The Good in Gaming

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Honestly, I do not exactly consider myself a gamer. I can probably count with my fingers and toes the number of games I’ve played in my life. However, when I start playing, I probably won’t stop until something’s broken. Thus, personally, I can attest to one fact:  playing video games will eat so much of your time and it’s hard to go back to the things you must do in reality. For example, the time that should be spent studying will be spent on the quest to become the best pokemon trainer ever. And then after, there’s this guilty feeling that you’ve wasted precious time. However, a very recent article would argue that the time spent on video games is time not wasted.

Many studies on video games focus on its negative effect, like that of Anderson and Dill’s which found that those who played more violent video games are more likely to express aggressive and delinquent behaviours, andthat there is a short-term increase of aggressive behaviour in subjects who were exposed to violent video games. However, it can also be argued that maybe people who play violent video games are high on aggressiveness to begin with. But, Granic, Lobel, and Engels propose that there are benefits from playing video games. They pointed out that there are four possible benefits from video games: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social.

In playing video games like Plants vs. Zombies or World of Warcraft, you don’t just sit there, press some keys, and wait for the game to be finished; you think, strategize. Different levels or different battles would also enable (if not require) you to come up with different game plans as well. Thus, in a cognitive level, video games that need the gamer to strategize can lead to better cognitive skills, especially problem-solving skills. Not only that, there seems to be a relation with playing video games and one’s creativity and spatial ability.

Also, though this would come off little obvious, playing video games is related to having positive affect or emotions. And, who doesn’t want to be happy? Besides, it was found that those who are happy are more likely to be healthier than those who are not.

However, video games are not just about fun and rainbows. Whether one admits or not, there will be times of failure while playing. It can be expected that the difficulty will soar up as it nears the end (or the boss fights). But, as anyone should know, nobody reaches the finish line by quitting halfway. And, in video games, perseverance and determination is rewarded. For example, in Pokemon, one cannot be able to fly unless a certain gym leader is not defeated, and not being able to use fly is one of the most annoying things in my own opinion. Thus, video games teach one to stand up after a fall by reinforcing such behaviour. Though, the extent to which this is brought to real life yet remains to be seen.

And, finally, we may put the stereotype of gamers as isolated, anti-social geeks away for many video games actually promote cooperation. It’s not just competition! In fact, there’s a study that found that the likelihood of engaging in a helping behaviour is related to a child’s playing – more specifically with prosocial games. Also, if you search online, there are actually groups of people sharing the same love for a game who arrange meetings in real life.

So, the next time somebody tells you to stop playing because it leads to nothing, you can tell them that there are evidences that suggest otherwise.

Blogpost by: Glessa Francesca Garibay

References:

Adachi, P. J., & Willoughby, T. (2013). More than just fun and games: The longitudinal relationships between strategic video games, self reported problem solving skills, and academic grades. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 1041–1052. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9913-9

Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video Games And Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, And Behavior In The Laboratory And In Life.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772-790.

Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2013, December 2). The Benefits of Playing Video
Games.American Psychologist. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0034857

Pettit, J. W., Kline, J. P., Gencoz, T., Gencoz, F., & Joiner, T. E. (2001). Are happy people healthier?The specific role of positive affect in predicting self-reported health symptoms. Journal of Research in Personality, 35 (4), 521-536.

Sherry, J. L. (2004). Flow and media enjoyment.Communication Theory,14, 328–347. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00318.x