5 Ways Video Games Positively Impact The World

Once again the video game world is under scrutiny, as another deranged lunatic uses our fun and enjoyment as a scapegoat to his sick and twisted behavior. I am speaking of course of none other than the vile douche clown known as Anders Behring Breivik who was responsible for the recent bombing/gunning in Oslo Norway that claimed many lives.

Breivik attests that his training for this massacre all came from playing COD Modern Warfare 2 and WOW, and went even further to say that MW2 is "one of the most realistic shooters in the world"...let's get a reality check here.

1. MW2 is a fun game, but by no means realistic to modern warfare...you don't believe me enlist in the Army.

2. The only reality that lies within PvP gaming are the numerous days you waste of your life trying to acheive something in them.

3. I've played video games all my life, and never shot a gun...would you trust my "training" if I had to shoot a target behind you?

Yet still the media blasts the gaming industry about violence and parents are all up in arms ready to burn their children's consoles, and it's all because of the words of a deranged lunatic? It's asinine, idiotic, and frankly the same closed minded BS you and I have heard from every person under the sun who doesn't enjoy video games.

Video games are changing the world in positive ways every day, and while the naysayers continue to push their propaganda every time some lonely idiot wants press time, you can stand on these facts to go toe to toe and defend your passion with pride!

1. Video Games Help Cure Cancer

Ever heard of a game called Foldit? Foldit is a free to download game that's not only fun and addictive, but also helps develop scientific research to move forward efforts towards curing HIV and Cancer. Even better? The top five players currently ranked don't have a science education past high school, so no you don't have to be one of them big thinkers to be good at it. Download the game, and whip it out next time haters give you lip...you save lives dammit.

2.Video Games Save Lives

Meet Paxton Galvanek: father, business owner, and gamer. In January 2008 mild mannered Galvanek witnessed an SUV flip and roll on a highway and sprang into action. He pulled the victims from the car, but noticed one of them was bleeding severely from where their fingers had been severed in the accident. Galvanek used a towel whilst raising the  victims arm to slow the flow of blood and ultimately saved the mans life. Galvanek has no prior medical training, but he did complete the second section of the "Medic" training in Americas Army, and for that, we geeks salute him.

3. Video Games Make People Smarter

Renaissance pop quiz! For those of you that play games but haven't hit the books in a while, could you take a shot in the dark and tell me where the Renaissance began? How about the roles of the Medici and Borgia families? Heck you could probably even tell me that Rodrigo Borgia was Pope Alexander the VI! Why can you (or if you can't, cannot) do this? Obviously you've been playing a healthy amount of Assassins Creed. We learn about wars, famous people, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in nearly every Metal Gear Solid, and it's games like this that subliminally educate us in our every day lives. Furthermore research shows that gaming increase cognitive thinking, problem solving, and increases people's will to succeed! So suck on that book nerds!

4. Video Games Help Children With Learning Disabilities

So your kid is struggling in school, but somehow can manage to annihilate Final Fantasy XII in a weeks time during the Summer...not only that, but they can tell you the characters, what's happening, and all the back stories involved...so what's the deal? It could be their learning style. Research is showing now that kids with learning disabilities can actually increase their reading comprehension and general skills through playing story heavy video games...provided they don't hit the skip button on every cut scene (kids today...so spoiled).

5. Violence in Video Games Helps The Media Get Through A Slow News Day

Let's give credit where credit is due, major network news anchors work hard. They work a few hours out of their day, report stories they don't write, and strike fear into the hearts of millions over information they themselves don't know is true. It's a sad fact that television knows how to rope you in, and even if the source doesn't say it, they're going to twist it to make it sound like it does. Fast Fact, most Video Game violence propaganda comes from a field of study known as “Media Effects”. The field of media effects is shaky at best, but hey don't take it from me, lets have MIT professor Henry Jenkins tell it like it is to the fool who claims video games helped him take lives and the bigger fools who believe him...

Most of those studies are inconclusive and many have been criticized on methodological grounds. In these studies, media images are removed from any narrative context. Subjects are asked to engage with content that they would not normally consume and may not understand. Finally, the laboratory context is radically different from the environments where games would normally be played. Most studies found a correlation, not a causal relationship, which means the research could simply show that aggressive people like aggressive entertainment. That's why the vague term "links" is used here. If there is a consensus emerging around this research, it is that violent video games may be one risk factor - when coupled with other more immediate, real-world influences — which can contribute to anti-social behavior. But no research has found that video games are a primary factor or that violent video game play could turn an otherwise normal person into a killer.

Booyahkasha, and that dudes got a PHDizzle. So as the war against video games continues, take it upon yourself as a gamer to remember these facts, and please always remember "it's just a game."

Follow RR on Twitter: @Mickaplease