Since the creation of video games, they took the world by storm and now there are few households without a video game console, roughly 80% of Americans have a gaming system in their home that is being regularly used. In 2011, a study was conducted that determined roughly 91% of children within the ages of two and seventeen have played video games at some point in their life, this accounts for over 65 million children. With such a rapid growth it sparked a huge debate on whether video games create negative effects on children. Although some studies have concluded that video games aid the creativity and assist with cognitive behaviors, the media is constantly harassing video games stating they are bad for our youth. In October of 1958, a Physicist by the name of William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game.
This game was an extremely simple tennis game, similar to the 1970s video game “Pong”. Over a few short decades, the video game industry has become one of the highest grossing industries in the world, being valued at almost 100 billion dollars in 2016. Being that the industry brings in such a significant amount of revenue, it makes sense as to why it brings a high level of suspicion on not only why it has such a high amount of income, but also as to the effect it has on the players. A study recently conducted shows that those who participate in action games as well as shooter games “show faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial resolution in visual processing, and enhanced mental rotation abilities” (Granic et al. 67).
These types of games have been known to also improve cognitive abilities also improving an individual’s mood. According to Granic, games that have minimal interfaces, short-short term commitments, which also possessing a high level of accessibility will improve a players’ mood, ward off anxiety, as well as promote relaxation. Video games are becoming easier and easier to play with consoles such as the Nintendo Switch as well as mobile gaming on mobile phones and tablets. The media seems to believe that video games promote isolation and hinder social skills however this is extremely far from the truth, “over 70% of gamers play their games with a friend (Granic et al. 77). Thanks to the internet, most games allow some form of communication to help build teamwork and has been known to develop close friendships amongst strangers. While these seem to be positive views of video gaming there are also some negatives.
Studies have shown that most video gamers become addicted in a short time frame to the games they are playing. While most players begin to play games for recreational purposes, with friends after school or work, or even to simply pass the time, other players do not have the self-control to keep the video game from controlling them. “10 to 15% of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization criteria for addiction” (Young, 26). Also, according to Young, “certain pathways of the brain are triggered in the same intense way that a drug addict’s brain is effected by a particular drug”. Even though addiction has become a negative outcome of video gaming, there are still numerous positive outcomes. Addiction is one of those things that has the potential to cling onto any person, with any substance or activity. The problem is addiction is seen as a disease rather than fixable problem.
The simple fact is, video games have the potential to do more positive than negative. Contrary to popular belief, video games do more than create mindless zombies, or make a kid not bath, or as proven false earlier, create social recluses. Psychiatrists believe “video games facilitate therapeutic relationships, compliment the psychological assessment of youth by evaluating cognitive skills, and elaborate and clarify conflicts during the therapy process” (Ceranoglu, 142). Professional snowboarder Shaun White explains “there are plenty of skills I’ve learned from playing video games, it is more interactive than watching tv because there are problems you have to solve using your brain”. When compared against people who do not play video games there is a significant increase in cognitive skill development. This is partly due to the fact that video games allow players to make decisions on their own allowing them to determine the end game finale.
Although video games have been proven to increase social skills and hand-eye coordination along with educational benefits, most parents would rather see these skills increased by physical activity. Due to the nature of video gaming it is easy for a child to get lost in the video game virtual world and live almost completely physically inactive. Due to this it children are at an increased risk of obesity. Gaming consoles like the Wii, the Kinect, and the Playstation Move incorporate physical activity to obtain goals within the video game, this helps to counteract the obesity risk as well as increasing motor skills. Video games do not alter a child’s vision between virtual and reality, it is time to get over the idea that video games are bad for human beings and embrace them for the amount of enjoyment they can bring to our lives. Video games supply players with various traits that can benefit their lives. In order for the positive outcomes to outweigh the negative, it is crucial for parental supervision to not only limit play time but also playing with your child can build better relationships.
