I’d like to focus today’s post on the topic of video gaming and the impact that it has on its players. I do not doubt that everyone who has read this has, at some point in their lives, participated in some form of gaming. The majority of the time, I get the impression that gaming is associated with undesirable behaviors or unfavorable results. Consequently, I was thinking about whether or not there are any positive effects that individuals have on games. The medium of gaming is very engaging, allowing players from all over the world to communicate with one another, whether they are friends or complete strangers.
However, before we look at the positive effects gaming can have on individuals, let’s take a look at the negative effects that gaming can have on people. I am quite intrigued to see whether or not these two effects cancel each other out or whether or not they complement each other.
Playing video games may be taxing on both the mind and the body. When playing video games, people typically use a set and specified number of muscles, which might cause those muscles to become irritated or overused. For instance, if a person plays video games for an excessive amount of time, they could develop a condition known as “gamer thumb.” In plainer language, this indicates that the tendons in your thumb are experiencing inflammation. Because of the constant motion, your fingers may become immobilized in a certain posture for no apparent reason. Carpal tunnel syndrome is another issue that can happen, and it’s not only something that can happen to gamers but also to people who work in offices. This illness is characterized by inflammation of the nerve in the wrist, which, if left untreated, can eventually cause numbness and pain in the affected area. As a last point of concern, issues with vision and a lack of physical activity are also potential side effects of playing video games too frequently. The majority of people whose sole form of entertainment is gaming can do damage to their health by eating without exercising or moving their bodies. Additionally, gaming visuals can be hard on the eyes and create headaches owing to excessive amounts of screen time spent looking at a screen. Addiction is the mental consequence that can be anticipated due to this behavior. According to the findings of a particular study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the number of persons who are addicted to playing video games online is pretty low. Although addiction is not widely recognized, there are treatments and support groups that are now being developed for persons who do suffer from it. These treatments and groups are also currently available. In addition, there is some evidence that gaming may be linked to a lack of sleep, hostility, and anxiety. In addition, some worries playing video games could dull the senses of adolescents and young people, leading to emotional turmoil.
Nonetheless, there also have been studies done with positive effects, especially the effect on the human brain. Results of studies have shown that video games have not only changes in the performance of the brain but also its structure. The use of video games, for example, has been shown to alter focus. According to the research included in the analysis, multiple types of attention, including sustained and selective attention, have been shown to improve among video game players. Furthermore, gamers’ attentional areas are more efficient than non-gamers, necessitating less activation to maintain focus on difficult tasks.
Playing video games has also improved visuospatial skills, or the ability to recognize patterns and relationships based on what they see. Long-term gamers and people who voluntarily followed a video game training plan had their right hippocampus expanded. According to MedicalNewsToday, a different study provided support for the hypothesis that playing video games can improve people’s memories. Brain games were played by individuals ranging in age from 60 to 85 years old with the purpose of validating this hypothesis. Their cognitive memory had improved after 12 hours of playing games, particularly their working memory and their ability to pay attention for longer periods of time. These findings come from experiments that were conducted to test the hypothesis, although there is, strictly speaking, no scientific proof that backs up this contention. In addition, the article that was published in MedicalNewsToday indicated that there was evidence that games helped people improve their mood and helped with depression.
To summarize everything, I believe that the field of video games as a whole has not been sufficiently researched to the point where definite conclusions can be drawn and that more attention should be put to it. In light of this, the majority of the disadvantages that were emphasized were the effect of excessive gaming rather than gaming in moderation. When it comes to an individual’s health, it seems to reason that engaging in an excessive amount of gaming would not be beneficial; yet, there are also a few advantages associated with engaging in moderate amounts of gaming. For instance, I have observed that anytime I engage in activities that take place in the actual world, my reaction time increases, and I am able to think of ideas or provide answers more quickly. Naturally, these are only examples using myself, so I am also curious to see if the readers have observed any changes in themselves if they compare themselves before and after playing games.
Until the next post! 🙂
Bibliography
“The Health Effects of Too Much Gaming.” Harvard Health, December 22, 2020. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-health-effects-of-too-much-gaming-2020122221645.
“How Video Games Affect the Brain.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon International. Accessed October 3, 2022. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345.
Figures
Figure 1: “Speltijd Neontekst Met Gamepad: Gratis Vector.” Freepik, October 22, 2018. https://nl.freepik.com/vrije-vector/speltijd-neontekst-met-gamepad_3237337.htm#query=video%20game&position=1&from_view=keyword.
I think that serious research of the effects of video games in general is rather undeveloped because of two things. One, the field is not taken as seriously as any other area of research (for example, other cultural artifacts like literature or filmography). Two, which is intrinsicly tied to the first one, video games suffer from a terrible reputation as they are often, as you mentioned, associated with violence and deviant behaviour. I think it’s rather clear in the way I write, but I’am an avid video game player, sometimes to the point of doing it at a bit of an unreasonable pace. However, the same could be said of my behaviour regarding literature, or my other passions, and, just like my other centres of interest, video games have given me food for thought (a love games with a good story), or futhered existing skills (ex: quickly thinking when under pressure).