"You should play more video games"

Introduction

How many of you here are gamers? Are your siblings' gamers too? Did you know that there were 3.24 billion gamers across the world in 2021? Do you know why people still play more video games even though it seems like a waste of time and discouragement from parents and teachers? Will you say no if playing more video games can improve your lifestyle? I am quite sure, that most of us would say yes as an answer to this kind of offer.

When I was young, I played many categories of video games such as racing, fighting, shooting, and sports on various kinds of websites. By playing many video games since young and joining many video games events, I have realized that it is not a time-wasting and unnecessary activity.

Today, I am going to convince you that you should play more video games are firstly because they enhance motivation, secondly, because they improve decision-making skills, and finally, they provide mental health benefits.

(TRANSITION: I will begin my speech by persuading you with the first reason why we should play more video games.)

MAIN POINT 1: : Firstly, enhancing motivation is one of the benefits of playing more video games.

A. Educational video games could be the key to keeping us motivated.

Playing educational video games makes students like us stay attentive and focused on the subject. When we play more educational video games either competitively or collaboratively with another student, it makes learning interesting and motivates us to learn more. For example, 2048 is a maths puzzle game that can play with your classmates and those who achieve the highest score are declared as the winner of the match. Hence, the level of enjoyment and interest will be high when we play competitive and collaborative groups rather than individual gameplay. When we play educational games together in groups, we can share ideas and knowledge so that the groupmates can learn from them and make them motivated to understand the subjects better.

B. Trophies, badges, and rewards will be awarded in educational video games to us.

Gamification can act as a tool in university teaching methods to stimulate students’ engagement and motivate us to study. In Laval University, there is a reward system in educational video games that encourage behaviours such as creativity, team spirit, and attendance. When we perform well in the educational video games, they will be given some rewards and badges according to our contribution and efforts. For example, a student who goes to all the video games receives the “My body was there” trophy and a student who achieves higher grades like an A+ grade in a video game receives a “Captain America” trophy. This kind of system makes us proud and increases our motivation to learn more about the subjects to achieve higher grades than others. For instance, during my 2 nd semester, my lecturer has a Kahoot session every class and she gave gifts to those who achieve top 3 scores. By playing Kahoot games every class, we understand the subjects deeper and we felt excited to join her classes. Hence, we should start to play more educational video games with full spirit to gain your knowledge and stay motivated during the lesson.

(TRANSITION: To convince you more, let me persuade you further with my second reason.)

MAIN POINT 2: Playing various strategic video games can improve decision-making skills.

A. Video games train us to make decisions faster.

We tend to make mistakes when we are making quick decisions in life. When we play fast-paced video games like RPG, role-playing games, they will help our brains to act energetically and improve strategic thinking. Researchers from the University of Rochester have discovered that playing video games can develop their sensitivity by knowing what is going on around them. Playing various strategic video games also enhances a wide variety of general skills that can assist our everyday activities such as driving, multitasking, and navigating around the city. From the journal Current Biology states that playing video games can provide a powerful training regimen for boosting up reactions in many real-life situations. Video games players’ brains have more well-organized visual and auditory information collectors. Video games players make decisions much faster than non-video games players. For example, when I play the Clash Royale game, I need to use my hero cards faster in a limited set of time which makes me think strategically to win against my opponent. Hence, when we play more video games can solve problem-solving questions even faster and can get better grades in exams. So, click on your Play Store or Appstore, select the strategy game category and start to download your favourite game to improve your decision-making skills.

(TRANSITION: Now, I will persuade you my third reason to make you realize that playing more video games are beneficial.)

MAIN POINT 3: Playing more video games can provide mental health benefits.

A. Playing more video games can help us to reduce stress.

Nowadays, we have many assignments, quizzes, and tests which lead us to a stressful life. When we play video games after a long, hard day’s work, we will feel relaxed. It is because video games induce pleasure in our brains that make us happy when playing them. During that process, the neurotransmitter called dopamine is released into the nucleus accumbent, the brain’s pleasure centre. When dopamine is released into our bodies, we feel wonderful and ecstatic. For instance, when I play my favourite game such as Valorant, shooting game after finishing all my assignments during the weekend, I felt loosened up and it help me to focus on upcoming assignments. Thus, video games provide pleasure and enjoyment which helps us to cope with the stresses of the day.

B. Mental disorders can be prevented by playing more video games.

Traditional mental health treatments are more expensive and difficult to acquire but playing more video games may help more individuals get the support they need. Video games have the potential to be utilized as a therapeutic diversion to assist regulate moods and minimize rumination. We can reduce our loneliness when we interact with other players in online video games. Researchers also stated that playing more video games can help to treat symptoms of anxiety. For example, students with anxiety who played the “Plants vs Zombies” video game four times a week for at least half an hour had better mental health results than those who took medicine to cure. Hence, as a student, we should play more video games when we have mental health issues like depression and anxiety to cure them.

(TRANSITION: I strongly believe that I have convinced you to play more video games. Now let me conclude.)

CONCLUSION:

Summary Statement:

I have given three solid reasons for you to play more video games. Let me recall them back that, firstly because they enhance motivation, secondly, because they improve decision-making skills, and finally, they provide mental health benefits.

Concluding Remarks:

We live in a world that is full of judgments and preconceptions. People always say playing video games is a waste of time without searching for information from reliable sources. As a student, we cannot always study and do assignments all the time. We also need a break and spend our free time doing the things that we love to do. Moreover, with all these main points, and research from the U.S Department of Defence, I can strongly state that students who play more video games are smarter than those who are the opposite of it.

Call for Action:

You don’t have to go overboard in playing more video games. As a student, we should also prioritize our studies first and fill our leisure time by playing more video games. Parents should also encourage students to play more video games for a limited time to balance their studies. Lastly, playing more video games can be a part of our life to make our life one step ahead without engaging with some unhealthy activities such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking drugs. So, what are you waiting for, go to your Play Store or Microsoft store, download your favourite game, and start playing it. Thank you.