Video games have been controversial since their inception in a way that many other forms of entertainment have not. Despite the great development that has occurred in the world of electronic games and the introduction of many new titles that mimic cinematic films in terms of story or provide many mental challenges, the stigma of the negative effects of games on the brains of adolescents and children has not left them.
The global position against video games was strengthened in 2019 when the World Health Organization decided to view video game addiction as a brain disease that requires treatment, in addition to the existence of several studies accusing video games of harming the brain and negatively affecting it.
In contrast to these studies, a new trend has emerged in the world of psychiatry indicating that video games are not harmful in this way, but may be beneficial in some cases and have a positive effect on the brain development of adolescents and people with challenges. So where does the truth lie between these two extremes?
video game addiction
The World Health Organization defines video game addiction as a behavioral pattern related to video games characterized by loss of control over games and the desire to experience them, as well as placing them at the top of daily priorities without considering other aspects of life and continuing to prioritize games without considering the negative consequences resulting from them.
Although the World Health Organization has designated this description to suit video games, it actually suits all different types of addiction, whether it is addiction to drugs or even to card games, where the addict places these things at the top of his priorities without considering the negative consequences.
Reaching such a stage of attachment to the world of games also requires going through several initial stages in which games are not a major cause of addiction or even harmful in the way that other forms of addiction such as drugs or card games have.
Of course, when reaching this stage, the process of recovering from gaming addiction mimics recovery from drug addiction without the presence of physical symptoms on the addict, meaning that the recovery process requires staying away from games and redefining priorities in daily life, and the recovering person may lose his chance to return to the world of games, but without a doubt, recovering from video game addiction is not as difficult or challenging as recovering from alcohol or drug addiction.
Despite the clarity of this disease and its definition, it does not address the usual cases of video games, as it jumps to describe acute cases without considering players who spend less time in front of their games and have a clear arrangement of priorities in a way that does not affect their daily lives.
Improve brain function
Moderate video game use has some positive effects on the brains of children and adolescents, helping them develop some advanced functions that non gamers lack, according to a 2022 study by pediatricians Badr Al Shaarani, Joseph Ortegara, and Dekang Yuan published in JAMA Network. The study measured cognitive performance and blood oxygen levels, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging, to measure the impact of gaming on 2,200 children aged 9 to 10 participating in the study, coordinated between a variety of public, private, and charitable schools in 21 cities in the United States, and then compared these results between children who enjoy a weekly gaming period of no less than 21 hours and those who do not engage in video games at all.
The results of the study showed that the group of children who played had a higher level of cognitive performance, in addition to providing better results in functional magnetic resonance imaging tests, indicating that they had more active parts of the brain than non playing children in general. It is worth noting that these active parts are primarily associated with memory and attention functions.
The results of this study refute the hypothesis that video games in general have a negative effect on players, specifically children aged 9 to 10 who were studied, and are consistent with other studies that led to the creation of the treatment Endeavor R.x, which is a video game specifically designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children aged 8 to 12 years, and despite being a video game in the first place, it is not available without a prescription from the child’s treating physician.
In addition, there are many other studies that indicate additional benefits of games, starting with improving brain plasticity and increasing gray matter in the brain’s composition, which is the part responsible for controlling emotions and many other brain functions because it contains the largest percentage of neurons.
Thanks to the increase in gray matter, players show a higher level of coordination between eye and hand movements in addition to paying attention to visual and auditory signals and then interacting with them better, as many games require attention to detail and noticing these things better.
Overall improvement in cognitive functions
Neurologists refer to a set of basic functions that humans perform during their daily lives as cognitive functions, which include many different aspects related to memory, attention, executive functions, in addition to dealing with language and words and visual awareness of the environment, and these functions extend beyond that to reach more complex aspects such as planning, organization, implementation, problem solving and cognitive flexibility.
Although the weakness of these cognitive functions is not a disease or a negative effect on individuals, their improvement is a positive effect that indicates higher abilities and a greater chance of success in general, and fortunately, video games have a positive effect on these cognitive functions.
The effect of video games on these functions is not a general effect that applies to all types of video games, but rather a specific effect that differs from one game to another, as proven by a study conducted in 2020 on commercial games and their effects on players’ brain functions, as the study showed that adventure and action games directly affect the functions of concentration and attention to detail, in addition to refining information and retaining important information, while other games such as puzzle games improve spatial sense and the ability to consider the bigger picture.
Why do video games have such positive effects?
There are many reasons why video games have such positive effects on players’ brains, but they all boil down to the new experiences that are difficult to experience in everyday life, as well as the positive reinforcement process when the desired outcome is reached. Video games provide a golden opportunity for everyone equally to live experiences that are difficult to live on a daily basis, such as being a soldier in a raging war against an army of evil in adventure and action games, or being a Roman leader responsible for constantly upgrading your state and city in strategy games, and you may prefer puzzle games that focus on intellectual skills and improve the general level of intelligence of individuals.
Negative effects amidst positives
Despite the many positive benefits that video games offer to players, there are some negative effects mixed in between these benefits, all of which revolve around the risks of addiction resulting from pathological use of games and expand beyond addiction itself and the negative impact on daily life.
While healthy consumption of games nurtures sensory skills, excessive consumption that reaches the point of addiction causes the player to disconnect from daily life and live in a virtual world all the time, in addition to the fact that some games enhance negative desires to apply violence to daily life and try to find shortcuts to solve daily challenges.
Games enhance positive activities within their world by granting various rewards within them, and although this is good in moderate cases, some users become addicted to the feeling of positive reward on an ongoing basis, which prompts them to search for it in all aspects of daily life, even if it is through devious ways, which is the same thing that drives them to video game addiction and try to reach this feeling of happiness as a result of the rewards within this world.
Trying to look at the world of video games holistically is unfair to many of the games and experiences available through it, as it cannot be said that all games and all types of direct consumption of them are bad and harmful to the brain, nor can it be said that they are all good and provide continuous positive benefits. The main key to getting the most out of this world remains moderation and continuous monitoring in order to intervene before it turns into a harmful addiction.