Catherine Fatima Mae O.

Leyno
2010-18273

SPCM 1
Feb. 27, 2014

Title: Playing video games makes you smarter and healthier

Speech Purpose: To inform the audience the benefits of playing video games and to persuade
the audience to play video games
Proposition: Playing video game makes you smarter as it enhances your brain and helps you in
different fields of life as it benefit different professions to practice their skills.
I.

Need Step:
(Shows pictures and related issues when playing video games and asks the audience
their insights related those pictures.)
Playing video games is fun and full of enjoyment but sometimes it is associated with
negative ideas such as violent, lazy and waste of time. Through the years, issues about
video games become the source of debate for its negative impact to the players attitude
and behavior.
It is not playing of video games which are the reason why it is harmful to the players and
why it leads to these negative effects, but the addiction and too much of it is the main cause.
II.
Satisfaction Step:
It is not bad to play video games. With the proper duration and discipline of playing video
games, people will have lots of benefits in playing video games.
a. Playing video games enhances different parts of your brain/ cognitive thinking.
i.
A study in Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Charite
University Medicine St. Hedwig-Krankenhaus was conducted where a
group of adults were asked to play Super Mario 64 for two months 30
minutes a day. Compared to a control group, the group who played video
games increased in gray matter in the brain which is responsible for
spatial navigation, memory formation, strategic planning, and fine motor
skills of the hands. (*shows the chart of the comparison of gray matter in
the brain)
ii.
A study in the University of Rochester was conducted says that firstperson shooting games boost contrast sensitivity function. With the
comparison of a control group, the gamers who played shooting games
increased vision better as they were practiced in locating and aiming the
enemy and discerning the subtle changes of brightness of the images.
b. Playing video games help people who are experiencing inborn difficulties and
health problems.
i.
Video games are therapeutic for children with chronic illnesses sich as
depression, autism and Parkinsons disease.
ii.
A newly designed game called Virtual Reality (VR) Therapy is made to reduce
pain during wound cleaning in the patients who have severe burns. (*Shows the chart
and the graph of the comparison of pain while playing the VR and actual photograph
while undergoing the cleaning of the wound while playing VR)
iii.
Children with dyslexia improve reading ability skills as they undergo playing video
games.
iv.
Playing video games slows down the aging process of the adults as it stall the
natural decline of different degree of cognitive skills and prolong it up to seven years.
v.
Video games designed to uplift depression such as the SPARX (Smart, Positive,
Active, Realistic, and X-factor thoughts) is better as it results to greater percentage of full

recovery compare to normal treatment for depressed people. (44% full recovery of
SPARX players and 26% full recovery in the control group)
vi.
Stroke victims recover more fully and faster when playing video games compare
to the traditional rehabilitation for stroke patients.
c. Playing video games especially in game consoles such as Nintendo Wii and
Xbox 360 help surgeons to enhance their surgical skills.
i. Surgeons who played video games at least three hours a week
experience 37% fewer mistakes during laparascopic surgery.
ii. A study about surgeons playing video games also showed improvement
in surgery such as full cholecystectomy surgery. (*Shows chart for
reference for Laparascopic and Cholecystectomy surgery.
iii. Playing video games at a young age gives a stepping stone to people
who wants to enter a medical profession someday as it enhances hand
eye coordination, pressure on the controls and timing.
III.
Visualization Step:
These are some of the proof that video games have benefits. Playing video games
enhances your brain and instill knowledge that later on will be helpful to people.
From all the facts I have shared with you, you all have different perspective of
playing video games. Additionally, these studies are the evidences that video games
not only give you enjoyment but help you in different ways.
IV.
Action Step:
I hope that upon hearing my speech, you encourage your friends to play video
games and give it a try. You will never know how much it can help you, maybe not
now but in the near future. Additionally, as a reminder, too much of anything is bad.
Control and balance come hand in hand in playing video games and doing other
things.
References:
Franceschini S., Gori S., Ruffino M., Viola S., Molteni M., and Facoetti A. (2013, February 28)
Action Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better. Current Biology, Volume 23, Issue 6,
pp.
462-466.
Retrieved
February
11,
2014
from
http://www.cell.com/currentbiology/retrieve/pii/S0960982213000791#bcor1
Gallagher S. (2013, March 10) 7 health benefits of playing video games. The Week Magazine.
Retrieved February 11, 2014 from http://theweek.com/article/index/241121/7-health-benefits-ofplaying-video-games
Guarini D. (November 7, 2013) 9 Ways Video Games Can Actually Be Good For You. The
Huffington
Post.
Retrieved
February
11,
2014
from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/video-games-good-for-us_n_4164723.html
Khn S., Gleich T.,Lorenz R. C., Lindenberger U. and Gallinat J.(2014 February) Playing Super
Mario induces structural brain plasticity: gray matter changes resulting from training with a
commercial video game. Molecular Psychiatry 19, pp. 265-271 Retrieved February 11, 2014
from http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v19/n2/full/mp2013120a.html
Hoffman, H.G., Garcia-Palacios, A., Kapa, V.A., Beecher, J. and Sharar, S.R. (2003). Immersive
Virtual Reality for reducing experimental ischemic pain. International Journal of HumanComputer
Interaction,
15,
469-486.
Retrieved
February
11,
2014
from
http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/vrpain/

Bavelier, Li R., Makaous W., (2009, March 29) Action Video Games Improve Vision. University
of Rochester. Retrieved February 11, 2014 from http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?
id=3342