Video games are not held accountable for anything, including the detrimental effects they have on people’s mental health, the rise in violent crime, complete sleeplessness, and the global epidemic of loneliness. Let us attempt to ascertain the veracity of these charges.
About 25% of people on Earth play video games. The age of a gamer has no boundaries – it can be a 6-year-old kid or a 40-year-old owner of a private company. Today, such online platforms as Bettilt are becoming more and more popular, where many cool games for every taste are collected. Games are great entertainment that brings a lot of joy to its fans. At the same time, there are many rumors and legends surrounding video games that spoil the good name of the industry. Video games are often the subject of baseless controversy, and today I’m going to debunk those myths with science!
Games make children cruel
The games’ primary accusation is their cruelty. This primarily pertains to Call of Duty, Postal, and the GTA series. Because of its gaming characteristics, the latter has generally been featured in the media on a regular basis. These charges are typically supported only by disparaging remarks made by different video game haters. Real scientific investigations conducted by individuals wearing robes from many places across the world are on the side of gamers..
Early in 2018, the University of York carried out the most recent study. Two distinct games were made for the tests: one included avoiding lorries, and the other involved running from a cat as a mouse. The scientists then displayed the matching images and made inferences based on the test subjects’ responses. Therefore, they made an effort to ascertain how games affected a person’s viewpoint. The suggested games turned out to have little impact on the subjects..
2017 saw the completion of the second study in Germany. Four years of testing players of Call of Duty and Counter-Strike allowed scientists to pinpoint the effect more precisely. Upon completion, individuals were also given images of different forms of violence and their responses were contrasted with those of test subjects. The two groups (playing and not playing) ended up responding with identical responses..
The findings of the third study, which was conducted in 2017, were even more intriguing. To get the correct picture, 10,000 Britons were surveyed by American Association of Psychologists. It was found that gamers spend more time reading, attending cultural events, and creating art in their spare time..
Experiments were also conducted on 14 Call of Duty and Battlefield players and 14 ordinary people. At the end, two groups were shown scary and cute images. As expected, the response was similar in both groups.
Games make people distracted
Video games are frequently held responsible for inattention or academic failure. Like, they numb kids and make them zombies. My parents had to make similar remarks to me as well. I dislike upsetting others, but that’s not really the case either..
The research was conducted by Daphne Bavelier, a specialist in the field of human brain studies. The research is very old, right from 2012, but it is no less interesting. Bavelier claims that action games improve a person’s attentiveness several times.
As an example, she gives the Stroop test, which you can take right now. In the image you see words that are painted in different colors. Your task is to quickly name the color of the word, not the word itself. In the laboratory, scientists found out that people who spend several hours a day playing games are better at this task than others.
Players were required to track multiple moving dots in a different exam. The problem is that they are all the same color and there are a lot of them on the screen. The experiment revealed that whereas non-gamers can track 1-3 points simultaneously, gamers can track 4-6..
Researchers have shown that playing video games impacts the parietal and frontal cortex, two brain regions involved in attentiveness. Tomography revealed that gamers’ brain regions were highly active.
Video games. social aspect
The social component, which is significant in today’s environment, should also be mentioned. There are claims that gamers are loners, depressed, and dull individuals who cut themselves off from society. I’ll give you some food for thought instead of criticizing myself for denying it..
Every game integrates with social media so you may share your accomplishments there. True, the main purpose is marketing, but there is also communication involved.
Players can find friends and companions to play with in a number of groups inside the same social networks. There have been instances of people finding true love there. Most multiplayer games also have built-in text and voice chat features. Yes, just like in real life, there are some unpleasant people living there, but you can still make friends..
Additionally, some research indicates that gamers are more sensitive to stressful circumstances and capable of making difficult decisions fast. This is because in virtual battlefields, time is of the essence. Some games, such as Dark Souls, let your hero die for the smallest error. As a result, the player considers strategies and gains task-solving skills.
Conclusions
Of course, while researching the topic, I found information about incidents that contradicted my words. In fact, games are no different than books or movies, which can also inspire bad deeds. Everything depends on the person himself and his worldview, and there are enough idiots everywhere.
Games are neither a universal evil nor the bane of modern society. One of the developmental instruments that needs to be used correctly is video games. Recall to play only quality games and to always strive for improvement.
