Video Games - They’re Good! 

By: Caleb Spooner

        Have you been told by someone in the past that you shouldn’t ever play video games because they are bad for your health, or because they cause violence and depression? That might not be so true; video games have many positive effects on your brain and body.

        Video games can help with memory and attention. According to data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, children who played video games for three hours or more each day had higher brain activity in areas of the brain associated with attention and memory but less brain activity in brain areas related to vision. This could mean that video games make visual comprehension easier for your brain, letting the brain devote more resources to attention and memory, which are very important for many situations. Also, when you play video games, you often have to juggle multiple tasks. Juggling tasks exercises the hippocampus, a part of the brain handling conversion of short-term memory into long-term memory, which can improve one’s long-term memory. This memory improvement was shown in a 2015 study from the University of California. The study found that those who played 3-D video games performed better on memory tests than those who played 2-D video games or no video games at all, so if you want to improve your memory, you should try out some 3-D video games. But memory is not the only thing that video games can improve.

        Video games can benefit your brain in many other ways, too, like how shooter video games improve how you think about objects in three dimensions, according to a 2013 study by the American Psychological Association. In the study, it is documented that only specific video games help with spatial skills, which is a category that excludes puzzle-solving and role-playing categories. It is only one type of game, shooter games. As stated in the study, these spatial benefits are likely due to the very visually-rich three-dimensional environments navigated when playing shooter games. This improvement in spatial skill can help when trying to do things such as parallel parking or organizing a closet or storage container. Also closely related to this, playing action video games can improve your ability to create perceptual templates, something that helps you determine what is important and what is not when in a complex environment. This type of perception is especially important because it can be applied to almost any situation, so it is good to improve on this aspect of the brain’s function. 

        Additionally, very involved action video games can improve contrast sensitivity, helping the brain to distinguish patterns and shades of colors. This could help when trying to find something you dropped into a patch of grass or finding some friends in a crowd. Another way that video games can benefit your brain is quick thinking. A 2010 study found that people who loved playing action video games accurately made choices up to 25 percent faster than those who enjoyed playing much slower-paced video games instead. This can also be applied to many different situations, like if you are in a fight or even something as little as a Kahoot game. Not only can video games help in the short term, but they can also help in long-term decision-making. Playing video games can improve long-term memory by training your brain to recognize the positive and negative outcomes of certain choices. Playing video games can also help keep your brain young, preventing the deterioration of focus and the ability to multi-task. And yet, there are more ways that video games can help you in your life.

        Video games can help with your social life and don’t hurt it as much as many people say. Also, unlike what many think, there is no correlation between playing video games and being a violent or depressed person. On the contrary, video games can reduce anxiety and make someone happier. According to the same 2013 study by the American Psychological Association mentioned earlier, short and simple games like Angry Birds can improve a person’s mood and make them happier because of the short and sweet, simplistic nature of the game. To add to this, complex and immersive video games can be very therapeutic. When a videogame player is absorbed in a digital world, they don’t have to worry about work, bills, or any other stresses of life, which can lead to being happier. But don’t think that means you can play hours upon hours on end, because excessive video game playing can and in most cases will hurt your social life. However, video games, when played in moderation, can help with social skills. 

        When you take on a fictional persona in a video game, you can go into different social situations and experiment with certain actions and their outcomes. This teaches what is good and what is bad to do in social settings. On top of that, when playing video games that have a multiplayer option, you can play with other people digitally and improve your social life by seeing how a friend acts outside of person-to-person interactions, and if you play with random people, you learn what to avoid, what makes people angry, and what makes people happy to make better decisions when hanging out with a friend or someone close to you. In addition, playing video games is associated with having fewer relationship issues among peers, according to one study of kids in school. In response to the study, Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D., assistant professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, said the following: “These results indicate that children who frequently play video games may be socially cohesive with peers and integrated into the school community.” So, not only can video games help the social lives of older people, but also younger ones, like children who are still in school. Still, though, video games can improve more than just social interactions and the brain.

        Video games can also keep you physically fit and active. Certain video games like Dance Dance Revolution, EA Sports Active, and Beat Saber allow you to exercise while getting the same enjoyment as you would when playing a video game. One study found that playing exercise video games provides satisfaction and a sense of autonomy over your exercising. And according to Sami Yli-Piipari, co-author of the study and an associate professor at the Mary Frances Early College of Education, “When an individual feels autonomous, they’re more likely to exercise or exergame on their own.” This means that playing exercise video games can encourage one to exercise more, and more exercise is always good; most people don’t get enough of it normally. Exercise video games also encourage exercising because they don’t come with the pressures and boredom of going to a gym and don’t require as much traveling to get to. In the same study mentioned earlier, it was found that people who played exercise video games didn’t work out as hard as those who exercised in traditional classes, but they enjoyed their experience more and thus were likely to have more desire to continue exercising. But these benefits don’t only apply to adults. When a parent gives their kid exercise video games, they are more likely to exercise when the adult is not watching because they find it more fun than normal exercise. This is because, as mentioned earlier, exercise video games are fun and do not feel like traditional exercise. So, to recap, video games help your memory, your social life, and help you to stay fit. There are also some other minor benefits of video games.

        One of said other benefits is increased intelligence and school performance. According to a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, high usage of video games was associated with one and seventy-five hundredths times the odds of high intellectual functioning and one and eighty-eight hundredths times the odds of having strong school competence overall. On top of this, many video games are set in various settings across history, which can make the player interested in learning more about history. Also, according to a 2013 study from the American Psychological Association, playing strategy video games was found to increase skill in problem-solving, thus improving grades. Another minor benefit of playing video games is that playing video games can teach resilience and persistence. When you fail repeatedly and then finally succeed, it makes you learn that if you persist, you can typically get a good outcome. This is good in life because if you are never persistent and resilient when challenges come your way, you will give up, which is never good to do. Sometimes, it could even make you miss out on something that you will never find out that you enjoy doing, because you couldn’t do the first step since it was simply too difficult, and you did not persist in trying to complete it. So, there are many benefits to playing video gamesthere , but there are also some drawbacks to playing video games.

        Too much time playing video games and being on screens can lead to health problems. Some of these are obesity, lack of sleep or poor sleep in general, behavior issues, eye strain, and neck and back problems. These can be serious in certain cases, because if you do not get enough sleep, it will severely decrease your ability to function during the day, and behavior issues can get you in trouble. But aside from these more direct health problems, it can also cause other health problems through hyperarousal. 

        See, when you are on screens too much or play video games too much, it can put the brain in a constant state of hyperarousal. Hyperarousal can lead to many different problems, such as an inability to pay attention, difficulties with managing emotions, controlling impulses, and following directions. These are just some of the problems, but there are many others. Hyperarousal can cause some physical symptoms too, like irritability, feeling jittery, and depression. But aside from hyperarousal, video games can cause addiction. This addiction comes with even more problems, like other thoughts being blocked out because of an immense desire to play video games. It can lead to a lack of focus, just like with hyperarousal. It can also lead to playing video games and procrastinating other work that needs to be done, like schoolwork. But what can you do to prevent these problems from playing video games?

        One way to prevent the overuse of video games is to use an app that controls the maximum amount of time that can be spent playing video games. There are many different apps, and sometimes even built-in features in devices, to lock out the user after a certain amount of time. Another way to prevent excessive screen time is to charge your devices outside of your room to prevent the temptation to play video games or just spend more time on the screen in general. You can also start small, removing yourself from screens when you get home from work or school, at dinner, and when in a car. Replace video games with other entertainment and relaxation methods, like taking a walk or reading a book. There is always something else that you can do besides video games.

        So, in conclusion, video games can be good for you, but make sure to play them in moderation. If you don’t, there can be many consequences, like health problems - physical and mental - that will deteriorate your experience in life. Next time you are thinking about logging on to a device, recall the advantages and disadvantages. Just keep in mind that video games will benefit you, whether it be your brain or your body!