Technology is taking over the world in more ways than one could imagine, and while some of these new inventions are addicting and leave people weak and stripped of their intelligence, others are innovative and helpful. An example of one of those technologies that have incorporated themselves into the daily lives of millions of people around the world are video games, which fall on the helpful and innovative end of the spectrum. They are used for multiple purposes in various aspects of life such as entertainment, education, and even work in some cases. Video games are becoming a more influential part of today's technological society because of the positive effects they can have on the brain such as training the brain to learn faster and increasing its ability to focus, creating a social environment that benefits the social health of players, and causing positive emotions in those players.

The brain is an extremely complex part of the human body that is known generally as the "control center" of the body. Joseph Chisholm observes in his article "Action Video Game Players' Visual Search Advantage Extends To Biologically Relevant Stimuli" that the brain is the center of the nervous system and controls many aspects of the body such as thoughts, emotions, pain, and bodily functions (Chisholm). Because it is composed of many nerves, the brain can send impulses throughout the nervous system and basically command the processes of the body, and this is how the human body experiences pain. Monique Patenaude, in her study titled "Playing action video games can boost learning," indicates that the brain also commands the actions of the body such as telling limbs, finger, or other body parts to move, and this works much the same as the pain, except the impulses that the nerves send are different for pain than actions (Patenaude). Various parts of the brain control different sections of the mind. Video games in particular cause the parts of the brain that control memory, learning, and emotions to become more active. Video games make this part of the brain active because the players must learn how to play the game and what the controls are. This part of the brain can also affect the memory of the brain also because the more the brain is trained to learn, the easier it is to remember the skills that have been required.

Video games can train the brain to be able to learn and interpret new concepts faster than normal. Daphne Bavelier and numerous other authors indicate in their research study, titled "Action video game play facilitates the development of better perceptual templates", that the brain has to be trained to know how to learn (Bavelier). The article suggests that video games are a new way to do this training so that information can be absorbed quicker. Not only does the brain learn faster, but it can be taught how to stay more focused or to be more "tuned to the task" at hand (Bavelier). The perceptual templates in the brain can process all this new information quicker just like it is situations in the video games. The study indicates that experience in action video games enhances the templates forced to do in certain in which the brain uses to perceptually understand all the data running through it (Bavelier). These templates are basically filled with streams of the information that the brain must decode so that it can understand it, and the study shows that video games can help teach the mind how to decode them faster. This demonstrates how the games can cause growth in the mind and increase its ability to learn.

Not only can video games instruct the brain how to comprehend information, but they can teach the parts of the brain that cannot be taught in other ways. The brain is an extremely complex system of the body that has an incomprehensible number of parts working in it at all times. Michelle Trudeau reveals in "Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills" that important aspects of everyday life such as "attention, speed, accuracy, and even vision" can be improved at accelerated rates by playing certain video games made for these purposes (Trudeau). Some parts of the brain have been difficult to learn about and train in the past, but video games can be programmed to give specific tasks to those hard to train parts of the brain to make them work faster and become stronger. For example, one way that the vision of gamers can improve from the games is gaining the ability to subtle shades of gray that the normal eye can't see (Trudeau). The sensitivity of the eyes uses the contrast of the screen to see more of a variety of colors. Certain games made to train the brain can improve upon specific skills that the brain uses on a daily basis.

The skills that the brain uses everyday can be improved and sharpened by playing video games, and this can potentially change the way that the world thinks. One of these skills is reacting to stimuli, which is how fast the brain can react to things. Video games can be fast paced and throw unexpected twists at the player constantly, and repetitive playing of these games can make the brain's reaction time to those new concepts vastly improve. Another motor skill that can be sharpened by these games in the brain's ability to focus and concentrate on specific tasks. As the games start to interest the player, they start to train the brain to focus their attention to certain things, and this is a great training exercise for situations in everyday life such as work, school, or anything else. In the TEDTalk YouTube video titled "Daphne Bavelier: Your brain on video games" it is argued that video games cause the brain to multitask better due to the brain always focusing on multiple ideas and concepts at the same time in the games (TEDTalks). Once the game has taught the player to focus its attention on certain objectives or ideas, it starts to let the brain focus on multiple ideas at once therefore increasing productivity through multitasking. This can be useful to someone when they need to focus on many real world tasks that would be too much for the mind of a non-gamer to comprehend or handle. The skills that video games can improve can as a result improve aspects of everyday life.

The training of the brain through video games can have important uses to the education system and to people with dyslexia. In "Social and Emotional Benefits of Video Games: Metacognition and Relationships," Jordan Shapiro emphasizes that video games can be used to teach "critical thinking, problem solving skills, creating innovators, or nurturing perseverance" in the education system of America today through what he calls "metacognition" (Shapiro). This basically means that games can be used in schools to act as motivational intelligence boosters. The kids want to play games, so the teachers let them play games that boost the learning of what the material is trying to teach. The students can learn to solve problems in creative new ways through games, and these can be important throughout the students' futures. Another recently discovered way that video games can be useful in the world is by helping to treat people with Dyslexia. Sandro Franceschini and multiple other authors claim that video game "training will improve letter-to-speech sound mapping and, consequently, reading abilities" in dyslexic players (Franceschini). Since video games can improve the brain's attention skills, they can help the brain to focus on decoding the letters of words faster while reading. This could be a breakthrough in dyslexic treatment and can help improve the quality of education for many children who struggle daily with dyslexia.

There are some studies that have concluded that playing video games too much can slow the brain down and make it work slower, but this argument is not completely valid for multiple reasons. For example, Alice Park insists in her article "How Playing Violent Video Games May Change the Brain" that playing video games too much can cause stress on the players resulting in the slowing of the brain and a delayed reaction time (Park). First of all, it has been proven that too much of almost anything can be bad for a person's health including food, exercise, water and even video games according to claims in AsapSCIENCE's YouTube video titled "Can Video Games Make You Smarter?" (AsapSCIENCE). Video games along with all those other things can be great in smaller portions however, and Park's article fails to mention this concept. Also, video games do not allow the brain to have slower reaction times, but in fact the opposite. They can help the brain to adapt and think quicker in most situations, and there are numerous studies with data that proves that the brain thinks faster as a result of playing the games.

Social health is a vital part of the overall well-being of humans, and video games have the potential to create a healthy social environment that can keep the social interactions of gamers at healthy levels. Amanda Lenhart in her article "Teens, Technology and Friendships" explains that most video games that are available currently have some sort of chatting or communicating system, which is a newer technology that has just started to be implemented into games in the last ten years (Lenhart). Some chatting systems are strictly text based sort of like text messaging, but others incorporate microphones and headphones as a method of continuous talking communication between players during games. These methods of communication can allow players to interact with others of their choosing, whether that be random strangers or their closest friends. New people can be met and new relationships can be formed while playing the games, and as a result, the gamers will feel better and want to be more social. Social health is all about having healthy interactions with others, and communicating through games is just as healthy socially as is talking in person, and the only difference is the activity being done during the communication.

The communication methods built into video games can be used to teach and improve upon social skills, including communication and teamwork, of people that play them. Some games require multiple people to work as a team, and as a result, the mind will be prepared for other situations in the future involving that same teamwork. AsapSCIENCE's video agrees that "video games have been shown to help develop important communication skills in gamers that can last their whole lives" (AsapSCIENCE). Concepts and situations introduced in games can also help to build communication and social skills for those people that might not have the most active social lives. Working and communicating with other people are important in every aspect of life, and if video games can improve those skills, then they can help socially challenged people not only in games but in the real world as well. The brain will become healthier by communicating with others because being isolated for long periods of the time can have negative effects on social health.

Not only can video games improve communication and leadership skills, but their social aspects can cause new friendships to begin and cause existing friendships to flourish. The brain needs healthy relationships in order to maintain a stable state of mind. In her article, Amanda Lenhart believes that "Video games play a critical role in the development and maintenance of boys' friendships" (Lenhart). The communication systems in the games allow gamers to choose whether to play with random people or with known friends, and either way, relationships will be strengthened. As people play video games together, they will become more acquainted with each other and the brain will be more content with talking to them. Video games can be used to keep long distance friendships alive and well, and they can be used to talk with a friend in the same area, but the use is all dependent on the players. Lenhart argues that "All this playing, hanging out and talking while playing games leads many people to feel closer to friends" (Lenhart). When players become close to friends and bond with them through video games, they start to reach happier and more content state of mind. They make the brain feel at home with friends that are willing to spend time having the same interests as themselves.

Video games can have a profound impact on the emotions of gamers by letting them become emotionally attached, and this results in them feeling happy, excited and in admiration of different games. In her article "The Impact of Video Games," Andrea Norcia indicates that "Video games can cause a happiness in gamers that can't be found anywhere else" (Norcia). The brain desires to be happy, and that is why video games are so appealing to so many people. They allow the brain to release stress and relax, and this results in a joyful mood. The games encourage everyone that plays them to get emotional. The emotions they try to convey may not always be happy, but they always make the gamer feel excited to play them. Also, the anticipation of getting a new game and opening it for the first time can be so exciting that they can feel like a child on Christmas morning. According to Norcia's article, video games affect players emotionally "on a deeper level" than watching a movie or television (Norcia). This is important because the games can cause extreme happiness or sadness, and some would argue that this sadness is not a good thing, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing either. For example, the story could be so interesting on a game that the player gets attached to a character, but then something bad happens to him or her in the game. Because the player is emotionally attached, they could possibly become sad. But that sadness is one of admiration for the game and the story, exactly like when people cry during a movie or book. Games can cause a wide range of emotions, but this is how all forms of entertainment will affect the brain, not just video games.

Video games can also result in feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment while playing them. For instance, when video games were an important part in my life, I always wanted to finish games completely or finish all the objectives in the game because it made me feel great about myself to know that I could achieve my goals. As I completed more and more challenges in the games, I had a growing sense of pride within myself. My brain felt happy that it had achieved its given tasks. Also, the more difficult the game, the more excited I was to complete objectives. This concept is also illustrated in Mark Griffith's article "Playing video games is good for your brain" when he explains that video games "are motivating, engaging, interactive, and provide rewards and reinforcement to improve" (Griffith). The games' rewarding feelings of accomplishment encourage the players to continue playing, and as a result they keep learning and sharpening their minds. The games use emotions to motivate gamers to want to learn and focus.

Studies have been conducted that have concluded that video games can cause extreme anger and violence in players, but the studies were not conducted using a reasonable method. In his article "Video Games Don't Make Kids Violent," Christopher Ferguson argues that "research has not found that children who play video games are more violent than other kids" (Ferguson). There is research that shows that violence and anger aren't caused by the games, and some of this research by Ferguson shows that the games cause just the opposite, happiness and joy. Also, Ferguson goes on to explain that studies done on video game aggression have been performed using terrible methods (Ferguson). They only allow players in tests to play for short periods of time, not allowing the testers to fully grasp the controls, and this lack of mastery of the controls causes tension in them which the scientists took for aggression. This false data proves that the results from the tests are not valid about video games. They do not cause aggression and violence in players, but they do cause positive reactions and emotions.

Video Games, over the last decade, have become an important technology that influence the lives of many people, and they affect the brains of their players in positive ways. The brain can be trained to learn and react faster.  Also the brain would be more focused by playing certain types of games. As a result of this training, the capacity of the brain and the skills that it uses can be sharpened and focused so that the brain may become stronger. Video games can create a social environment in which gamers can make friends, strengthen relationships, and communicate with all kinds of people, and these social interactions can help to maintain the gamers' social health and keep it at healthy levels. Positive emotions are important effects of video games such as the happiness while playing or the sense of excitement and accomplishment when an in game task is completed. Video games should be considered a positive influence and should be used to make the world a better place. There are an infinite amount of ideas and ways that video games could be used, and they need to be used to their fullest potential. Every brain in the world can benefit from playing video games most likely in more than one way, and they need to be incorporated into more aspects of daily life.

