What Video Games Do To Your Brain - The Pros And Cons

 

For those of you who have heard from your parents, “Don't play video games too long, they will ruin your brain,” let's see if this is so. 

 

The year is almost 2021, and the gaming industry is not slowing down: the choice of platforms is steadily increasing, the quality of games is rapidly improving, and the growing audience of gamers who have adopted and integrated games into their daily life has reached a high point and is still growing. 

 

Yes, a lot of the gaming industry thrives on esports. games like Fortnite are not only available on multiple platforms, including smartphones, but they don't require any real investment. 

 

In connection with the significant increase in the number of active players, the question arises: "How bad are video games for us?"

 We've all heard that at one point or another someone has talked about video games as if they harm your eyesight, disrupt your posture and destroy brain function, but what are these claims based on?

C. Shawn Green opinion

Psychology professor Sean Greene at the University of Wisconsin Madison thinks about it:

Video games are a very broad category. The impact of the game depends on what tasks are involved in it. Therefore, different gamets affect the brain in different ways. You wouldn't ask "how food affects your body", you need to know its composition. It's the same with video games: the mechanics, dynamics, and content of individual games are predictors of how they affect the brain in their own way.

Professor Green then gives an example of an action game , noting that all objects, including the player, are moving at a fast pace. When there are multiple objects on the screen that need to be monitored at the same time, the emphasis is on edge processing - which, in turn, requires quick and accurate decisions on tight deadlines. 

After 15 years of research, the biggest positive effect of action games is the enhancement of sensory perception - it affects how the player's mind can interpret external stimuli such as images and sounds, as well as spatial touch, which helps you coordinate and navigate in 3D. environment. This improves the ability to focus on one subject while ignoring distractions.

Video games as digital medicine

Recalling that games are considered beneficial for mental health, researchers at UCSF's Neuroscape Lab are working to bridge the gap between technology and neuroscience to improve people's brain functionality. In the future, special cognitive games can be viewed as a form of digital medicine prescribed for ADHD patients. So with all this information, let's take a look at the main pros and cons.

Why are scientists focusing specifically on cognitive control? The reason is that it is the foundation upon which all other functions are built, such as memory, reasoning, decision making, wisdom, and so on. If a person cannot concentrate, everything else collapses - they simply cannot develop any of the higher-order cognitive abilities. 

Pros and cons:

Pros:

• Cognitive strengthening is the ability to quickly perceive and respond to data and stimuli.
• Hand-eye coordination is the coordinated control of eye and hand movements along with processing visual input to guide action.
• Perception is the sensory ability to see, hear, and be aware of external stimuli.
• Concentration is the ability to concentrate attention on the subject of activity.
• Attention is the mental ability to look at or notice someone or something.
• Working memory is the ability to store and remember important information.
• The response time is the time it takes for a person to react to point stimuli from external influences.

Cons:

• Repetitive motion injuries resulting from intense play sessions - injuries to the fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and neck - are all the result of repetitive motion over an extended period of time.
• Unhealthy lifestyles - Play can consume most of a person's day, resulting in neglect of physical activity, time spent outdoors, and a balanced diet.

Looking through the list above, we can say that most of the studies say one thing - the human brain responds positively to games and this leads to an overall increase in cognitive abilities, motor control, while the short list of disadvantages is usually the result of abuse. Both of these cons require moderation and balance, like everything in this life.

The key to moderation is that people need self-awareness to keep track of their involvement, which can be highly addictive. Games have a powerful connection to the reward centers in the human brain and can be a quick and easy way for a person to experience the euphoria of achievement without actually achieving anything in real life. 

You will get more value from short-term gaming sessions evenly spaced over time, rather than from one long visit. In terms of cognitive function, games have been observed to have either positive effects or none at all. There are no confirmed cases where gaming has resulted in cognitive damage or performance degradation over time.

 How have video games influenced your life?