The Video Games Conundrum
There are a lot of people who love playing video games. Which makes the understanding the effects of video game on players quite important. Playing video games has several advantages like distraction and high-level thinking skills. On the other hand, some people think that disadvantages of video games are more than its advantages.
Some believe that video games have positive effects on their life. First, video games relieve physical and emotional pain, depression, and aggressive behavior. As Scott C. Jones describes it “Games have kept my head above water, far more than I realized. They have served as pixelated balm on old, deep wounds.”. Playing video games develop a better perception of what is happening around players. Scott also says, “Games have fed me, clothed me and put a roof over my head.” Scott was molested by his neighbor and after he told his problem to his mother, she did not believe him. Scott found himself alone and to relieve his pain he used video games to escape his awful reality. This is how video games can give an opportunity for someone to solve a problem or at least ease it or escape from it even if temporarily. When people take the problems as if they were a game, they solve them with more determination and creativity as did Scott. According to Sheila Eugenio the author of the article “8 Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games for Kids” video games have many benefits including but not limited to Improves coordination, Improves problem-solving skills, Enhances memory, Improves attention and concentration, It is a great source of learning (as discussed before in this article as well), Improves the brain’s speed, Enhances multitasking skills. Furthermore, according to yet another article entitled “15 Surprising Benefits of Playing Video Games” games have positive effects on surgeons and makes them less prone to mistake than their “non-gaming counterparts”.
Scott gives elaborate story of how he managed to use games and the fantasy of the game, since when he was very young his family could not afford the game and he only had a book of the maze of the arcade games, to escape his horrible experience and take shelter. Some like Scott would argue this as one of the benefits of video games. After all he named the article, “Video games saved my life”. Scott’s account might be on the extreme side but in some for or other, others have shared similar stories of how such fantasies and games have helped them through tough times.
In many video games the skills required to move through the game involve abstract and high-level thinking and reasoning. These skills are not often taught at school or they are not engaging and effective enough for kids.
Ultimately the benefits of playing video games are plenty and we are far from exhausting them but as for almost everything there is the other side of the argument that we shall discuss.
Others say that there are many negative effects of video games. First, playing video games causes aggressiveness. Secondly, playing video games may impact children in ways such as attention problem. In fact, the players respond immediately to stimuli in the game because of pleasure hormone, so parents need to find the right balance in order to mitigate the negative consequences of video games.
On the other hand, there are plenty of potential physical negative consequence of playing video games such as shoulder pain, carpal tunnel, tendinitis etc. which of course done correctly can be mitigated.
From escapism and high-level thinking to cognitive benefits of video games and negative mental and physical consequences, there is no one adjective to box video games in. They are neither good nor bad. But is paramount that we understand these positive and negative consequences, so we amplify the positives and mitigate the negative in order to make them even more constructive.
After all, the story shared by Scott alone should pause any absolute critic of video games while noting that it remains a subjective story of one individual (though many share similar stories) and further scientific research need s to come into consideration.
References:
1. Jones, S. C. (2018, December 1). Video games saved my life. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-extra-life-how-i-was-saved-by-video-games/
2. 15 Surprising Benefits of Playing Video Games. (2019, July 8). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65008/15-surprising-benefits-playing-video-games
3. Bowler, J. (2017, April 26). 6 Scientific Benefits of Playing Videogames. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.sciencealert.com/6-scientific-benefits-of-playing-videogames
4. Eugenio, S. (2017, September 2). 8 Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games for Kids. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.engadget.com/2017-02-09-8-cognitive-benefits-of-playing-video-games-for-kids.html
5. Flynn, C., & Flynn, C. (2020, February 22). 7 Negative Health Effects of Video Games. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://bestlifeonline.com/negative-effects-video-games/
6. Smart Social. (2020, March 18). The Negative Effects of Video Games (Parent Guide). Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://smartsocial.com/negative-effects-video-games/