In the present era of technology, all of us are very much used to technology. And a large part of our population, that is children are getting influenced by it, as a result, they are busy playing video games most of the time without knowing the effects of video games.
“Effects of video games on child psychology” has been a topic of great debate between psychologists and other health professionals for a long time. Some say, ‘video games are good for children’ while some say, ‘it is bad for children ‘. But video games have always faced anger or hate from almost every parent and they use to say “Enough! Find something else to do”.
So let’s see the effects of video games on child psychology.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VIDEO GAMES
DISADVANTAGES
Video games are designed with a reward structure. And there is a chance of scoring high. This keeps the person in the game which may lead to overdoing video games. This may cause the following problems-
- May lead to weak eyesight.
- Children become physically unfit.
- Due to the excess use of video games, it has been seen that children do not focus on their academics.
- Too much time playing video games can make children socially isolated.
- Various violent video games are also there online, exposer to which will affect the child’s psychology badly by an increase in aggressive behavior.
- Video game addiction may cause a mental disorder, known as gaming disorder.
Even after lots of disadvantages, we must look for advantages. Because “EVERY COIN HAS TWO SIDES”
ADVANTAGES
The main benefits of playing video games involve enhancing mental skills that include:
- Problem-solving and logic increase by playing logical games like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, etc.
- Increase in Hand-eye coordination, fine motor, and spatial skills.
- Quick thinking.
- Strategy Making.
- Increase in Concentration power.
- They learn how to respond to challenges.
- Teamwork and cooperation when played with others.
- A study was done by Dr. Daphne Bavelier, a brain scientist at the University of Rochester and the University of Geneva.
- And her research found that gamers’ brains show activity in multiple brain regions, indicating numerous surprising benefits in areas like perception, attention, task switching, mental rotation, brain plasticity, learning, short-term memory, crowding acuity, contrast sensitivity, and perceptual decision processes.
But all the above-listed advantages are advantages only when video games use just as an entertainment medium and also for a limited time.
Hence after seeing both advantages and disadvantages, we can say that “the effects of the video game on child psychology depend upon the way of its usage”. If we play them just for fun, it will leave a good effect otherwise it will harm us.
AUTHOR : KRITI SRIVASTAVA