Introduction
Video games have a long history with each decade seeing
a number of improvements and advancements. The first type of computer games
though were not that impressive and needed a large computer to run them. These
were simulation games like mouse in a maze or tic tac toe that for the time
were breakthroughs.
The industry has grown from those games now a game
takes months to make and is surrounded by hype. The games industry has grown
into one of the world leading industries alongside film with an ever increasing
group of fans but nothing gets this big without some problems. As games have
developed so have to concerns that surround them along with the positives which
is what this article will be talking about.
Concerns
Aggression – do games make people more
aggressive?
People have said that playing aggressive video games
that involve exposing the player to aggressive characters and acts of violence
even for a short period can cause the player to feel aggressive for a short
period of time. Two studies were carried out by two physiatrists the first
showing that students who reported
playing video games throughout their time in junior and elementary schools were
more prone to aggressive behavior than those who didn't play video games.
The second had a group of college students play video
games half played an aggressive video game the other half played a non
aggressive video game. Afterwards the students who played the aggressive video
games showed aggressive behaviour where the people who played the non aggressive
video game didn't show any aggression.
Playing a video game is more interactive than watching
TV or a film as the players are choosing what to do and performing the actions
by their own free will. This could be one of the reasons why video games have
an aggressive effect on the players as they feel that they are doing the
actions themselves.
Violence – do games
lead to acts of violence?
People have argued that violent video games cause
violent episodes from the people who play them. This is mostly aimed at
teenagers or children who spend a large amount of their time playing violent
video games as they most likely to be influenced by them.
A study carried out by a doctor at the Indiana school
of medicine says that violent video games cause an increase in emotional
arousal areas of the brain and a decrease in the areas that are responsible for
self control. He said that this doesn’t mean that the person playing the game
will go out into the street cutting down anyone he sees with an assault rifle but
it does mean that parents should take more notice of the games that their
children are playing.
Forty four teenagers were split off into two groups
some played a violent game others played a non-violent game. After they were
done playing MRIs were taken of their brains. The scans showed that there was
an increase in the activity in the emotional areas of the brain and a decrease
in the areas that were responsible for self control. This affect was not seen
on the scans of the people who had played the non-violent game.
There was also a cause for concern whether the affect
violent games had on the brain was permanent or lasted for a set period of
time. This increase in emotional activity of the brain could
be because of the player developing an emotional bond with the character that
they are playing as. It could perhaps be because something keeps happening in
the game that they are playing to provoke some sort of emotional response.
Health – are games
bad for your health?
Video games have been known to affect people’s health
as well as over all lives. Too much time spent in the virtual world can have
affects on people’s lives in the real world.
A study performed on primary and secondary school
students showed that an increase in the amount of time you spend gaming decreases
your social skills. This could because of the lack of human contact the players
receive when playing a video game resulting in them not interacting efficiently
in a group.
Other side effects of pathological gaming are that grades
in school can suffer due to lack of revision and concentration on studies.
Along with a lower performance in school the pathological gamer can become a
victim of anxiety, depression and social phobias. This means that the person’s
health can suffer along with his relation to the outside world as social
phobias can affect how he perceives the world around him and discourage the
gamer from venturing out of his house. Along with social phobias depression and
anxiety can also affect how he interacts with society.
Video games can also cause attention problems to the
young people who play them. A study was carried out over the period of thirteen
months showing that video game exposure along with exposure to other forms of
media can cause attention problems. These problems can either be a person
seeking attention or a person displaying a lack of attention. If a person
starts playing games in childhood throughout their teenage years and into early
adulthood then these attention problems can stay with them affecting aspects of
their lives.
Addiction is one of the most serious dangers to a
person who plays video games. When a person becomes addicted to a video game
then their health can start to become affected as they start to care more about
the game rather than their actual life.
A South Korean man aged twenty eight collapsed in an
internet cafe after an extreme amount of time playing star craft. The man had
clocked around fifty hours of playing star craft and in that time he had not
slept or eaten correctly. After he collapsed in the internet cafe he was taken
to the hospital where he died. Doctors said that this was brought on from
severe exhaustion.
An example of online addiction affecting those around
you is a case of a Korean couple leaving their child in the house alone while
they went to a cafe to play world of warcraft. They only went to the cafe to
play the game for an hour or two but it turned out that the game took longer
than that. During their time away their four month old baby died from
suffocation.
It is usually easy to spot the symptoms of gaming
addiction. A person who is addicted to a computer game may not like being away from
it for any length of time. This can be seen in how they act either they will be
aggressive or just uninterested with what they are doing. If their minds are
still on the game that they are playing then they are most probably addicted to
it.
Another sign of addiction is the lack of control that
they show when playing the game. The original intention could be that they
start to play the game for a short period of time but they start to extend the
period until a few hours have passed.
Some people can become addicted to video games when
they are in an uncomfortable situation they tend to retreat into a virtual
world as a form of escape. They can do this so much that they would be at risk
of becoming addicted if you see anyone playing video games after they have had
a bad situation happen to them then it would be best if you talk to them.
Benefits
Video games aren't all bad despite what some people
believe, video games can help with skills, education and healthcare.
Development – how do games help in the development of
skills?
Video games can help with the development of peoples
skills like reading for example. Some
video games have heavy amounts of reading in them which the player must go
through to progress. Doing this can improve the players ability to read and
develop that skill. Doing this can also improve their vocabulary as the player
might find a word that he doesn't fully understand but is essential to the game
so he would look up the word to find its meaning.
Logical thinking can also be improved from playing
video games. This means that video games will help the player think through
situations logically so they can arrive at the required outcome. This is done
by putting the player into a situation where he is required to think something
through eliminating all of the choices that would get them nowhere. This type
of thinking can be applied to the real world and the situations that people
face every day. Other forms of thinking that can be improved through playing
games is called sequential order. This means how well the person can put things
into the right order. Games can also help people improve this skill.
Observation skills can also be improved by playing
video games. This refers to how well you notice things in the world around you.
In certain games you would be required to look out for something or someone as
a signal for you perform a certain action. This means that you would have to
scan the surrounding area of your character with your eyes to locate your
target amongst a crowd of distractions.
Therapy – can
games have therapeutic effects?
It has been said that some games can help patients with
certain illnesses like Parkinson’s get batter or slow the progression of their
illness. This is because certain video games offer physical exercise which for
some patients can replace having to go through physical therapy. This is
particularly useful for patients who have broken limbs or have respiratory
problems as these type of games offer physical exercise so they can gradually
get used to using their limbs. People who have respiratory problems can have their
stamina and overall health improved by just doing some small sessions with
physical video games like the wii fit.
Playing violent video games can increase your pain
tolerance says a study from Keele university. The study involved taking forty students
allowing half to play a first person shooter and the other half to play a non
violent video game. After ten minutes they told the participants to put their
hands in icy cold water. The results showed that the half that played the
violent video game could keep their hands submerged longer than the other half
who played the non violent video game.
Education – can games help with learning?
Some games do provide an educational experience that
can help students learn better and be more immersed. Although they can help
with students learning a majority of teachers when asked said that they have
never used video games in class instead they prefer to do lessons the way that
they have always done. With video games however students can be immersed
meaning that they would spend more time in the game completing tasks and
learning for example math that they can use in the real world.
An example of educational games is DimensionM a game
where you go around a virtual world completing maths questions. Video games
don’t however have to be stuck in the classroom as they can teach a variety of
things. For example you could have a military simulation for soldiers to go
through to test their skills in combat or you could have a simulation for a
doctor who has to learn about a certain type of surgery.
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