eye strain and general unfitness due to their sedentary nature. We should all be wary of the problematic side of video games; should you notice gaming taking over significant parts of your life, drawing a line is necessary.
With that aside, we can now proceed. There’ s a plethora of factors that deem video games such a dominant pastime among the youth, with the majority of them being purely psychological.
Examining the characteristics of the games that have gained immense popularity over the years, the same pattern appears all throughout: action, cooperation, storytelling, fiction. That last one I want to focus on. Few games, games that have dominated the ranks at least, are based on reality, which is one of the sources of their attractiveness. Student life tends to be rather plain, rather repetitive. To put it simply, it lacks that“ spark”, that excitement of a more adventurous lifestyle. Through video games, not only are the creators themselves able to express their vivid imaginations, but what stems from it also appeals to this exact boredom of a mundane daily routine students are subjected to and desperately searching for an escape from. So not only is it totally reasonable for teens to show a leaning towards video games, it is also something to be totally expected.
All this sounds exciting in theory, but for the average player, in practice it doesn’ t take long before playing solo loses its magic. Because of this, there has always been a need for team-games and now, more than ever, everyone with access to the internet is able to connect online and find themselves among thousand others from all over the globe: People with similar interests and personalities being drawn to the same game. Naturally, this means that video games aren’ t just a simple
IN THE ENGLISH LESSON
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