Video Games: Harmful or Helpful?

In writing my Masters thesis on this topic, it has become very interesting and a growing aspect within the field of psychology. Due to the increasing media coverage and implementation of new laws concerning gun violence, many families and psychologists have named violent video games such as Call of Duty, Halo, and even Skyrim. The media also lumps together violent video games, which are linked to gun violence and stabbings across the country, to other types of video games, such as roleplaying and even arcade genres. Unfortunately, research outside the realm of violent video games is sparse, indicating a need for researchers to investigate the possible benefits of video game play.

According to new research conducted by Kooiman and Sheehan (2015), positive aspects of games occur within exercise-oriented gameplay, newly dubbed ‘exergames. Examples of exergames include additional equipment onto the original console, whether its an Xbox, Wii, or Playstation. Kooiman & Sheehan (2015) describe exergames as video games in which interact both video games and exercise like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii sports, for instance. These types of games have been shown to increase attention span and responsiveness, in addition to the benefits of exercising. Kooiman and Sheehan (2015) also have found that periods of extended and maintained gaming with these types of exergames offer more stable results.

Additionally, some video games have been found to be a positive aspect when played by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on a frequent basis (Finke et al., 2015). Parents had rated childrens ASD symptoms as lessened or better controlled when children ages eight to twelve played simple video games on a daily basis. Parents reactions towards their childrens symptoms were more positive, whereas parents of children who did not play as much video games per day (Finke et al., 2015).

Frequent video game usage is one of the main deterrents in accordance with media coverage on video game play and adolescents. For example, in a study conducted by Kuhn et al. (2014), researchers focused on measuring cortical thickness and cognitive functioning after identifying participants who played long-duration video games. In a sample of 152 participants, Kuhn et al. (2014) found that in participants who played the most video games, cortical thickness and cognitive functioning increased, indicating that functioning was quickened and more precise.

In a personal opinion, I believe that video games, in an appropriate amounts, can assist in reducing stress and anxiety, by providing forms of relief in reference to daily hassles and chronic stressors. Video games may allow individuals to escape the commonalities of life and allow them to focus on something more than their problems. It is important to broaden the search on video game and media research in order to clear the air surrounding the negative stigma that violent video games hold. Perhaps there are positive aspects among violent video game typologies as well!

Overall, the research on video games has mainly focused on violent video games, mostly ignoring other gaming types like roleplaying or arcade. By ignoring these fields of the gaming community, research is limited upon this subject matter. There appear to be distinguishing positive aspects of video gameplay that have been found among the appropriate type of game and length of gameplay. Aspects such as these will continue to provide information on the positive outcomes of maintained video gameplay, but research must focus on distinguishing factors among these.

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