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Carson Barrow

UWRT 1103

Suzanne Ingram

3 December 2015

The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games on the Human Brain

In an ever-growing world of technology, people often argue and debate as to what’s good

and what’s bad about any one thing or category of things. Now, the issue is not a totally

bipartisan problem of “Good and Bad” or “Negative and Positive,” but these are likely

considered to be the two broadest categories, effectively sometimes making the topic difficult to

narrow. It functions, nonetheless. In the world of video games, one might hear many people

complaining about how video games make children lazy, promote poor health and hygiene,

pollute their minds, or make their grades go down. On the contrary, other arguments state that

video games are a positive addition to a person’s library of possessions. These people say that

video games promote excellent bodily functions, aid a person in life skills, and promote social

and communicative abilities among other things. While these constant debates may create

confusion as to what’s correct and what isn’t, the goal of this research paper is to provide

information on the many aspects of video games regarding the brain and human function from a

variety of viewpoints, effectively attempting to answer the questions: How do video games

contribute to the adequate and healthy function of the human mind? Why are they a good thing

or why are they a bad thing? Finding some answers to these will enrich the mind with knowledge

and allow the ability to weigh the effects and see some of the differences between them,

effectively enabling a better-educated conclusion.

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Firstly, we will take a look at one of the negative points some people pose against video

games that causes many controversies: violence. The most common people to pose some of these

accusations tend to be concerned parents and, of course, people who advocate against violence in

video games. Violence, as the research clearly suggests, is probably the biggest contributor to

what started the debate on video games being some sort of concentrated evil streaming from the

television. Violence in video games is an issue that widely surfaced in the early 1990s with

multi-platform games (games that are either originally or eventually released for more than one

system) like the arcade-originated game Mortal Kombat and the Microsoft DOS PC-originating

game DOOM (Kohler). These games, although different from each other, both contain a

tremendous amount of blood and gore, especially Mortal Kombat’s unique bloody fighting game

style, which allows players to multiply the blood and gore by placing brutal finishing moves on

opponents. DOOM, on the other hand, was one of the early attempts at a first-person view

shooting game in which the player massacres various aliens and creatures with blood-and-gut

ripping firearms and even a chainsaw. The festivities all occur while traipsing around in hell and

on Mars’s futuristically advanced moons. It was a very interesting concept for an early first-

person shooting game, and the formula clearly worked, as I know very many people who enjoy

this game, myself included. Of course, with the relatively new introduction of computer

violence, combined with the advancement of graphics, which was slowly but surely approaching

more life-like standards during this period of time, parents and the general public became

concerned with how this was affecting their children. Many people placed the simple accusation

on violence: Violence just has no place in video games, which arguably are mostly played by and

targeted toward children (Gentile).

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Violence itself in video games is one of the single most-disputed topics that arise when

parents are buying games for their children. According to Douglas A. Gentile of The Dana

Foundation, violence may desensitize players to real life situations such as shootings or tragic

events because these individuals are used to it pouring out of the TV. Other than this, it is

disputed that video game violence may also resort to causing the player to become violent in real

life. There has been no conclusive evidence found that supports this accusation, although some

shootings, such as the Columbine shooting, were said to be influenced by violent games (Moore,

Manville).

Back to the concept of multi-platform video games: certain companies like Nintendo and

Sega had a basic control of what games were released on their systems. With a popular game like

Mortal Kombat, it was natural that companies wanted to generate wealth by having the game

available for sale on their gaming systems. The question was: How do they port them over with

the controversial market in the way? Sega had their own adopted rating system while Nintendo

had a simpler policy of just “No violent or suggestive games on their systems.” The Sega

Genesis version of Mortal Kombat retained all of the original content and clearly said on the box

that the game was for mature audiences. The Super Nintendo version kept the fighting and such,

but removed anything to do with blood and disgustingly brutal scenes. The results made an open

statement that it was indeed time to adopt a FEDERAL rating system to apply to video games so

that everything would be fair and less of a commercial and social hassle. The Entertainment

Software Ratings Board, or ESRB, was adopted shortly after this as part of The Video Games

Rating Act of 1994 in order to lasso the rampaging bull that was video game controversy

(Kohler). The resulting rating system was actually very similar to that of Sega’s own ratings

system, and now allowed parents and consumers to see a black and white rating on every new

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video game in order to judge what was right for who. A rating of eC for Early Childhood, K-A

(Kids to Adults, later renamed E for Everyone), T for Teens 13+, M for Mature 17+, and AO for

Adults Only 18+. Another rating, E10+ (Everyone ages 10 and up) was added in the 2000s. eC-

rated games are almost always preschool-age learning games. E-rated games are suitable for all

ages, E10+-rated games are self-explanatory. T-rated games often have more mature themes

suitable for ages 13 and up, possibly including minimal blood and mild language. Games that are

rated “M” generally have heavy violence, strong language, and suggestive themes. Very few

games have ever been rated “AO”, but ones that are rated this are comparable to an “X” or “NC-

17” rated movie. There contain very strong remnants of what can be found in an M-rated game.

This ratings system has still had controversy over being too strict or not strict enough in many

cases, but the arguments are ongoing and not particularly widely problematic. (Kohler)

Despite the ratings system, there are other problems associated to the subject other than

solely violence and suggestive themes; things that can’t exactly be rated and have nothing to do

with being inappropriate. Hygiene, health, the ability to use the brain, and “video game play

withdrawal” are all things that video games can do to place an effect upon a person’s body.

Video game play withdrawal is a term I have coined myself after researching the general subject

of video games’ effects to describe some of the problems that can arise when an addicted player

does not feel they are getting all the playtime they need. Many times, kids who play video games

don’t have the thought mechanism within themselves to make themselves take a good, quality

break during play (Paturel). This seems to be the root cause of most things related to these

subjects. Video game playing for those who enjoy the activity releases a chemical within the

body known as Dopamine. This Dopamine creates a feeling of happiness and even maybe a

“high” of sorts. The problem with this is that the more the person plays, the more time they have

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to spend in order to get the same amount of Dopamine released into their system (Paturel). The

body regulates the chemical reaction in the very same way the body may become immune to

medicines or other substances over a certain period of time. This may cause an addiction to video

games; particularly for those who are younger and do not have the cognitive process to realize

that they are playing too much. On the contrary to negatives, the release of Dopamine relieves

stress, which is healthy for the body. Stress is something that can cause heart attacks, strokes,

faster aging, and other undesirable conditions. If a person enjoys playing games as a way to get

away from everything, then playing video games is healthy and very soothing for the mind and

body. Dopamine also strengthens the brain circuits and connections, actually building the organ

and packing strength into it (Raise Smart Kids). This, of course, is an extraordinary plus for the

brain. Keeping it stimulated is widely agreed to keep it healthy.

A player’s health and hygiene, as stated, are also in question when it comes to video

game play. Playing too much video games generally requires that the player sit down in front of

a screen for hours upon hours of video game play. The general thing that happens is the

transition to worse health due to a lack of exercise. This is a totally logical and obvious issue that

will occur if no measures are taken to prevent it. Sitting in front of the TV or computer while

occupied with a video game does not necessitate any moving around, lifting, or cardio workout

in any way. This would of course cause loss of muscle tone, weight gain, and a weaker body all

around. Prolonged exposure to this environment would be near the equivalent of laying in a

hospital bed for extended lengths of time without moving. There are many places on the internet

or in the library where one can find some more of the bad effects that being sedentary can cause.

When a person is so addicted to video games that they wake up, don’t shower, play all day,

barely eat, fall asleep when they literally can’t stay awake anymore, and repeat that process over

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and over again, they begin to let their health and hygiene go, adding to the health issue

associated with extended play. Allowing the human body to stay dirty, not keeping up with

dental hygiene, and not taking the decency to keep a clean self-image can all be very bad for the

body for obvious reasons. The addiction to video games comes with another price as well. It can,

just like nicotine or caffeine, create withdrawal symptoms. If an avid game player who is

addicted to playing has his or her games taken away, or is asked or forced to stop playing, the

person may exhibit violence, irritability, aggression, or other negative outbursts. The act of

stalling that flow of dopamine, that is, cutting off the feeling of happiness, can inherently cause

rageful side effects; something that is not fun to be around. It is also not easy to tame, especially

in a “cold turkey” manner. There are reasonable regulatory precautions that one can take in order

to prevent this from happening. Making sure to plan out relaxation time is a must for each day,

regardless of your hobby, to make sure that life has breaks from the action but is not totally fun

and games. Just as many people enjoy yoga, watching their favorite TV show, reading books for

fun, or maybe even something as simple as playing a game of checkers with the family, game

players may enjoy playing video games to get away from everything they’ve encountered in their

everyday lives. If your daily schedule allows for a couple of hours to relax and you enjoy playing

video games, using this time for doing that is perfectly reasonable and a great idea. Doing this

with family and friends is an even greater way to make playing video games a great hobby to

enjoy. However, even if your entire day is open, I would not suggest using all of that time to play

video games. Breaks are always necessary in order to prevent bad habits and body strain.

As far as brain function goes, the argument is usually that playing video games rots the

brain or somehow kills all brain function. This is often especially noted toward children by

ambitious parents. The slower mind or lack of proper brain function could be affected in

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schoolwork or the person’s general everyday activities. There is also the argument that social

skills among other things may be affected from the player being isolated while playing games.

This is argued to make game players less marketable and useful for the workforce due to the

inability to socialize and function in the work environment. According to Amy Paturel, a writer

for Neurology Now, children who play video games are found to show less gray matter in the

brain, which is responsible for thinking and reasoning...figuring stuff out. This could actually

pose dire risks when it comes to schoolwork and general everyday activity such as basic

decision-making and reasoning skills. Another source claims that poorly-performing students

enjoy the sense of achievement that can be had by winning or completing tasks on video games,

a sense that fails them in their school achievements, which is a big reason why they enjoy

playing (Gentile). Information from other sources, however, drastically counters the accusations

above, as it is shown that a huge amount of everyday skills, functions, and necessary abilities are

learned from playing video games. Motor skills and coordination are both on this list. Hand-eye

coordination can be greatly improved by playing games where a lot is going on within the

screen. One example of these types of games are games like Mario platforming games where a

lot of running and jumping to collect items, avoid hazards, and progress through the game is

required. Another example would be side-scrolling plane-shooter games where the player

controls an aircraft and shoots down other various enemy aircraft that come from and fire

weapons from many different directions. Games of this type need the player to assess visual

changes and cues on screen in order to react in the correct manner with the controller to pass the

situation. This peripheral vision skill enhancement coupled with basic body-eye coordination can

provide practice for real world skills (Gentile). I would characterize these skills by the

description of skills such as defensive driving, playing sports, and walking in busy areas. Along

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with motor skill enhancement, communication and teamwork skills may actually be increased

with playing video games as opposed to what was stated before. Many times, especially today

with the implementation of the internet, this genre of games has been massively ported to online

play. With the ever-increasing adoption of online-based video games, the need to communicate

with online teammates while playing is almost always a necessity. Games like World of

Warcraft, Skyrim, or the survival mode of Minecraft may enable the player to form online

groups, mobs, or packs of players that all play within the same world, enabling them to work and

play together. Some tasks in online RPG’s may necessitate two or more players to perform a task

simultaneously to pass the area or level. This kind of play necessitates working together and also

using social skills to talk to other players. That communication skill can be transferred to the real

world job environment, where working with other workers is imperative in completing daily

tasks. Video games can be an active training environment without even leaving the couch

Whether it be a shooting game like Call of Duty or a role-playing game like World of Warcraft,

players must learn to communicate with their online team or pack in order to accomplish the

mission. This is generally accomplished with the use of a microphone and headset nowadays or

by typing messages to other players in the old days. Transferring this communication skill to the

real world may actually help a game player in the workforce environment, creating a more well-

rounded worker who has adopted the necessary skills to work together and accomplish a goal.

Another way that video games aid in everyday life and the job world is that they greatly

improve a person’s ability to multitask and use spatial thinking skills (Raise Smart Kids). Spatial

thinking skills are the skills that allow people to look at an object, the area around them, or a map

and transfer that information to their brain. It’s a decoding process of sorts that helps the brain

decipher navigation skills, remember familiar areas, and give the brain the ability to look at

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things in a three-dimensional perspective from a two-dimensional medium. Shooter games like

Call of Duty and especially older ones like DOOM and Duke Nukem 3D, which are generally

agreed to be more complex and challenging, can actually improve this ability very greatly,

despite the dispute on violence earlier in this paper (Radboud University Nijmegen). Video

games help to improve multitasking by often forcing the player to control the character while

avoiding enemies, conserving resources, watching the clock, and completing each task fully.

This amount of multitasking is found in the real word with people like office workers,

professions with busy schedules, and mothers. In an office setting for instance, the worker may

need to brew coffee while filling in a spreadsheet, typing up a report, answering the phone,

taking instructions from the boss, and juggling personal tasks throughout the day all at the same

time. Playing video games that force the player to do many things at one time in order to succeed

may help an office worker do the same. Spatial thinking skills are improved in games like

SimCity or Minecraft, which enable the character to freely create structures, build cities, and get

architecturally creative. These games allow the player to look at their creations from many

heights, angles, and views in order to assess what needs to happen next or to get a mental image

of the whole structure. These skills are easily transferrable to the fields of construction, urban

planning / civil engineering, and architecture. Games like Minecraft often require the player to

memorize the layout of their world and are a great example of spatial thinking. Creativity packed

into a video game is something that should always be encouraged. Creativity, in my opinion, is

what keeps the world spinning, and should be embraced by parents and consumers. I personally

recommend that every person who plays video games have Minecraft or another similar game in

their collection due to this. This genre of game is a perfect opportunity to expose the creative

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side of your own mind by making something foot by foot. Many aficionados of Minecraft go on

to make their hobby a career in the real world because of these gained skills (Raise Smart Kids).

Reasoning skills and problem-solving skills along with social skills can be improved with

Role-Playing Games (RPGs) and Puzzle games (Radboud University Nijmegen). An RPG is a

game in which the player controls a character around a world while solving problems and

puzzles, collecting things, defeating beasts or enemies, and often using resources throughout the

world to keep the character alive. Factors such as weather, time change, and terrain / climate are

usually included in the game formula. These all require the brain to think and pick through

different ideas in order to figure out the best and most efficient way to complete an activity or

task. It could perhaps help a person stretch their money until next payday with a budget. It could

help a person solve any everyday problem by scoping out the situation and using their problem-

solving skills to figure out a solution. The conservation of resources in order to survive on a

video game may help players learn to conserve money and resources in real life because they are

used to doing so in video games.

After discovering all of this information, it is safe to say that video games can do just as

much good as they can do harm to a person. Proper regulation of play and basic common sense

can lead to a promising and enriching enjoyment of one’s hobby while learning real-life skills,

usually without even realizing it. The brain function is more often than not greatly enhanced by

playing video games, especially when playing online or with friends. There are, however,

precautions to be taken when playing in order to prevent bad health either physically or mentally.

As long as these are followed and the right mindset is put toward video game playing, video

games will continue to be a positive pastime to be enjoyed for years to come. With the

information provided, I believe it is fair to say that the reader of this paper has a significantly

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better understanding of the subject, and that he or she has the necessary knowledge to make

educated decisions about video games for himself or his children after being presented with this

research.