what are the positive effects of playing video games essay

Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds

Authors suggest balancing questions of harm with potential for positive impact

• The Benefits of Playing Video Games (PDF, 202KB)

WASHINGTON — Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth. An APA task force is conducting a comprehensive review of research on violence in video games and interactive media and will release its findings in 2014.  

“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,” said lead author Isabela Granic, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. “However, to understand the impact of video games on children’s and adolescents’ development, a more balanced perspective is needed.” 

The article will be published in APA’s flagship journal, American Psychologist .  

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. “This has critical implications for education and career development, as previous research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Granic said. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children’s creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.

Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as “Angry Birds,” can improve players’ moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said. “If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider,” said Granic. The authors also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools to learn resilience in the face of failure. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can rely upon in their everyday lives.

Another stereotype the research challenges is the socially isolated gamer. More than 70 percent of gamers play with a friend and millions of people worldwide participate in massive virtual worlds through video games such as “Farmville” and “World of Warcraft,” the article noted. Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.

The article emphasized that educators are currently redesigning classroom experiences, integrating video games that can shift the way the next generation of teachers and students approach learning. Likewise, physicians have begun to use video games to motivate patients to improve their health, the authors said. In the video game “Re-Mission,” child cancer patients can control a tiny robot that shoots cancer cells, overcomes bacterial infections and manages nausea and other barriers to adhering to treatments. A 2008 international study in 34 medical centers found significantly greater adherence to treatment and cancer-related knowledge among children who played “Re-Mission” compared to children who played a different computer game. 

“It is this same kind of transformation, based on the foundational principle of play, that we suggest has the potential to transform the field of mental health,” Granic said. “This is especially true because engaging children and youth is one of the most challenging tasks clinicians face.”

The authors recommended that teams of psychologists, clinicians and game designers work together to develop approaches to mental health care that integrate video game playing with traditional therapy. 

Article: “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands; American Psychologist , Vol. 69, No. 1. 

Isabela Granic can be contacted by email , cell: 011.31.6.19.50.00.99 or work: 011.31.24.361.2142

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

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Study shows video games can improve mental wellbeing – but you can have too much of a good thing

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A study of almost 100,000 people in Japan aged 10 to 69 found playing video games – or even owning a console – can be good for mental health. But playing too much each day can harm wellbeing.

Video games and other forms of online media consumption are an everyday part of life .

Surveys have shown playing video games can have positive effects on stress levels and creativity . But concern remains about the potential negative effects on, for example, general wellbeing, aggressive behaviour and social development, especially for young people.

The World Health Organization lists gaming disorder as a mental health condition, and a severe social withdrawal condition called hikikomori has been described in Japan.

The new survey showed links between gaming and wellbeing and researchers found a way to show cause and effect – that even owning a gaming console improved wellbeing.

What the study found

The research was conducted between 2020 and 2022 – during the COVID pandemic. The researchers used measures of psychological distress and life satisfaction and asked 97,602 people in Japan about their gaming use.

The survey coincided with supply chain shortages. These led retailers to use a lottery system for the purchase of two consoles: Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Of the overall survey group, 8,192 participated in the lottery.

Researchers compared the 2,323 lottery winners against those who did not win the opportunity to purchase one of the new consoles (over five rounds of surveys). They found those who won the lottery had improved distress scores and better life satisfaction.

The results were not all positive. Over time, the scores indicated drops in wellbeing for those who played more than three hours a day. Scores continued to drop for each additional time increment measured.

The study had some limitations.

Firstly, the survey was conducted when the COVID pandemic presented a particularly challenging time for mental health. It also brought changes in social, occupational and lifestyle behaviours.

The study focused mainly on general gaming habits without distinguishing between different types of games, which could have varying impacts on mental health.

Further, participants chose whether to enter the lottery, so it was not a random sample. And the study could not specifically attribute findings to the effects of playing video games versus the effects of winning the lottery.

Finally, we know self-reported studies are not always reliable .

Gaming pros and cons

We know from other surveys video games can be useful stress relievers and aid social connection (albeit online). We also know some games can improve particular cognitive skills such as visuo-spatial navigation and problem solving .

Games and technologies can also specifically target mental health issues , such as social anxiety or phobias, address ADHD symptoms and enhance motivation and performance.

Yet, concerns remain about possible long-term consequences, particularly in terms of reductions in “real-life” socialisation , participation in physical activity, school performance and other health consequences , including sleep and eating behaviours.

3 tips for positive gaming

While video games can offer some benefits, it’s important to maintain a balanced approach to gaming. Here are a few tips to help manage gaming habits and promote overall wellbeing:

1. Set time limits

Encourage moderate gaming by setting clear time limits to ensure it doesn’t interfere with sleep, physical activity or other important daily activities. The Australian institute of Family Studies recommends creating a media plan that includes limits on screen time and balances gaming with other activities.

2. Choose games wisely

Opt for games that are age-appropriate and consider their content. Some games can promote problem-solving skills and creativity , but it’s important to be mindful of those that might encourage aggression or excessive competition.

3. Monitor eating and sleeping habits

Pay attention to eating patterns and ensure meals are not skipped in favour of gaming. Encourage regular sleep patterns and avoid gaming close to bedtime to prevent disruptions in sleep .

While the new study provides promising insights into the potential positive effects of video games on mental wellbeing, these findings should be approached with caution due to the limits of the survey.

While the potential benefits are encouraging, it is essential to adopt a balanced approach to gaming and pursue further research to fully understand its long-term impact on mental health.

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• 19 August 2024

PlayStation is good for you: video games improved mental health during COVID

• Gemma Conroy

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Video games boosted people’s well-being and reduced distress. Credit: Yong Teck Lim/Getty

Playing video games for a couple of hours a day can improve mental health, according to a study on gamers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic 1 .

The research — which was done from December 2020 to March 2022 — found that even just owning a game console increased life satisfaction and reduced psychological distress. The results were published today in Nature Human Behaviour .

The findings are a first step towards demonstrating a causal link between gaming and mental-health benefits, says Andrew Przybylski, a psychologist who studies how video games influence players’ mental health at the University of Oxford, UK. “The study provides a worked example that games researchers all around the world should follow closely,” he says. But he adds that conducting the experiment during the pandemic could have amplified the mental-health benefits of gaming because people’s mental health was generally poorer at that time and there were fewer opportunities to engage in other activities. The effect on well-being will need to be tested outside that situation, he says.

‘Publish or Perish’ is now a card game — not just an academic’s life

Although studies have explored the effects of gaming on addiction, well-being, cognitive function and aggression, the results have been mixed 2 , 3 . Most of this research has relied on observational data, which cannot be used to tease apart cause and effect, says study co-author Hiroyuki Egami, a behavioural scientist at Nihon University in Tokyo. Many video-gaming studies are also done in controlled laboratory settings, making it difficult to assess the mental-health effects of gaming in daily life, adds Egami.

Gamers unite

Some three billion people play video games globally and, during the pandemic, that number surged. In Japan, this spike in demand led to a shortage of Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles. To handle this, retailers set up a lottery system that randomly selected consumers who could purchase a console when it became available. Egami and his colleagues saw an opportunity to conduct a natural experiment on gaming and mental health.

Gaming helped my lab-mates and me to conquer the social-distancing blues

The study focused on 8,192 people, aged between 10 and 69, who had entered the lottery. The team collected information about their mental health, video-game ownership and sociodemographic characteristics. The researchers sent five rounds of surveys to the participants, which included two checklists that measured psychological distress and life satisfaction. Participants were also asked whether they had played video games over the past 30 days and, if so, for how long.

Participants who got the opportunity to buy a Switch or PS5 console experienced a decline in their psychological distress and had a greater life satisfaction than respondents who missed out in the lottery. The mental-health benefits of owning a PS5 were more pronounced among men, hardcore gamers and households without children.

On the other hand, owning a Switch seemed to offer a greater well-being boost to family households and less-experienced gamers. This could be because the Switch is a portable console that can be played with family and friends, whereas the PS5 can only be played by connecting it to a television and is typically used by single players, says Egami.

Life satisfaction

Playing video games on either console increased life satisfaction among the lottery participants, and doing so for an extra hour a day led to a further improvement in mental health. However, these positive effects tapered off among players who spent more than three hours a day gaming, suggesting that a long playtime doesn’t lead to further improvements in mental health.

“These results are not surprising,” says Daniel Johnson, a psychologist who specializes in video games at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. “They fit with what we know from talking to video-game players for decades.”

Przybylski adds that a limitation of the study is that it didn’t investigate other factors that could affect gamers’ mental health, such as how they approach playing and their games of choice.

Egami says the next step is to replicate the study to see whether the findings hold up outside a pandemic. “The result might be different,” he says.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02643-8

Egami, H., Rahman, M. S., Yamamoto, T., Egami, C. & Wakabayashi, T. Nature Hum. Behav . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01948-y (2024).

Article   Google Scholar  

Orben, A. & Przybylski, A. K. Nature Hum. Behav. 3 , 173–182 (2019).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Hazel, J., Kim, H. M. & Every-Palmer, S. Australas. Psychiatry 30 , 541–546 (2022).

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Video Games Can Boost Your Mental Health – But There's a Catch

A study of almost 100,000 people in Japan aged 10 to 69 found playing video games – or even owning a console – can be good for mental health. But playing too much each day can harm wellbeing.

Video games and other forms of online media consumption are an everyday part of life .

Surveys have shown playing video games can have positive effects on stress levels and creativity . But concern remains about the potential negative effects on, for example, general wellbeing, aggressive behaviour and social development, especially for young people.

The World Health Organization lists gaming disorder as a mental health condition, and a severe social withdrawal condition called hikikomori has been described in Japan.

The new survey showed links between gaming and wellbeing and researchers found a way to show cause and effect – that even owning a gaming console improved wellbeing.

What the study found

The research was conducted between 2020 and 2022 – during the COVID pandemic . The researchers used measures of psychological distress and life satisfaction and asked 97,602 people in Japan about their gaming use.

The survey coincided with supply chain shortages. These led retailers to use a lottery system for the purchase of two consoles: Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Of the overall survey group, 8,192 participated in the lottery.

Researchers compared the 2,323 lottery winners against those who did not win the opportunity to purchase one of the new consoles (over five rounds of surveys). They found those who won the lottery had improved distress scores and better life satisfaction.

The results were not all positive. Over time, the scores indicated drops in wellbeing for those who played more than three hours a day. Scores continued to drop for each additional time increment measured.

The study had some limitations.

Firstly, the survey was conducted when the COVID pandemic presented a particularly challenging time for mental health. It also brought changes in social, occupational and lifestyle behaviours.

The study focused mainly on general gaming habits without distinguishing between different types of games, which could have varying impacts on mental health.

Further, participants chose whether to enter the lottery, so it was not a random sample. And the study could not specifically attribute findings to the effects of playing video games versus the effects of winning the lottery.

Finally, we know self-reported studies are not always reliable .

Gaming pros and cons

We know from other surveys video games can be useful stress relievers and aid social connection (albeit online). We also know some games can improve particular cognitive skills such as visuo-spatial navigation and problem solving .

Games and technologies can also specifically target mental health issues , such as social anxiety or phobias, address ADHD symptoms and enhance motivation and performance.

Yet, concerns remain about possible long-term consequences, particularly in terms of reductions in "real-life" socialisation , participation in physical activity, school performance and other health consequences , including sleep and eating behaviours.

3 tips for positive gaming

While video games can offer some benefits, it's important to maintain a balanced approach to gaming. Here are a few tips to help manage gaming habits and promote overall wellbeing:

1. Set time limits

Encourage moderate gaming by setting clear time limits to ensure it doesn't interfere with sleep, physical activity or other important daily activities. The Australian institute of Family Studies recommends creating a media plan that includes limits on screen time and balances gaming with other activities.

2. Choose games wisely

Opt for games that are age-appropriate and consider their content. Some games can promote problem-solving skills and creativity , but it's important to be mindful of those that might encourage aggression or excessive competition.

3. Monitor eating and sleeping habits

Pay attention to eating patterns and ensure meals are not skipped in favour of gaming. Encourage regular sleep patterns and avoid gaming close to bedtime to prevent disruptions in sleep .

While the new study provides promising insights into the potential positive effects of video games on mental wellbeing, these findings should be approached with caution due to the limits of the survey.

Katarina Fritzon , Associate Professor of Psychology, Bond University ; Oliver Baumann , Associate professor of psychology, Bond University , and Peta Stapleton , Professor in Psychology, Bond University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

• Effects of Video Games on Players Words: 1942
• Behavioral Problems Caused by Video Games Words: 1955
• Video Games Effects on Players: Positive or Negative? Words: 1947
• Valorant Is a Video Game That Is Both Enjoyable and Beneficial Words: 1026
• Violence Encoding in Video Games Words: 2684
• Video Games’ Negative Impact on Children Words: 2215
• Video Game Addiction: History and Future Implications Words: 2112
• Regulating Violent Video Games Words: 830
• Video Games and Teenage Behavior Words: 1725
• Are Video Games Harmful For Players? Words: 1621

Benefits of Video Games

Children and young adults love video games as they are fun and help to relax. At the same time, many adults claim that children spend too much time playing, which makes them violent and do not bring any benefit. However, facts indicate that video games are useful for the cognitive development of children and adults, while the myth of increased violence of players is not supported.

Video games are not a tool to solve all problems, but they have more advantages than many people think. First, games have a positive effect on cognitive and intellectual development (Etchells). For example, a player needs attentiveness, fast reaction, and often logical thinking to complete a mission in a shooter. Other games require attention and concentration, as well as ingenuity, to find a solution to a problem or task. Educational programs can also be built in the form of online games and bring more benefits than memorizing rules from books. Besides, games for adults also have such an advantage as they help developmental skills and memory. For example, Barr conducted a study and found that students playing video games improved their communication, resourcefulness, and adaptability significantly. At the same time, the idea that violent video games force people to be crueler has no convincing evidence, and scientists argue that the connection between the game process and increased aggression is very weak (Etchells). Consequently, video games cannot be called useless, harmful, or dangerous.

In conclusion, video games can be useful for a person’s development as they help to develop various cognitive and intellectual skills. In addition, since the myth that video games make people more violent still has not found cconfirmed it is difficult to talk about their harm. However, all these statements are correct with an average number of playing hours, since a strong passion for any activity, even useful, can harm the mental and physical health of a person.

Barr, Matthew. “ Video Games Can Turn University Graduates into Better Employees ” The Guardian , Guardian News and Media, 2019.

Etchells, Pete. “ Five Damaging Myths about Video Games – Let’s Shoot ‘Em Up .” The Guardian , 2019.

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Study suggests video game playing may have mental health benefits under some conditions

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of mental health, human behavior and economic specialists affiliated with several institutions in Japan has found that under the right conditions, playing video games may be good for mental health.

In their study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the group sent questionnaires to people sequestered at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, some of whom were able to purchase video game consoles and games during a lottery.

Prior research has found mixed results regarding the mental health impacts of regular, long-term playing of video games. Some have suggested it can lead to addictive symptoms; in teens, it may lead to social isolation , and in some cases, aggressive behavior . The World Health Organization went so far as to classify "gaming disorder" as a mental illness .

Other studies have suggested such findings are overblown. One of the problems those in the field have encountered while attempting to study such impacts is quantification difficulty—most studies have been done in controlled environments, which could have impacted results.

For this new study, the research team found an opportunity to study the impact of video games on large numbers of people outside of a lab—people stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic.

During the lockdown in Japan, demand for video game consoles and associated games skyrocketed. Console makers attempted to make things fair by holding lotteries—winners had the option of purchasing either a Sony PlayStation 5 or a Nintendo Switch; losers had to find other ways to amuse themselves.

The research team realized this represented an opportunity to test the impact of video game playing on a captive group of players. They created a questionnaire designed to measure mental health and the amount of time spent playing games and sent it to people participating in the lotteries. They received 97,602 of them, filled out and ready for analysis.

The research team found a pattern in the responses—people playing video games appeared to have a greater sense of life satisfaction, a key component of mental health, than those who were not playing games. They also found that the benefits had limits: Those playing more than three hours a day experienced the same benefits as those playing just three hours a day.

Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour

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Benefit of Playing Video Games

This essay will discuss the benefits of playing video games, challenging the common negative perceptions. It will cover cognitive, social, and emotional advantages, such as improved problem-solving skills, enhanced hand-eye coordination, and opportunities for social interaction. The piece will also consider the educational potential of video games and their role in skill development. Moreover, at PapersOwl, there are additional free essay samples connected to Video Game.

How it works

Video games are seen as a useless entertainment to many parents and even some educators believe that they damage a child’s brain. Over the years, violent video games have been blamed for leading people to a life of crime because they believe that games are the cause of kids becoming violent or develop an antisocial behavior. In reality many psychologists and scientists have found that playing video games can actually have benefits towards a person’s brain. Video games can eventually teach kids skills that they will need and use in their lives.

Today everyone has played video games for fun, but some have put it to the test to use video games for research purposes. In a study done in New York, one set of surgeons played video games for 3 hours a week, while the other set played none. The set who played the video games made 37 percent fewer mistakes during laparoscopic (Medical bag). In another study, those who play action video games on a regular basis can process visual information faster and can track 30 percent more objects than non gamers. Action video games are shown to increase one’s contrast sensitivity, or the ability to notice minute changes in color against a uniform background. One group of gamers played action games, like Call of Duty, while the others played The Sims. The Call of Duty group showed a 38 percent increase in aforementioned sensitivity, whereas the Sims group showed none whatsoever. Video games can also slim you down. Wii Fit, for example, has players doing yoga, stretches and other exercise in order to unlock fun and exercise. Dance Dance Revolution requires players to dance by placing their feet on the corresponding arrows. After a while, players work up a sweat due to the required rapid movement. Gaming can also make you smarter. People who play video games display fluid intelligence and problem solving. Managing multiple objectives and multiple resources is one of the goals that helps you become smarter. Learning the rules of the game and what strategy works best for you also helps you.

When playing video games, the coordination and concentration can physically, socially, and mentally benefit the user. Research today shows that certain video games can reduce fat and therefore promote weight loss. Other sources state that doctors have instructed parents to let their children play video games to help control focus. Active video games are also being marketed for adults. New Gaming companies have been turning their gaming systems into exercise machines. The workout levels are increasing stamina causing weight loss and health awareness. The new video machines can drastically change an adults workout routine.

Video games can also improve visual skills and brain function. Action video games train the brain to better process certain visual information. When people play action video games, they’re changing the brain’s pathway responsible for visual processing. When people play action games, they’re changing the brain’s pathway responsible for visual processing. These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it, and we’ve seen the positive effect remains even two years after the training was over. By playing Action video games, vision improves up to 58 percent. Video games that involve high levels of action, such as first-person-shooter games, increase a player’s real-world vision, according to research in today’s Nature Neuroscience. The ability to discern slight differences in shades of gray has long been thought to be an attribute of the human visual system that cannot be improved. But Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, has discovered that very practiced action gamers become 58 percent better at perceiving fine differences in contrast. Normally, improving contrast sensitivity means getting glasses or eye surgery. However, this will need further testing in people with this condition. As a treatment for poor eyesight generally though, gaming is unlikely to replace conventional approaches in the near future. Bavelier had previously found that game players had better vision when compared with non-game players. She says that these video games, and spending time in front of the computer, may not be harmful to our vision. The researchers suggest that this indicates that playing video games could have potential for improving some conditions such as amblyopia (Rochester.edu). Additionally, evidence has shown that gaming can help with psychological problems and games reduce symptoms of depression more than conventional treatment. Another research team at Oxford University found that playing Tetris shortly after exposure to something very upsetting in the experiment, a film of traumatic scenes of injury and death was used, can actually prevent people from having disturbing thoughts (oxford.edu). Therefore playing games can also help in releasing tension and help a person to have lighter thoughts.

The effects are not always so positive, however. Indiana University researchers carried out brain scans on young men and found evidence that violent games can alter brain function after as little as a week of play, affecting regions in the brain associated with emotional control and causing more aggressive behaviour (Indiana.edu). But Daphne Bavelier, one of the most experienced researchers in the field, says that the violent action games that often worry most parents may actually have the strongest beneficial effect on the brain (Bavelier). Games like Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto, Doom and others, have taken the blame for various heinous crimes (Gross). Certain government officials have even gone as far as filing lawsuits against the developing companies in an attempt to outlaw video games in general. Not only that, but they have also been under inspection for supposedly causing a gaming “”addiction””.

Some of the other controversial video games are also the ones with the greatest potential benefits. Fast-paced, FPS like BioShock Infinite, Halo, Half-Life, Borderlands and third-person equivalents like God of War: Ascension, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Force Unleashed have all been accused of being too violent, but the benefits gamers gain from playing them are astounding. Researchers like Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green have been able to demonstrate in multiple laboratory tests that playing these fast-paced games increases a person’s ability to try multiple pieces of visual information and decrease reaction time. They also have worked with another researcher, Alexandre Pouget, and showed that fast-action games also decrease decision making time. Basically, these games have so much going on all the time that for someone not used to following and tracking so much information it can be overwhelming. Gamers have no trouble keeping up with this information overload. The players are able to assess, make decisions and react quickly because they have learned how to do so in order to play and advance. If they are playing by themselves they may have to give orders to their computer allies. If they are playing with other humans then they have to be able to communicate effectively with them while tracking all the other data. This shows how playing video games cna help a person be more confident in telling others what to do and helps their communication skills and interact with others better. The brains of gamers adapt so quickly, that they can keep track of all the information they need to. Bavelier and her team found that a video gamer’s brain physically changes so that the player can process all of this information, and, most importantly, use it. A video gamer is capable of making accurate, informed decisions faster than a non-gamer with the same percentage of right answers. Bavelier and Green demonstrated that this benefit from fast-action video games sticks around for at least six months after a test subject has played only 10 hours over the course of 2 weeks. This means that every person can gain this benefit without actually being a gamer, as long as he or she is willing to put in a few hours a week to train his or her brains. This is really exciting because many of these changes have immediate benefits other senacios such as driving because when driving, the increased awareness, ability to track the many things going on around us and to make correct, fast decisions about likely outcomes of movements is invaluable in the prevention of car accidents. Playing video games has a huge impact on an individual’s brain and as a result has a direct impact on how gamers interact with and navigate our world.

Many gamers are told over and over that they have trouble focusing, but they do so well in focusing when there is so much happening on their screens all the time. Exciting new research, again from Daphne Bavelier and her team, is showing that gamers’ attention and focus is actually better than that of non-gamers. They are capable of resolving visual conflicts faster, which is frequently used in the lab to determine attention and focus capabilities. However, video game detractors point to information released by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) regarding increased Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis rates since 1997 with growth rates as high as 22% between 2003 and 2007. They argue that more and more children are being exposed to video games and more and more educators and parents are complaining that their children are unable to focus on things like classroom instruction the female orgasm and homework (Sucutti). What has been found, though, is that these child gamers’ brains, as well as the brains of their already adult counterparts, are very capable of focusing and they can maintain the same level of performance in what we find in many video games like World of Warcraft, much of the Final Fantasy series, and the previously mentioned first person shooters for hours. However, Gabe Zicherman, a leader in the development and application of “”gamification””, disagrees with such views. He suggests that it is adults that need to catch up and keep up with kids, not slow down kids to their slower pace.

Today’s kids play games in which they’re expected to chat in text and voice, operate a character, follow long and short term objectives, and deal with their parents interrupting them all the time to talk to them. Kids have to have an extraordinary multi-tasking skill to be able to achieve things today. It should then not be a surprise to discover that children who have become excellent learners in high-stimulus virtual environments may have trouble settling down into a sedate classroom with other children who are also conditioned to learning through video games. Tom Chatfield has written multiple articles and a book on how video games are the perfect education and motivation tools. He points out that children are constantly learning in a virtual environment where there are consequences to not accomplishing a task, losing a life, a tool, or not meeting a time requirement. There are also clearly stated rewards to completing the task as well as possible unexpected rewards that are doled out at calculated increments. Video game designers have been fine tweaking the ratio of difficulty, rewards and consequences to being a dumbass so that they know exactly how much to throw at a gamer at what level in each game in order to keep that person engaged and coming back for more. Educators could learn a lot from what these designers already know; children who are engaged and rewarded in an interactive learning process can and do give their entire attention and focus.

The fact that video games are a tool that can be used for education, and therefore do have an impact on the human brain, means we do need to be aware of what the potential negative impacts of those changes could be. What most every person has heard as an argument against video games is that they encourage violence and aggression in the people who play them. Multiple studies have been published on the topic, but when those studies have been reviewed and compared, it was found that they contradicted each other, and in many cases, used flawed methods to reach their conclusion regardless of the results. Christopher J. Ferguson with Texas A&M University used meta-analysis to review 12 studies available to him at the time of his publishing and found that researchers often used flawed methodology, drew conclusions that were not supported by their evidence, or in general could find no link between video games and violence. Holly Bowen and Julia Spaniol of the Dept. of Psychology with Ryerson University found that there is no indication that people who play violent video games have any long-term emotional desensitization to violence in their immediate surroundings. They do acknowledge that there may be a period immediately after playing these violent games that a gamer may be desensitized, but it is not an effect that could be attributed to an increase violence and aggressive behavior in those test subjects. Essentially, the evidence so far is showing that video games have a short-term impact on how people respond to violence and are likely desensitized to violence and possibly even reading for a short period after they play violent video games, but there is little evidence that there is a long-term impact. The heart of the argument against violent video games is based on the idea of a long-term, negative impact on gamers. Research just does not support that position.

Video games have become a part of our culture and a part of our lives in many ways. As a society we need to focus our energy and attention on is how to use them to make our lives better. We’ve already seen research that shows how video games can be used to help with several tasks with real world applications. We can use video games to increase our ability to track multiple objects and thus be able to monitor more of our surroundings while driving. They teach people how to be able to focus and maintain attention in situations where there is a lot of information to absorb in very short period of time. Video games can help us to better analyze what is going on around us and make quick decisions about the best action to take in a variety of situations. New research about the benefits of video games is coming out every year. It is time for us all to step forward and embrace the technology around us that has so many benefits and work together to mitigate the deficits that are present. Our society will not be ruined by this action, but will instead be enhanced further. There is one further thing we need to do. We need to sit down and pick up a controller. We leave ourselves at a disadvantage if we refuse to play out of false concerns regarding violence and aggression. Video games are a form of media that is often believed to be associated with negative health consequences. However, they are a great source of stress relief and improvement and development of mental health for social skills. They are engaging and immersive on a level different from traditional board games and other forms of entertainment. The player actively contributes to the level of satisfaction they attain because of the willingness to engage in the elements of the video game. The amount of play time can also be an important factor to the effects of playing certain games. In other words, excessive screen time can have its negative consequence, but if used correctly, video games possess advantages not present in other learning environments and can be a powerful tool to help children improve and develop life skills. Playing video games has become a normal part of childhood for many children and gaming in its proper manner can be healthy, fun, and educational to all ages.

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What are the negative effects of video games on young people?

What is the impact of video games on behaviour, what are behavioural disorders related to video games, finally, what are the consequences of video games.

5 benefits of video games for health and education 

Video games for depression.

🤩Video games can make you happier. They are often designed to encourage the production of dopamine (the happiness hormone) with stimulating sounds and colours rewarding your achievements. A study conducted in New Zealand even showed that video games can help relieve depression!

Video games for learning

📚Video games can help children with dyslexia to read better and can encourage children with dyscalculia to count better. Action games develop attention and concentration while serious games are built with the aim of helping players learn new skills!

Play to become smarter 

💡Video games make you smarter. Strategy games like Starcraft require players to exercise great brain flexibility and make quick decisions while having to process a lot of information. 

Improved concentration

🚀Video games develop your concentration and memory skills, often in high-pressure situations where every second counts!

Video games stimulate our brain

👍 Video games promote engagement and motivation, and there are many educational games available. Video games are designed to stimulate players over a longer period of time.

Problems with video game addiction

📵One of the main negative effects of video games on young people is addiction. Indeed, addiction to video games, as well as cyberaddiction, can have serious consequences: isolation, loss of social ties , and feeling cut off from the real world. 

The danger of video games to the brain

Among the effects of video games on the brain, it is important to be aware of the risk of developing serious mental condition s, such as schizophrenia or depression . 🤧

In addition, at an age when the brain is still developing, overconsumption of video games (especially combat games) can lead to underdevelopment of certain areas of the brain , such as the hippocampus, a region of the brain that manages short-term memory. ⚠️

The effects of video games on health 

There are many effects of video games on the eyes, such as headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision, etc. Above all, we should be wary of blue light from screens as it is toxic to the retina ! 👁

Another physical effect of video games is obesity. When not accompanied by regular physical activity , video games promote a sedentary lifestyle and therefore increase the risk of overweight and obesity. 

The behavioural benefits of video games 

• Multiplayer video games develop sociability. When your child plays online, they often need to communicate and cooperate with other gamers. 🤝

Because video games encourage you to solve problems, develop strategies or make quick decisions, your child develops a sense of autonomy and independence. 

Playing games allows you to take a break and let off steam, so they can help reduce stress - a bit like a meditation session! 🧘

• Video games can have negative effects on sleep , especially when children play late at night. The stimulation of the game disturbs their circadian rhythms and may lead to sleeplessness. 🛏
• A child who has low self-esteem, victims of bullying or kids who have trouble making friends can find refuge in video games. However, immersing themselves in a virtual world means that they can also completely lose contact with reality.
• One of the biggest worries about video games is that they might lead to aggressive behaviour in children. 👹

Video games have multiple effects on young people and, as with many things, it's all about balance. ⚖️ 

On the one hand, video games improve concentration, stimulate the brain and increase happiness . With this in mind, they can help improve school results. If you see that your child is starting to become addicted to video games or if their school work is taking a back seat or their grades are falling , it's time to act! ⚠️

If you notice any negative effects as a result of playing video games, reduce their game time. You might want to consider an online session with one of GoStudent’s expert tutors to help your child reconnect with academic success!

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Effects of Video Games Essay

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Introduction

School performance, effects on social relationships.

The society has been immensely influenced by the technological changes, which are reshaping some of the activities. The emerging technologies in one way or another have affected every member of society, irrespective of age.

Video Games have had the greatest influence on the lives of children. Children no longer appreciate the outdoor games as was before, as most of their time is spend indoors playing video games.

Although this trend may have a positive impact on the lives of the concerned children as far as their knowledge of computer is concerned, there are various negative impacts.

Various educationists have confirmed that outdoor plays are very important to the development and growth of children.

It helps them develop socially as they meet with their friends and learn to share discussions, get involved in physical activities and develop physically through such games. The paper talks about some of the negative effects of computer games (Finkel, 1995).

It is established through research that computer games do not help children grow academically. In fact, computer games contribute to inactivity of body cells, which might lead to oversight hence causing diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

Moreover, indoor games contribute to poor academic performance among students because most of the time is spend on useless games that do not offer any academic lessons.

Lastly, computer games lead to the development of antisocial behavior whereby a student is not interested in interacting with his or her peers.

Available literature shows that more children are growing obese owing to the fact that they spend little time exercising and engage frequently with the computer.

Research shows that children who take part in physical exercises are more healthy, intelligent, and active in class. The study conducted by American Heart Association proved that children are contracting heart diseases mainly because of lack of physical activity.

The research indicated that the number of obese children increased by four percent in 1974. Those affected were children aged six to eleven years.

However, the percentage increase could not be compared with the study conducted in 2006 whereby the increase rate was seventeen percent. As from 1971 to 2006, the number of adolescents thought to be obese increased from 6.1 percent to 17.6 percent.

The percentage increase was shocking. Furthermore, the increase was attributed to lack of physical activity and video games (Wiegman, & van Schie, 1998).

Overweight is a costly condition that leads to a number of illnesses among school going children. According to experts at the University of Michigan, obese children have higher risks of contracting diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, and high blood pressure.

Other illnesses associated with overweight include high cholesterol levels in the body, hyperlipidemia, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, gastrointestinal malfunctions, early adolescence, and finally mental problems.

Studies show that obese children tend to have a low sense of worth and despair.

As AHA records show, obese children are likely to be obese when they attain the adulthood age. This would even cause more problems because they would be exposed to a number of diseases.

A study conducted by Media Literacy Clearinghouse indicated that children had developed a habit towards computer games. Video games had gained relevance among children aged eight and eighteen years to an extent that the rate at which children played computer games rose from an average of 26 minutes in 1999 to 73 minutes in 2009.

Generally, the rate at which children interacted with the computer daily rose from six hours in 1999 to seven hours in 2009. A report compiled in 2004 at the University Hospital of Zurich revealed that a strong link between obesity and video games exist.

It can be concluded that video games do not help children in any way but instead it affects their health. Video games interfere with the children’s eating habits because such children would tend to consume food with high calories.

In this regard, parents need to monitor the behavior of their children as regards to physical fitness.

In the United States, a study conducted to ascertain the effects of computer games on the performance of students proved that PlayStations and other video games such as Xbox Video affects the concentration of children in class.

Furthermore, the study revealed that children who are like using playing video games could not compete favorably with those who prefer physical games. One of the researchers was quoted saying that the performance of students who engage in physical exercises will always improve with time.

Boys are affected more by the new trend since they would rarely improve in class. Their performance would always remain stagnant for a period.

Moreover, boys cannot develop skills that would help them to read and write well in case they are allowed to interact with the computer frequently (Sakurai, 1984).

It should be noted that video games might not necessarily cause poor performance among school going children but the time spent in watching the games or playing them would consume the time that a student would be expected to read, do some homework, and write a good composition.

Definitely, a student would register a poor grade in case he or she does not engage in a serious research. Video games have a tendency of instilling negative reading attitudes to students. This is because a student would find reading a storybook or solving a mathematics problem boring.

Video games are very fast and demand a higher concentration unlike other academic activities that need time for conceptualization. In a joint study conducted in Australia, researchers concluded that video games affect the performance of students in many ways.

Students who spend time playing video games would always perform dismally in class. In fact, the study revealed that computer games do not help children perform well in any of the subjects. This is because students who spend time watching and playing computer games would always score low in each subject.

This research contradicts some of the assumptions that computer games help children to perform well in some subjects. The Australian study revealed that there is no single positive correlation between academic performance and computer games.

Video games are known to influence the cognitive and educational dexterities of children. Moreover, the games can as well as define the children’s social relationships. In a traditional setting, the relationship between the child and the parent or other senior members of society is clearly defined.

The video games have changed meaning that social relations are no longer the same. Studies indicate that video games, especially those that are violent, reshape the behavior of children. Moreover, video games could contain some sort of competition and aggression, which affect the reasoning of children.

In the current society, the rate at which conflicts occur in society has increased. Youths are currently violent because of the new games. The main objective of video games, according to Nintendo and Sega Genesis Center, is violence.

Any game played by children via the computer does not have anything new other than violent content. The companies specializing in selling computer games would convince parents that the games are non-violent but in the real sense, they are not.

A study conducted in 1998 confirmed that many children, over 80%, were familiar to a violent game referred to as Duke Nukem. Unfortunately, only 5% of parents were aware of the game meaning that children are access even those games that are supposed to be accessed by only the adults.

This trend affects the social life of children. In 1999, students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado engaged in a destructive demonstration mainly because of the influence of computer games.

Students shot at their fellow teens and other people because they experienced it through video games. Such kind of behavior is destructive because it could lead to social anomy (Griffith, 1999).

Studies across the world indicate that violent video games increase an individual’s hostility and aggression. Aggressive games would lead to a habit whereby students prefer to play the games rather than engage in physical exercises.

This is even related to overweight. Children who are used to video games tend to be indifferent and unresponsive to the sufferings of other children. They would easily bully their fellow students without mercy.

Finkel, S. (1995). Causal analysis with panel data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Griffith, M. (1999). Violent video games and aggression: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 4(2), 203-212.

Sakurai, S. (1984). Construction of the Social Desirability Scale for Children. Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology , 32(2), 310-314.

Wiegman, O., & van Schie, E. (1998). Video game playing and its relations with aggressive and pro-social behavior. British Journal of Social Psychology , 37(2), 367- 378.

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Playing video games may have a positive impact on mental health and life satisfaction, study finds

Playing video games may be good for your mental health, according to a large new study conducted in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the pandemic upended global supply chains in 2020, demand for video games far outpaced the available supply, so Japanese retailers used a lottery system to decide who could buy two major consoles, the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 (PS5).

Researchers saw an opportunity for a natural experiment on how this random distribution of games played out.

China's restrictive approach to children's screen time and homework showing promising benefits

They surveyed nearly 98,000 people – including about 8,200 people who participated in the lottery – and found that getting a console curbed people’s psychological distress and improved their life satisfaction.

Playing games also improved their overall mental well-being, according to the study, which was published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

In real terms, the impact on gamers was likely "minor but perceptible," Nick Ballou, a postdoctoral researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute who studies the link between gaming and mental health and was not involved in the new study, told Euronews Health.

The dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic could have skewed the results, given people generally had poorer mental health and were less able to socialise and pursue other hobbies, particularly in the pandemic’s early months.

"We have lots of evidence that people turned to games as a lifeline in the early part of the pandemic," Ballou said. His own work found that games helped some people cope with the mental toll of the COVID-19 era.

Rest assured: Playing video games is unlikely to impact well-being, study says

Even so, the study is among the first to establish a causal relationship between video games and mental health.

Researchers also identified differences between the consoles, with PS5 ownership having a greater effect on boys and men as well as “hardcore gamers”, and Switch ownership "slightly favouring" girls and women, as well as people who hadn’t gamed much before winning the lottery.

"This hints at a lot of interesting future questions about how different products affect our lives in different ways," Mike Cook, a senior lecturer in computer science at King’s College London who was not involved with the study, said in a statement .

Concerns about gaming addiction

More than half of the European population regularly plays video games, and the EU video games sector brought in €23.48 billion in 2022.

Yet despite their popularity, video games have long elicited concern from parents, policymakers, and health experts.

In a controversial 2018 move, for example, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified gaming disorder as a clinical syndrome characterised by a lack of control over gaming, prioritising gaming over daily life and other activities, and continuing to game despite “negative consequences” for their relationships with family or friends, education, work, or personal lives.

‘Stop killing our games’: Petition calls for saving Europe’s video games from deletion

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, people with gaming addictions can receive medical treatment at the National Health Service (NHS)’s National Centre for Gaming Disorders. Between October 2019 and March 2023, 745 people were referred to the clinic.

Beyond addiction itself, other studies have found mixed results on the link between video games, mental well-being, aggression, and cognitive function.

The new analysis may help shift the narrative around gaming, leading to a clearer distinction between players who derive real benefits from video games and those who struggle as a result of play.

"Vilification of games still happens, but in general the conversation now is much more nuanced: for most people most of the time, the goods outweigh the bads, but there are undoubtedly people experiencing harm," Ballou said.

Positive and negative effects of playing video games

Everybody loves playing video game right from a kid to an adult. It is the favorite past time and consists of interesting applications. With the increase in processing power, the modern day games have become more advanced and are laden with graphics. The introduction of high powered devices such as Play Station and Xbox has revolutionized the gaming concept and helped it to become more popular. Well, the video games seem to be highly advantageous but they have certain drawback too. Let’s pause and analyze the issue in detail.

Positive impact of Video games:

Increases cognitive thinking: Video games play a very important role in enhancing the logical reasoning prowess of the children. Incredible machine or the angry bird applications compel the kids to think and adopt the best strategy to win the necessary points. They devise creating methods to resolve the puzzles quickly and effectively.

Enhancing the motor skills: One of the best advantages of the gaming technology is that it improves the hand and eye coordination in children. In a shooting game, the user has to take aim and fire the gun as soon as he/she spots the target. Coordination between the actual action and the cerebrum is essential to notch up the win. The regular practice could lead to improved motor skills that might help the child to become successful in the real world as well. According to the researchers, adults who are skillful in playing video games become impeccable medical surgeons.

Managing the resources: Modern video games are based on strategies compelling the gamers to think out of the box. Therefore, they become skilled in planning and devising strategies to executing the projects in the professional world. Gamers with regular exposure turn out to be a better resource manager as compared to those who are not avid followers of the strategy based gaming.

Negative effects of video games:

Addiction: Kids are often glued to their gaming consoles, forgetting about the outside world. The long term effects can prove to be extremely harmful with the child becoming irritated and losing the interest in studies or outdoor games , which can affect their health badly.

Discarding relationships: Preoccupation can do a lot of harm to the user because they might not have the required time to fulfill their commitment towards the relationship. There are many instances when the kids become extremely argumentative with parents to cover their faults.

Health issues: One of the severe disadvantages of video games is related to the health of the child. An individual with continuous exposure to games may become obese and get affected with life threatening disease over a period of time. Obesity is a modern day scourge for the people and causes more harm than good in the long run. In addition, with continuous exposure to the screen, the user might face infection in the eyes. In order to ward off the problem, plan a schedule to play the video game but do not extend the time. Make sure that it doesn’t impact your daily life or else all the advantages can go down the drain resulting in tremendous problems.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Violence in Video Games — Advantages And Disadvantages Of Video Games Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games

• Categories: Video Games Violence in Video Games

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Words: 1148 |

Published: Feb 9, 2022

Words: 1148 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

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Introduction, video games: advantages and disadvantages, works cited.

• Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., & Seitz, A. R. (2013). Learning through action video games. Nature, 12, 135-138.
• Chang, Y. C., & Huang, Y. M. (2015). Learning by playing: A cross-sectional descriptive study of nursing students’ knowledge acquisition in digital and non-digital games. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(1), 128-140.
• Ferguson, C. J. (2015). Do angry birds make for angry children? A meta-analysis of video game influences on children's and adolescents' aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 646-666.
• Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., Yukawa, S., Ihori, N., Saleem, M., Ming, L. K., . . . Sakamoto, A. (2009). The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: International evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(6), 752-763.
• Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American Psychologist, 69(1), 66-78.
• Hilgard, J., Engelhardt, C. R., & Rouder, J. N. (2017). Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 143(7), 757-774.
• McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Penguin.
• Russoniello, C. V., O’Brien, K., & Parks, J. M. (2009). The effectiveness of casual video games in improving mood and decreasing stress. Journal of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation, 2(1), 53-66.
• Subramanian, V. (2018). Digital game-based learning: A review of the effectiveness of educational games. In T. Reiners, & L. C. Wood (Eds.), Gamification in education and business (pp. 43-73). Springer International Publishing.
• Vandewater, E. A., Shim, M. S., & Caplovitz, A. G. (2004). Linking obesity and activity level with children's television and video game use. Journal of Adolescent, 27(1), 71-85.

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