Video Games and their Effects

by Chantel Castrejon, Staff Reporter

Courtsey of Wellplayed.com

Researchers have stepped away from repetitive studies on violent video games and have instead extended their study to examine the potential effects of playing said games. While the held view of video games being mentally apathetic is common, such play may really reinforce a scope of psychological abilities. For example, spatial routes, thinking, memory and discernment, are indicated by a few examinations.

Playing video games may support learning and improve wellbeing, as well as social abilities as indicated by an examination on the constructive outcomes of computer game play distributed by the American Psychological Association.

“Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored,” lead Researcher Isabela Granic said. “However, to understand the impact of videogames on children’s and adolescents’ development, a more balanced perspective is needed.”

Playing strategy games, such as role-playing, increased the next year in problem-solving and school results, according to a long-term survey released in 2013. Children's imaginations have also increased by playing any type of video game, even violent ones, but not when children use other types of media, such as a computer or a mobile phone.

“If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider,” Granic said.” Video games are important methods for learning endurance in the face of defeat. By learning to deal with continuing defeats in sports, researchers propose that children develop cognitive endurance that they can rely on in their daily lives.

The “socially isolated” gamer is a stereotype being studied and challenged currently. The American Psychological Association has given context that more than 70 percent of players play with friends and millions of people around the world engage in vast virtual environments with video games such as "Genshin Impact" and "Minecraft”. This ultimately counteracts said stereotype. Multiplayer games become virtual social groups, where choices need to be taken immediately about who to trust or deny and how to lead a community. People who play video games, even if they are violent, encourage cooperation and are more likely to support others while playing games than those who play the same games solo.

In Everything Bad Is Good For You, author and critic Steven Johnson claims that the success of video games is not due to their content, but rather that the "structure" or look. It promotes creativity and stimulates the brain in a special way. “If you create a system where rewards are both clearly defined and achieved by exploring an environment, you’ll find human brains drawn to those systems, even if they’re made up of virtual characters and simulated sidewalks. It’s not the subject matter of these games that attracts…it’s the reward system” Johnson wrote .

At the end of the day, though, it will be up to gamers and their parents to determine whether the games they play are truly good for you or just go by words that scientists say. Games provide us with an ability to take better control over the shaping of our own brains and minds. So, yes, video games are actually fine at certain levels for you. Of necessity, in order to preserve those advantages, we must add that games can be played in moderation. Staying up all night, every single night, battling the zombies? It may not be the right thing for your wellbeing.