Video Game and Gadget Essay The young and trendy generation of today judge themselves, according to the kind of gadgets they posses. The popularity of gadgets among youth has ensured that newer and trendier gadgets are introduced very passing day. The addiction of gadgets has been such among one and all that it has become unthinkable of a life without a gadget. The effect of these gadgets has been tremendous, and it is often debated that whether the impact that it has made on the youth is a positive or negative one. Video Games and Computer games can be listed as the gadget which has influenced the youth the most. Several researches indicate that these games can have a positive effect on the youths mind. However sometimes it may cause terrible changes in behaviors. It was seen that playing video games or computer games actually help the young people in concentrating much better. There are games which require you to use your brains and those games may indeed prove to be helpful. Also it was seen that it has a very good impact on the motor skills and spatial skills of todays youth. However these games may also result in the child getting absolutely isolated from the society. There is a tendency to get engrossed in the games, and forget everything else. Also there are chances that they might tend to confuse between the virtual world and real world. When you are using a gadget like a video game it is important to remember that whatever you are doing is going on in the virtual world. It would be nothing short of foolery in trying to emulate those things in the real world. Gadgets like computers or video games may turn to be very addictive. This is another worry as because these things are meant to be past times, and never should it be preferred over family or social commitments. Thus it is important to remain aware of your responsibilities while using your favorite gadget. MP3 players another popular gadget that has found its feet among the youth also has its pros and cons. It may soothe your soul when you are doing nothing, or even doing some work which is less intensive. Listening to music may also help to concentrate better at times. However listening to music for long periods of time in a high volume, may cause hearing problems in the near future which is extremely dangerous. Chapter I: The Problem And its Background Introduction: Dealing with the impact of modern gadgets on our lives weather we like it now, electric appliances and gadgets have occupied a major position in our daily lives. Though they were invented to make life better for us the first place it is an undeniable fact that many of the gadgets have negative effects and influence upon the quality of our lives in some ways. As we cannot live without them in this modern world and they are a necessarily evil, we have to find ways to reduce the negative impact of those modern appliances. A gadget is a device or appliance having a unique purpose and function. At the time of invention a gadget is often way ahead of its peers in terms of novelty and uniqueness. This is what makes them so desirable and ââ¬Å"coolâ⬠! The top ten that change the world are debatable. Nevertheless, popular choices would be television, camera, movie camera, microwave oven, video cassette, video recorder, video gaming consoles, sonyââ¬â¢s walkman, IBMââ¬â¢s personal computer (PC) and the first cellphone released in 1996 by Motorola. The latest ââ¬Å"addictingâ⬠gadgets include superior versions of DVDs, smart phones, camcorders, laptops, Ipods and Iphones, the blackberry, PCs, computer notebooks, pedometers, ultra slim ââ¬Å"luxuryâ⬠phone, nykoââ¬â¢s zoom (gaming gadget), earbuds from iFrogs, JBL on Beat Air from apple, T lights, onlive (cloud-based gaming system), SWIVL, ego mac edition portable hard drive, blackberry playbook ballistic etc. The study done by Carnegie Mellon University found that spending one hour a week on the net led to an average increase of 1 percent on depression scale, a loss of 2.7 members of the net usersââ¬â¢ social circle and increase of 0.4 percent on the loneliness scale. Statement of the Problem I .What is gadget? a. What year gadget invented? b. Who invented gadget? c. What is the famous gadget? II. How do we get addicted to gadget? a. What is effect of gadgets in everyday living? b. What will you do if your family get addicted to gadget? c. How Gadgets helps you? III .What is the effects of gadget? a. Can gadgets helps our academic achievements? b. How to get rebel by using gadget? c. How does gadgets helps youth in their academic achievements? Hypothesis The researcher believes that gadgets have a big effect. especially to the youth who spend most of their time using gadgets. Gadgets may lead to laziness in studying among youth and start addiction to it. according to youths. Gadgets is just a past time and a way to know more friends. Significance of the study Gadgets youths has a big effect on them, especially on their academic achievements. It may also affect their health status and social relations. To prevent addiction there are some remedies. First the parents should limit their youths by using gadgets. They may also make an agreement about the maximum time that their children could play only. The youths may also help themselves if they want to. Studying is the best help they can give to themselves. Discipline themselves in using gadgets. Scope and limitation of the study this study is all about on the advantages and disadvantages of effect of gadgets on youths academic achievements and their lives. it will also tackle the effects of gadgets among youth and why they are being addicted to it. The possible health problem they may encounter is also included on this study. Definition of Terms: A.) Gadget- The origins of the word gadget trace back to the 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is anecdotal evidence for the use of gadget as a placeholder name for a technical item whose precise name one cant remember since the 1850s; with Robert Browns 1886 book Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boyââ¬â¢s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea-clipper containing the earliest known usage in print. The etymology of the word is disputed. A widely circulated story holds that the word gadget was invented when Gaget, Gauthier Cie, the company behind the repoussà © construction of the Statue of Liberty (1886), made a small-scale version of the monument and named it after their firm; however this contradicts the evidence that the word was already used before in nautical circles, and the fact that it did not become popular, at least in the USA, until after World War I. Other sources cite a derivation from the French gà ¢chette which has been applied to various pieces of a firing mechanism, or the French gagà ©e, a small tool or accessory. B.) Youth- It is an alternative word to the scientifically-oriented adolescent and the common terms of teen and teenager. Another common title for youth is young person or young people. Youth is the stage of constructing the Self-concept. The self concept of youth is influenced by several variables such as peers, lifestyle, gender and culture. It is this time of a persons life which they make choices which will affect their future. C.) Gizmo- something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known; she eased the ball- shaped doodad backinto its socket;there may be some great new gizmo around the corner that you will want to use. D.) Device- . Any machine or component that attaches to a computer. Examples of devices include disk drives, printers, mice, and modems. These particular devices fall into the category of peripheral devices because they are separate from the E.) Widget- Widget is a generic term for the part of a GUI that allows the user to interface with the application and operating system. Widgets display information and invite the user to act in a number of ways. Typical widgets include buttons, dialog boxes, pop-up windows, pull-down menus, icons, scroll bars, resizable window edges, progress indicators, selection boxes, windows, tear-off menus, menu bars, toggle switches and forms. F.) Apparatus- a group or combination of instruments, machinery, tools, materials, etc., having a particular function or intended for a specific use: Our town has excellent fire-fighting apparatus. Dicussion The origins of the word gadget trace back to the 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is anecdotal evidence for the use of gadget as a placeholder name for a technical item whose precise name one cant remember since the 1850s; with Robert Browns 1886 book Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boyââ¬â¢s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea-clipper containing the earliest known usage in print.The etymology of the word is disputed. A widely circulated story holds that the word gadget was invented when Gaget, Gauthier Cie, the company behind the repoussà © construction of the Statue of Liberty (1886), made a small-scale version of the monument and named it after their firm; however this contradicts the evidence that the word was already used before in nautical circles, and the fact that it did not become popular, at least in the USA, until after World War I. Other sources cite a derivation from the French gà ¢chette which has been applied to various pieces of a firing mechanism, or the French gagà ©e, a small tool or accessory. The October 1918 issue of Notes and Queries contains a multi-article entry on the word gadget (12 S. iv. 187). H. Tapley-Soper of The City Library, Exeter, writes: A discussion arose at the Plymouth meeting of the Devonshire Association in 1916 when it was suggested that this word should be recorded in the list of local verbal provincialisms. Several members dissented from its inclusion on the ground that it is in common use throughout the country; and a naval officer who was present said that it has for years been a popular expression in the service for a tool or implement, the exact name of which is unknown or has for the moment been forgotten. I have also frequently heard it applied by motor-cycle friends to the collection of fitments to be seen on motor cycles. His handle-bars are smothered in gadgets refers to such things as speedometers, mirrors, levers, badges, mascots, c., attached to the steering handles. The jigger or short-rest used in billiards is also often called a gadget; and the name has been applied by local platelayers to the gauge used to test the accuracy of their work. In fact, to borrow from present-day Army slang, gadget is applied to any old thing. The usage of the term in military parlance extended beyond the navy. In the book Above the Battle by Vivian Drake, published in 1918 by D. Appleton Co., of New York and London, being the memoirs of a pilot in the British Royal Flying Corps, there is the following passage: Our ennui was occasionally relieved by new gadgets gadget is the Flying Corps slang for invention! Some gadgets were good, some comic and some extraordinary. By the second half of the twentieth century, the term gadget had taken on the connotations of compactness and mobility. In the 1965 essay The Great Gizmo (a term used interchangeably with gadget throughout the essay), the architectural and design critic Reyner Banham defines the item as: A characteristic class of US productsââ¬âââ¬âperhaps the most characteristicââ¬âââ¬âis a small self-contained unit of high performance in relation to its size and cost, whose function is to transform some undifferentiated set of circumstances to a condition nearer human desires. The minimum of skills is required in its installation and use, and it is independent of any physical or social infrastructure beyond that by which it may be ordered from catalogue and delivered to its prospective user. A class of servants to human needs, these clip-on devices, these portable gadgets, have coloured American thought and action far more deeplyââ¬âââ¬âI suspectââ¬âââ¬âthan is commo nly understood. Chauncey and Omar Lopez very really wonder what makes up an iPhone, Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab or any other Apple, Microsoft or Sony gadget but canââ¬â¢t really wrap your head around the amount of destruction required to take these pricey tools apart? Then, you are going to love iFixit. Channeling the inner naughtiness of geeky gadget lovers out there, these guys in iFixit crack open, rip apart, and teardown the archipelago that makes up the innards of any device they can get their hands on. Thanks to them, we are able to witness the inner beauty of our beloved gadgets without disassembling our own. Gadgets and machines have become an integral part of our lives. What would we do without them These gizmos are like a necessary condition now which make our lives complete. However, we must keep in mind that everything has its own limit otherwise it can become a cause for concern and in extreme cases, fatal. Market of devices and gadgets seems to be flooded with production. Day in and day out new technologies appear in front of us. If one has bought the latest mobile phone or laptop etc then he does not have much time to feel proud on that because the next day there would be much more superior device than that in the market. This is one of the reasons of addiction. There are many inventions developed every day. Most of them are useless or would have limited application in real life. While these may seem ââ¬Å"coolâ⬠, they will not make a dramatic impact in our lives. Out of the rough though, a few gems could always be found that could really lead to breakthroughs. Educational technology has become increasingly commonplace in classrooms, and Congress has spent billions to give schools access to technology and online learning opportunities. But research on the effectiveness of using educational technology has lagged behind technologys growth. In 2001, Congress mandated that the U.S. Department of Education conduct a scientific study of the effectiveness of using educational technology to answer the following questions Many people focus on the negative effects of these games and fail to see the opportunity for learning and growth. According to Raise Smart Kids: ââ¬Å"The Good and Bad Effects of Video Gamesâ⬠there are several positive effects that come from spending time playing video games. Most games do not teach kids math, history and other subjects, however, they do provide students indirect opportunities to learn principles that can help them in their academic pursuits. Certain types of video games can help train kids to follow instructions as well as helping them develop their problem solving and logical thought processes. These skills translate directly to the classroom as students are asked by teachers to complete tasks and are presented problems that require them to use logical problem solving skills. Kids can also learn inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing. Games will often present them with a situation that needs to be solved and this causes the kids to have to develop problem-solving techniques. Before purchasing a video game a parent should talk with a representative at the store to see what the overall premise of the game is to see if it includes elements that will help build these aforementioned qualities. Although there are some positive effects that are possible form video/computer game use there are mostly negative effects. Several professors conducted a research project to determine the effect of gaming on academic performance. According to the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology: ââ¬Å"Gaming Frequency and Academic Performanceâ⬠individuals who spend two or more hours playing games on a daily basis score lower in every subject than their non-gaming counterparts . By spending a high percentage of time on video games there is not enough time left to spend in studying for classes. The study found that there was ââ¬Å"not a single significant positive correlation between gaming and academic performance.â⬠According to a list of statistics produced by Media Family: ââ¬Å"Effects of Video Game Playing on Childrenâ⬠roughly 97 percent of kids played video games in 2008. In 2006 45 percent of kids were regular gamers, which means that they played for two or more hours on a daily basis. The high number of kids shows the importance of learning to choose games that will help strengthen and push the intellect of the child playing.