Violent Video Games William Goldberg 813

William Goldberg 813


     A long time ago, the word video game meant arcades. It meant huddling around a small console with your friends fighting over who got to play. It meant something with simple controls, mediocre graphics, and a basic plot. Nowadays, you rarely ever play locally with your friends, most of the time you're using the internet to play with people far away. Video games can now be described as interactive movies with realistic graphics, fluid controls, and a complex plot that'll leave you thinking even days after playing. These new realistic video games bring more entertainment, while also bringing a new and controversial way of play.
     I recently read the article "Parents & Teachers: The Impact of Video Games" which discusses violent video games and how they influence teenagers. The article also provides tips on how to regulate your teen's "media consumption". Overall, I felt that it was very one-sided, but that is to be expected of a parenting guide sort of article. I mainly brought up this topic to express my feelings on the subject. The article brings up many points on how violent video games can make a teen more aggressive, more confrontational, and less likely to do well in school. They provide evidence from other articles to support these points. While I agree that without proper guidance a young child or a teen can experience these changes in behavior, I also think that with one serious conversation about how there is a difference between video games and real life and that you shouldn't let video games affect your real life, you can prevent them. Once a child understands the fine line between fiction and reality, their actual life shouldn't be affected by violent video games or any other video games whatsoever.
     In conclusion, despite the article "Parents & Teachers: The Impact of Video Games", I believe that it is definitely possible to let your child play as many violent video games as you will allow them, just as long as they understand that video games are fictional. Now excuse me, I'm going to play some Team Fortress 2.
                                                                             

Social Justice Question (Not Standard Essay) William Goldberg 813

William Goldberg 813

 "How does this text address the points of view of other groups, especially those who usually don't get to tell their side?"

      In an Upfront magazine recently published, there was an article regarding a girl named Malala Yousafzai. Malala is a 16 year-old girl from Pakistan who blogged about her life under the rule of the Taliban at age 11. She then started talking about how all girls deserved a proper education which caught the attention of the Taliban. This all lead up to someone attempting to assassinate her but failing when she survived the shot. Now she still demands education for girls across the world. However, that's enough about her. I would just like to talk a little bit about the question above and my answer to it. I believe that the author addresses the point of view of Malala's group in a very good way.

     This text address the points of view of other groups in a fair way. When referring to the point of view of Malala and many women across the world, the author does not show any siding towards them. The writer points out everything without showing their own opinion. They address Malala's point of view by showing tons of it. This shows that the author makes it a point to show the voice of Malala. I think they do this because Malala's belief is typically not represented. So overall, I like how the author makes sure that all groups get an equal word.
     In conclusion, I think that the author refers to Malala's point of view in a good way. I'm definitely glad to read about a perspective that I typically do not hear from.

William Goldberg 813 (Absent, Sick) Social Jusice Question Article (Student News Daily)

William Goldberg 813


                                                            Social Justice Question
                                                             (Not Standard Essay)


     Recently, there has been a controversy over the N.S.A spying on people in the U.S through their phones. Many say it's unjust to do this, while others say that just as long as they're keeping people safe it's alright. I agree with the latter of the two because as much of an intrusion as spying is, it's been proven that spying this way has helped prevent numerous terrorist attacks. So, I believe spying through cell phones is for the greater good. Now it has been revealed that the N.S.A and the Government Communications Headquarters have been using video games to spy on people as well. My opinion on this is that it is okay to do this just long as these two organizations don't interfere with people's conversations. The article written about this was called "N.S.A Spied On Gamers" contributed by Barbara Ortutay.
     The article itself was interesting but it was not fairly written. It was clear that the author had a bias towards the idea that spying on gamers is wrong. This was expressed by the fact that the author made sure to note how the N.S.A took a long time to respond to questioning about this topic. It was also said that important information was left out by the N.S.A in their responses to the questioning. The author made sure to emphasize the N.S.A's mistakes while not talking about how the N.S.A could be doing something good. Overall, the N.S.A was just not represented properly.
     In conclusion, I believe that the N.S.A does has the right to spy over phone conversations and video games just as long as they don't interfere with your life. I also don't think that the author of the article "N.S.A Spied On Gamers" treated both sides of this controversy fairly. This author is definitely not the person who should be writing these kinds of articles.

Social Justice Question (Not Standard Essay) Article William Goldberg

William Goldberg 813

                                             Social Justice Question (Not Standard Essay)

     Recently, there was an article posted by Patrick Brennan called "Why Does the Economy Do Better Under Democratic Presidents Than Republican Ones?"on The Corner (a website that writes articles regarding studies and current events) discussing how it seems that the U.S economy works well under a democratic president more so than a republican president. 
     When I read this article I found it quite interesting that there was actually good evidence used to support this idea. I assumed this was going to be a very opinionated article but I was proved wrong. I can safely say that this article chose no side and was fair to both democrats and republicans. I'm a democrat and this article didn't offend me in the least bit, and looking at this from a non-political angle I can still say that this author didn't offend any party. Brennan used only evidence in his article such as the fact that consumer confidence is typically higher under a democratic president. As he says, this is because democrats tend to the middle class more and the middle class makes up most of the population as well as consumers. This makes it so that most consumers feel safer in general. This is just one of the many pieces of evidence that he used.
     In conclusion, "Why Does the Economy Do Better Under Democratic Presidents Than Republican Ones?"by Patrick Brennan treats both democrats and republicans fairly with no opinion in the article whatsoever. A well written and fair article that I say should be viewed as the guidelines for all other articles that will ever be written.

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