For those who are lonely or stressed, it could provide the “companionship or release” they are looking for. Online gaming and video games are worlds of fantasy. For people who want to escape reality, they are only one click or button away from entering into a world that’s not like their own. Norcia (2014) states that today, 97% of teens play video games and that number is only increasing. This high percentage means that people have found “positives” to encourage the usage of them. Some believe that playing video games can help children “improve their manual dexterity and computer literacy (Norcia, 2014). Other mentioned positive is children can develop empathy and helpfulness when they participate in online gaming that requires them to build things or helping others (Anderson & Gentile, …show more content…
People use them as alarm clocks, maps, calculators, and as a search engine to obtain information. Not only are smart phones used for practical things, but they are also used for connecting with people whether it is through phone calls, texting, or emailing. The most popular use for smart phones seems to be social media sites or applications.
According to Srivastava and Bhardwaj (2014), social media sites and applications “provide a lot of novel and innovative opportunities but also open up the possibility to risks such as abuse, exposure to inappropriate content, and bullying.” We can see that these social media sites provide both positive and negative aspects for an individual’s wellbeing. The question of concern is, “Do the negatives outweigh the positives and are these risks worth