Module 4: Articles on Benefits of Technology

They contributed greatly to her abilities as an actress (she eventually had major parts in high-school plays), because she acted out the parts vicariously, in her mind, as she watched.

One site warns that video games can cause depression, physical aggression, poor sleep, somatic complaints, obesity, attention disorders, and...the list went on.

The only malady they seemed to have left out was housemaid's knee.

Other research has documented, qualitatively, the many ways that video games promote social interactions and friendships.

Other research has documented, qualitatively, the many ways that video games promote social interactions and friendships.

When kids are asked, in focus groups and surveys, what they like about video games, they generally talk about freedom, self-direction, and competence.

Over time, video games have become increasingly complex and multifaceted.

In these online games, players create a character (an avatar), which has unique physical and psychological traits and assets, and, with that character, enter a complex and exciting virtual world that is simultaneously occupied by countless other players, who in their real-life forms may be sitting anywhere on the planet.

You have to understand the etiquette of the culture you are in and abide by that etiquette.

Such games are, in many ways, like the imaginative sociodramatic games of preschool children, but played in a virtual world, with communication by online text, and raised up many notches in sophistication to fit the interests and abilities of the older children, teenagers, and adults who play them.

In fact, a study commissioned by the IBM Corporation concluded that the leadership skills exercised within MMORPGs are essentially the same as those required to run a modern company.

Their analysis of data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children found children in this age group spent, on average, some two to three hours watching television compared to less than a half hour playing video games or using computers.

"Video games are a mainstream pastime. More than 92 percent of Australian homes have at least one device for playing video games. "Emerging research has shown that active video games such as Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Move, and the Xbox Kinect can be used to motivate young children to exercise and be more active outside of the game setting."

"This distinction provides a more accurate classification of screen time and a better lens through which to consider the benefits and detrimental effects for young children," she said.

According to a new pilot study conducted by Dr. Alice Good of the University of Portsmouth, the vast majority of Facebook users use the social network to lift their spirits when they’re feeling down by navigating their old photos and wall posts in which they’ve interacted with family and friends—a “self-soothing” coping mechanism somewhat akin to flipping through a photo album or watching old home videos.