Technology Case
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Technological advancements during the last three decades have strongly influenced health in all aspects. Health can be defined as a state of complete physical, mental, emotional and social well being that is achieved by utilizing the resources available to the man. The effects of technology on health are inevitable and could be estimated by evaluating the use of various communication and entertainment mediums and gadgets, which have been invented for human ease. While on the one-hand it can be argued that video games, television and Internet have had various positive effects on health, these technological constructs have also had harmful impacts. This essay will discuss both in turn the good and the bad effects on health through the use of video games, Internet and TV.
The benefits of video games were shown in some randomized studies. (Freitas and Griffiths, 2007) in their work have thoroughly highlighted the military uses of video games. Video games are used in the military arena for emotional regulation and training. For example, a game called Full Spectrum Command is used to enhance the leadership and decision-making skills of the personnel. Also, video games have been shown to improve electronic communication skills.
Furthermore, a new and commendable innovation in video games lies in how the exergames work. Exergames, as the name suggests, amalgamate physical movement with sensory activities and instructions. These games have somehow refuted the long held belief that games make the youth sedentary. Exergames can make the users dance and even practice yoga. These games are the latest way for the inactive children to improve health and fitness (Yang, Smith & Graham, 2008).
Plus, a unique mental health merit of video games can also be traced through simulations. Video games act as simulations mimicking real life situations. They can train the players in developing their critical thinking skills in a certain situation. Thus, they can empower a person by teaching him how to deal with social problems; players can be facilitated to analyze, contest and revise these real life copies to infer cues for critical thinking (Frasca, 2001).
Despite these positive effects, there is also a darker side to impact of video games. For example, (Bandura et al, 2007) have highlighted the adverse effects video games have on the young blossoming minds. The impact of aggression is especially inevitable on antisocial children or adolescents who use video games excessively. They have also tried to find out whether aggression is actually caused by excessive gaming or merely triggered by it. Research highlights other variables that play an important part in the correlation of games and aggression i.e. gender. Boys are relatively on a higher risk to get adversely influenced by games (Bandura et al (ibid). These findings are important for policy makers, educators and even psychologists to find out if it is the content of the game or the medium itself (Ferguson, 2010). A following two-year longitudinal study found that excessive exposure to video games can leave the adolescents and children victimized by depression, social phobias, anxiety and weak academic performance (Gentile et al, 2011). (Anand, 2007) further authenticates these findings from his research on video games and time management. By gauging SAT scores and GPA scores, he found that playing video games could have a deteriorating effect on students academic performance (ibid).
Internet:
The internet has become a necessity for many in this day and age. The aged people can survive without it but the youth certainly will find it hard to imagine a life without a Wi-Fi or any network connection. The World Wide Web has brought quite a few advantages and disadvantages in human health and health care systems.