Play imitates work, so to speak. Video games of the '70s prepared users for the eye-hand coordination dexterity emerging technology jobs demanded. For example, remote operated machines, robotic programming, unmanned drone operation, computer data entry.
Worth noting pinball and analog arcade games served a similar role beforehand, though involving more whole-body physical activity, as work of the time demanded, than arcade video games and technology jobs do. Computer-based video games involved less physical activity yet. Wii and similar video game technologies restored physical activity proportions to as much, if not more, as pinball game levels.
Video games also allow for vicarious life skills trial and error heuristics without the consquences of fatal errors, though with modest rewards commensurate to the make-believe nature of play.
Areas where video game play benefits offset compulsion-obsession addiction issues:
- Play imitating work skills development
- Physical-mental dexterity coordination skills devlopment
- Physical activity proportioned to mental activity
- Safe life skills practice
- Social networking and collaborative social skills development through multiplayer participation
Here's a basic argumentation composition template:
- Claim--thesis statement
- Significant reasons for the claim (i.e., video game play builds work and life skills)
- Supporting arguments (the five evidences given above or others)
- Anticipate objections to the claim, opposing arguments; e.g.;
- Video games foster antisocial and violent behaviors
- Seduce impressionable minds into believing harmful fantasies
- Addictively consume time more healthily spent engaged in productive activities
- Socially isolates gamers from mainstream normative society, etc.
- Rebut objections, opposing against opposing argumentation; that is, for example, video games are like handguns. Guns don't harm people; people do.
- Conclusive conclusion: restate the original claim as confirmed, proven based on the supporting arguments' merits, or disproven based on the objection arguments outweighing the claim arguments, or inconclusive based on objective findings that video games are, like most anything in life, as a best practice, consumed in timely, judicious moderation.
- Evidentiary sources cited
- Thesis paragraph--the claim asserted
- Three thesis-support paragraphs--either the for-benefits or detriments-against substantive claim support arguments given above, for example
- Conclusion paragraph--one of the several conclusive proofs at which the claim argument arrives
- At least half page sources cited bibliography