Content
Computer games have long entered the life of a modern person and have taken almost the first place among all types of recreation. And this can be explained: virtual reality tends to attract with its unlimited possibilities, and developers never cease to delight game lovers with new products. However, many are worried about the question, what are the benefits and harms of computer games for humans: are they dangerous to health or not.
The reason for the passion for computer games
Sometimes a person, unable to tear himself away from the screen, himself does not notice how slowly he is drawn into the gameplay. The benefits of switching to a pleasant, fun activity and the opportunity to relax grow into the detriment of addiction. And there is a reason for this: being carried away by any computer game, we automatically take on the image of the game character, as if we put on his mask. And then the ability to directly influence the game world appears, adjusting the entire virtual reality for itself.
A kind of illusion of power and omnipotence arises in the head of a computer player: it is he who receives the properties to subjugate the installed world, establish his own rules there and achieve all the goals. And a person, having acquired such greatness and superiority in the computer world, gradually ceases to need the real world. This is simply not necessary - after all, in physical reality it is no longer so easy to manipulate others. In reality - already in the mask of an ordinary person - the player loses his power. That is why computer gamblers, being in the physical world, are so waiting for a return to their own universe.
Psychological studies have shown that often people who are not satisfied with life and suffer from loneliness or lack of purpose in life are often at the detriment of gambling addiction. Thanks to the properties of the virtual space, they acquire all those opportunities that are denied in real life. By achieving certain goals and objectives in the game, the self-esteem of such people tends to increase, a person gets artificially self-assertion.
It is believed that with the help of computer games we tend to run away from our real problems, and the deeper the problems, the stronger the desire to forget about reality, the deeper the immersion in the world of the game. That is why, before treating harmful gambling addiction, it is necessary to understand: what useful motives are replaced by activity in the fictional world? What problems of reality did the person try to escape in this way?
Why are computer games useful?
Many people believe that modern computer games are absolutely useless, having a negative impact on both our consciousness and physical condition. However, it should be noted that computer games have a number of benefits and health benefits:
Develop memory, attention and logic
In 2009, scientists conducted a study of the benefits and harms of the effects of computer games on abilities, the main object of which was the well-known video game of Japanese developers "Mario", where, according to the conditions, the player must "jump" from platform to platform, collecting coins and other prizes. A group of subjects were asked to devote a certain amount of time to "Mario" every day. A few days later, the researchers summed up: it turned out that platformers (this is the genre of games that "Mario" belongs to) develop useful abilities of a person's orientation in space, stimulate memory, the development of logic and strategic planning.
Data from another experiment showed that Tetris-type puzzles also have benefits in helping to get rid of unpleasant thoughts, difficult memories, as well as heal post-traumatic stress disorder and reduce the urge to overeat.
Improves vision
It is far from a secret that spending a long time at a computer screen is harmful to visual impairment. However, the opposite has also been proven: some computer games have beneficial properties for our eyes.
In the course of the experiment, scientists at the University of Rochester made a conclusion about the benefits of computer games-first-person shooters (a type of action games, the so-called shooters, in which the player associates himself with the hero). For example, the well-known computer game "Call of Duty" improves the ability to distinguish the smallest details of things and objects: for example, subtle shades of gray. Such a useful skill can be especially useful for drivers in foggy weather.
Computer first-person shooters also have the beneficial property of stimulating the anterior cingulate cortex, parietal and frontal lobes of the brain. It is these areas that are responsible for our attention and multitasking ability.
With the same it is important to know when to stop in such useful "brain training" so as not to face the opposite effect. The optimal, not harmful, negative impact is considered to be a game time of up to 6 hours a week.
Relieve stress
Computer games can also be beneficial for the mental state of a person, helping to get rid of stress, depression, calm the nerves and cheer up.
This was proved by scientists at Oxford University: in the course of research it was found that the beneficial properties of addiction to video games are manifested in the reduction of traumatic memories and difficult experiences that our consciousness contains.
For 20 minutes, a group of subjects was shown materials provoking a violent emotional reaction. The figurative row included car accidents, various kinds of touching or tragic scenes. After that, half of the subjects were asked to play Tetris for 10 minutes, in contrast to the control group of participants.
The results showed that the emotional reaction of people who played Tetris was more balanced than that of the control group - their memory was freed from most of the negative experiences obtained in the first part of the experiment.
There are a number of computer games created for a wide range of users - they differ in rather simple conditions and a color, pleasant to the eye interface. If the player is faced with a certain difficulty, the game will definitely help and tell you what to do next. Such applications are developed with the benefit of filling leisure time or, for example, the time that a person spends in public transport - just half an hour of playing a day has a useful property, distracting, eliminating anxiety, bad thoughts, alleviating the harm of depressive states, and raising a positive emotional background.
Why computer games are harmful
However, despite all of the above advantages, computer games have both pros and cons.The abuse of video games can seriously harm a person's physical and mental health.
Aggressiveness and anger
"Excessive addiction to video games can lead to aggression in us," concluded Malte Elson and Christopher Ferguson, psychologists at the University of Westphalia. Wilhelm. In a study that lasted for 25 years, scientists found out:
- the manifestation of aggressiveness in humans directly depends on stressful environmental factors;
- people with a high threshold for tolerance of cruelty (in other words, those who have ever been or are subjected to violence from the environment) tend to more often show their aggression in the presence of the slightest stressful factors;
- people with minimal exposure to violence are less likely to be aggressive.
Thus, computer video games act as a kind of causative agent of an aggressive state. The person who is predisposed to aggressive behavior and cruelty will behave angry, copying the behavior of his character in a computer game. That is why computer games are very dangerous for teenagers, whose emotional state changes literally every minute.
It is interesting to note that people prone to aggression in real life most often choose exactly those computer games where scenes of cruelty and violence dominate.
The researchers also found that people who play computer games in a company are less likely to behave aggressively than those who play alone.
Gambling addiction
It is believed that network games are the most harmful among all types of computer games. Initially, the player only associates himself with the hero on the screen, but soon the person completely dissolves into his character, gradually moving away from the real world into the virtual one. A person transfers his entire physical life to cyberspace: here he falls in love, and makes friends, and builds a family. At the same time, the relationship in a computer game becomes much brighter than in real life.
In the psychology of computer gambling addiction, the following important aspects are distinguished:
- loss of track of time;
- continuous feeling of something new;
- partial or complete change in consciousness;
- a sense of the omnipotence of virtual power;
- the emergence of an antisocial orientation.
The player is so keen on the process of a computer game that he is completely lost in the sense of time and real space. Over time, his brain gradually ceases to distinguish between real and virtual worlds. There are many cases when people addicted to a computer video game did not leave the game world for several days, without rest, food and sleep.
Due to constant updates from developers (new functions, interface, graphics), gamers can spend tens of years playing the same computer game, while they do not get bored at all: rather, on the contrary, they always strive to be in their world as soon as possible to appreciate its new features.
A distortion of consciousness occurs, due to which the real world begins to be realized with great difficulty. A person's attention is scattered, memory deteriorates, the thinking process slows down.
At some point, the gambling addict begins to feel that he can achieve whatever he wants: as a result, his ideal self-esteem and faith in himself significantly increases. However, only in an ideal, virtual world.
A person who is addicted to a computer game gradually turns into a “social disabled person”. Gamers stop going to work and school, getting out into crowded places, meeting friends and relatives.
Tunnel Syndrome
Tunnel syndrome, or “carpal tunnel syndrome,” is a neurological disorder caused by a pinched median nerve. It often occurs as a result of continuous, repetitive movements of the hands or fingers. The movements themselves can be quite simple: finger clicks on a computer mouse key or on a keyboard. At first glance, nothing serious, but even such light, but frequent body movements can have negative consequences.
Tunnel syndrome develops due to constant tension of the hands. It is the player's “working” hand, right or left, that is most at risk. As a result of a pinched nerve, severe pain in the hand occurs, and soon the nerve begins to simply atrophy - this is accompanied by loss of sensitivity in the fingers.
People who play computer games are most susceptible to this violation, because almost every video game requires a load from the hands.
To avoid serious consequences, it is recommended to carry out a small “exercise” for the hands every 20 - 30 minutes, thus bringing them to their senses and giving them a rest.
Hemorrhoids
Having buried himself in the monitor screen, a person can remain in the same place for a long time, practically without moving the body. The consequence of this may be the development of the most common disease of the rectum - hemorrhoids. This disease is characterized by the expansion of the veins of the lower rectum. The reason for this is stagnation of blood in the veins due to a sedentary lifestyle. The dilated veins themselves protrude into the lumen of the rectum, and sometimes sag from the anus.
In especially severe cases of hemorrhoids, thrombosis may develop, which is accompanied by severe pain and bleeding.
To avoid this disease, every half hour of sitting at the computer must be diluted with elementary activity - you can get up from your seat, walk around the apartment, or do light physical exercises.
Back problems
Like hemorrhoids, back problems are caused by long periods of sitting. The spectrum of such diseases is quite wide: this includes osteochondrosis, scoliosis, arthrosis and many others.
Osteochondrosis is the most popular - it occurs in 9 out of 10 adults over the age of 20.
Moreover, with computer games, the muscles of the neck and upper back also suffer from a continuous sitting position, becoming weaker: after all, their load decreases. What can not be said about the lower back - the load on her case doubles. In order not to encounter back problems, during a computer game, it is necessary to stretch your back from time to time, alternating being in front of the screen with light gymnastics or physical activity.
Blurred vision
People between the ages of 18 and 45 are most susceptible to visual impairment due to long-term use of a computer monitor.
Symptoms include discomfort and eye fatigue, redness, dry cornea, watery eyes, blurred vision, and decreased visual acuity.
Due to prolonged monitoring of a computer monitor, "dry eyes" may occur, which ophthalmologists identify as one of the most dangerous diseases. Symptoms include burning and stabbing around the eye, a feeling that something has got there. Most of the "dry eye" is observed in people wearing contact lenses.
The reason is in blinking: in a normal state, a person blinks on average twenty times a minute, but during a long, uninterrupted look at a luminous computer screen, the blinking frequency decreases three times. The eye gradually "dries up", over time its sharpness decreases, and soon the vision risks completely disappearing.
Every hour it is necessary to arrange a rest for the eyes, while doing simple, but at the same time invaluably useful exercises:
- Swipe your eyes from left to right, top to bottom.
- Rotate the pupils clockwise and counterclockwise alternately.
- Place your index finger at eye level and focus on it. Then quickly move your gaze to another object in the distance - and again look at the finger.
Each exercise should be repeated for 2 to 3 minutes.
More information about the impact of computer games on human health - in the video:
Computer games for children: benefit or harm
The question about the benefits and harms of computer games for children has not yet been answered unequivocally, because opinions differ greatly. Someone thinks that there is no need for children to get carried away with such nonsense - reading books and doing homework will be more useful than spoiling their eyesight behind the monitor screen. Others are sure that computer games develop a child, bring him pleasure - then what's the trouble?
It all depends on the type of computer game that the child is fond of.
- "Shooters": These games often contain scenes of violence and murder. While playing one of them, the child literally perceives everything that happens on the screen, where he points-blank shoots his enemies. As a result, the sight of blood and corpses become quite familiar things for him, and he himself involuntarily begins to transfer all the aggression from the game to the real world. That is why child psychologists strongly recommend protecting a child from bloodthirsty computer games, replacing them with developing ones.
- Educational computer games, in turn, can be very useful for child development: with their help, you can train the child's memory and attention, motor skills of the hands and eyes, develop imaginative thinking and fantasy. There is a variety of educational computer games designed for a different character and age of the child. For example, it is recommended that an active and mobile child be given quick and dynamic games, while a quiet and calm child will happily go through a computer quest, where it is proposed to solve a certain problem.
At what age can you play computer games
Games for a child are an environment for their development. For this reason, a child can be allowed to play a computer game no earlier than 4 years old, when the foundation of his psyche begins to be laid. It is from this age that the child is able to see the connections between the computer mouse and what is happening on the screen, begin to build logical chains and look for solutions to problems.
At the same time, in childhood, it is very important to limit the child's time spent at the computer - no more than 1 hour a day.
The right choice of computer games
Every parent needs to know how to choose the right computer game for his baby, which will not harm his psyche. The development of such important factors as the perception of color, quantity, shape, etc. depends on the correct choice of a computer game.
Today in the world there are many studies on the influence of computer games on the development of the psyche of children. Based on their results, the developers create many games for children of all ages. High-quality computer video games are available both on the Internet and in special game stores. With their help, the kid can learn to count, draw, read, quickly memorize the necessary information.
When choosing a computer game, it is necessary to take into account the gender and age of the child, since games for boys and girls and for children of different age categories differ significantly. For girls, the most interesting will be, for example, games on culinary themes, beauty and fashion, while boys are often interested in racing and sports games.
Cognitive developmental computer games are suitable for younger children.
Conclusion
The benefits and harms of computer games still continue to be the subject of study all over the world. In the course of research, it was proved that computer video games still have useful properties: they can help the development of logic, thinking, memory, and even improve vision under certain conditions.However, it is worth remembering the high risk of addiction to computer games and the need to control the time spent on an exciting activity.
