Blog Post 2 – The Setup
Sahib B -
Hello, everyone. This is my second blog post. In this specific post, I will discuss my updated and detailed methodology. The goal is to see which genre had the best physical and mental impact on adolescent boys.
The first step to setting up my experiment is picking the genres. I will be looking mainly at two genres: sports and shooters. I chose two genres because I aim to have a large sample size for better results, and more genres will mean more cost of supplies like gaming equipment and data collection devices. Thus, I have opted for two genres to keep costs low and sample size somewhat high. Now, I picked sports and shooters, specifically Fortnite and Madden, because both games require proficient levels of cognitive thinking and quick reaction times, whether in a 1v1 fight or making a quick play with the quarterback. Moreover, these games are incredibly intense and fast, prompting changes in heart rate levels, similar to levels during physical education. Thus, these two games successfully target the physical and mental parts of the human body for a successful gaming experience.
The second step is data collection. All my test subjects will play their assigned game for one hour a day and 5 days/week. They will wear the same fitness tracker to measure their heart rate and stress levels. Prior to each gaming session, they will take a reaction time test, a hand-eye coordination test to test mental performance, and a mouse clicker test to test muscle endurance, specifically in the hands. They will repeat these tests after each gaming session. Moreover, they will also take a quick survey asking them if they feel any muscle fatigue and how bad the fatigue is, if any. At the end of every week, they will take a very short test ranging from 5-10 questions with math content up to their grade level. They will also do a muscular endurance test consisting of pushups in one minute, a one-minute plank, and a distance run in 2 minutes. This will measure changes in muscle tissue due to gaming and potential changes to their body, if any, because of gaming. These tests will allow me to see if these video games drastically improve, reduce, or not affect teens’ physical and mental health.
The goal of this test is to see if certain video games possess adverse effects like muscle weakness, depression, and aggression, as claimed by many parents and doctors.
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