Advantages of Playing Violent Video Games on Human Health

Answer

Advantages of Playing Violent Video Games on Human Health

            Many adults and children take part in video games with many people globally having access to a device with the ability to play a game of a video game itself. Therefore, it is difficult to stop people from playing these games. In the current society, video games have been established to exert a significant impact on the participants (Koivisto and Hamari 179). While some people engage in the games for pleasure, others have adopted it as a lifestyle while there are those who practice the activity on a professional level (Granic et al. 66). Although an individual may avoid engaging in the gaming activity at a personal level, the fact still holds that these violent games play a key role in society and the future generational developments. According to Dai and Fry, violent gaming attracts players from various backgrounds harboring different personalities. However, they are mostly stereotyped as having little or no social life mostly by those that do not take part in the games, hence base their deduction from the biased information on the inadequacy of the players. Besides, the games are labeled as a waste of time despite the fact that the players enjoy themselves and consider them hobbies just like reading fiction books, following celebrities or watching television shows. As a result, limitations are placed on the level children can engage in violent video games. Contrary to what is mostly believed, violent video games teach participants more than they are accredited for (Zheng and Gardner 159). This paper seeks to discuss the social, physical and psychological health benefits of violent video games.

Benefits to Physical Health

            Physical benefits of violent video games address their impact on the direct response to the surrounding environment. According to Dai and Fry, violent video games improves a player’s visual orientation. Due to many conditioning hours of play, the participants can easily orient themselves and keep track of every detail in the game. This is similar to football players who are able to track every detail within the field.

            According to Granic et al., players also develop strong eye-hand coordination. Engaging in video games creates a link between visual perception and brains motor skills (68). Whenever a player is on the game, their operation must be highly precise which implies that there must be a correlation between the screen and the mouse movement. For instance, in First Person Shooter games, a person must be swift and accurate to ensure they shoot their enemy before they get shot. This means that the response time has to be short and accurate which calls for quick reflexes if the player desires to gain a competitive edge. Therefore, a player has to be deeply indulged in the game and highly motivated by the competition to be able to maneuverer the space focused and armed for quick reaction. Violent video games can be accredited for strong eyesight and training of the brain to spot small light and detail variations and follow the movement. Players have been established to possess eyesight that is above average. Besides, some eye problems are corrected using the games. Such abnormalities include eyes with low focus and lazy eyes (Granic et al. 68).

            Dai and Fry point out that violent video games are an opportunity for physical exercise. Previously, video games were blamed for lack of physical activity as the participants were on the game. However, the emerging game devices are developed to encourage the physical movement of the player. For instance, Kinetic devices require that instead of using controllers, the participant undertake actual jumping and running. Besides, the development of more games to increase fun activities such as yoga, working out, and dancing is constantly emerging and are accompanied by intelligent instructors who can give directions and corrections during the activity. For example, according to Granic et al., the combination of Omni Treadmill and Oculus Rift created an affordable virtual actualization which gives players room to walk in any environment of choice within the game (70). The implication is that instead of engaging in a mere thirty minutes jog, a person can take up the activity in form of a gaming experience they desire. Since the jogging takes part simultaneously with the game, people are distracted from any boredom or fatigue which gives them a chance of keeping physically fit while enjoying and fully participating in the game.

Benefits to Social Health

            According to Villines, violent video games play a key role in nurturing an individual’s ability to interact with others and their self-esteem. In the current internet era, games are equipped with a multi-player feature which makes players meet other people. Besides, to complete the objectives in some games, strong teamwork is highly recommended. As a result, a player interacts with numerous people on a daily basis (Rogers 15). During these interactions, a player will find other players they rhyme with and add them to their friend's list for further engagement in the game. With time, what started as a casual engagement may develop into a lasting friendship resulting from being in a world where one is able to meet new people from all walks of life (Kowert and Quandt 136).

            Violent games also create an opportunity for bonding and ice-breaking (Granic et al. 72). When individuals are working towards a common objective, their bond is strengthened. Besides, people grow compassionate to something or someone that helps them accomplish their objectives, even in situations where the helper is inanimate such as a robot. Also, when the game involves teamwork, cooperation is required. This implies that they have to get a conversation going on how to beat the opponent (Zheng and Gardner 152). The end result is that it plays a key role in breaking the ice as the participants have a subject for discussion when playing. According to Dai and Fry, teamwork also means that elaborate strategy must be laid down to beat the enemy. This, coupled with positioning and timing from each member, are requisite team skills. Therefore, the team members must collaborate to execute the strategy, a requirement that nurtures strong leadership skills and spirit (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 28).

            According to Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al., playing video games also make participants empathetic (30). When taking part in video games, a player is required to immerse themselves into the character they play and into the game. Thus, a person is able to put themselves in the shoes of the character they take up and consequently, in other people’s shoes. For instance, when a person plays the role of a superhero, their ability to empathize in real life situations is increased significantly (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al., 30).

            According to Dai and Fry, creativity is a crucial component of social health and violent video games equip the player with adequate skills. When an individual engages in a game, the aim is not merely hitting targets and attaining high scores. In contemporary society, game developers focus largely on exploration and storytelling. Therefore, the participants are not expected to just move around meeting the objectives of the game, but instead are made to feel part of the bigger picture through full-motion cinematic, character development, and storytelling. Besides, games are unique in their presentation, music, art, and style, which puts the player in a world of imagination such as Bastion (Zheng and Gardner 152). As a result, playing these violent video games requires a participant with an open mind and fills their imagination leading to increased creativity just like someone reading books, playing physical games, or watching television films (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al., 171).

            According to Villines, the other social health benefit of violent video games is that they are a means of education. Mostly, it is believed that video games are purely for entertainment. However, there are other purposes played by these special games developed to assist a person in learning. Individuals gather knowledge as simple as basic math to complex real-life practices such as surgery among others.

Benefits to Psychological Health

            Dai and Fry state that playing violent video games is associated with improved cognitive capacity. Individuals who participate in them develop strong problem solving and critical thinking skills. At some point, violent video games require the player to complete a riddle or puzzle before proceeding which calls for the ability to arrange objects and use them to fulfill a given function. If the puzzle games are of good quality, then the task is often challenging and requires the individual to use logic and look for clues and notes enables them to figure out how to proceed. Some examples of such games include lost Vikings and parasite eve among others (Granic et al. 69).

            Violent video games equip players with multi-tasking and fast decision making skills. To achieve something, violent games call for some form of decision making and in most instances, more than one action needs to be taken. Granic et al., states that in a game like World of WarCraft, decisions required are often complex since players are given control over numerous abilities which call for precision in timing (69). In addition to these abilities, the gameplay is often fast-paced and each player must be conscious of the actions and the track other players are taking. The implication is that unless an individual is a player and can make a swift decision, they get overwhelmed whenever such drastic actions need to be taken and break at the pressure of dealing with the rapid information flow (Granic et al., 69). Dai and Fry state that multi-tasking skills are highly sharpened through participation in video games especially when the player is expected to track and act on different events at the same time. One may be expected to take cover and shoot the enemy at the same time, an action that when not well processed may lead to their loss in the game.

            Dai and Fry also point out that some violent video games nurture planning and resource management skills. This is common with open-world games such as Industry Giant which put the player into the task to plan for incoming resources properly. The planning and resource management varies with the level and complexity of the game with the complex games calling for critical analysis and forecasting to plan ahead for the available resources (Kowert and Quandt 141). For instance, planning may involve short-term goals like in the case where a player has predetermined lives or magical powers, they have to plan and ensure they can go as far as possible without losing any of them amidst a fight. Management of resources, on the other hand, entails long-term goals such as managing upgrade points and gold accumulated in the game.

Recommendations

            Video gaming effects are highly dependent on the frequency and duration of exposure. Less is better for brain growth and for good pro-social behavior. Less than an hour a day should be sufficient (Zheng and Gardner 150). Besides, the game playing duration should be distributed over time for best results (Kovess-Masfety et al. 356). The content of these video games is of the essence with commercial violent video games meant purely for entertainment (Egenfeldt-Nielsen, et al. 240). As a result, current creations are striving towards developing games with intentional positive learning effects instead of relying on coincidence. Products are rated using letters for suitability of the participants (Koivisto and Hamari 183). For instance, T represents the teenager age-group category. However, the classifications may not be accurate and parents need to play the game themselves to ascertain the suitability of the violence level.

            Violent video games, especially action-oriented ones, are acknowledged for improved visual aspects. This is accredited to the fact that players have to be keen on the enemy approaching to attack and react swiftly. However, the structure can be modified to get rid of the violent part such as by being on the lookout for appearing magic tokens which disappear suddenly instead of violent attacks (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 10). The type of game controllers such as a keyboard, mouse, or remote impacts the level of learning. When the mechanics of play have high similarity to real life activities, it is easy to transfer the acquired skills in life’s experiences (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 9). This, in turn, would equip players with technical motor skills applicable in various professions. For instance, laparoscopic surgeons have been established to perform accurate and fast operations after several hours of video games per week compared to when they do not play any (Egenfeldt-Nielsen et al. 4).

Conclusion

            In conclusion, games are beneficial to physical, social and psychological health of individuals. This research has established that the major reason why people enjoy taking part in violent games is that they encourage healthy development. However, every rule has exceptions. While video games present a myriad of advantages, there are numerous cases of people committing murder, getting addicted and dying because of video games. However, these individualized cases take up the actions based on various factors other than just games. Some other influencing factors include the child’s mental well-being and upbringing, making them unreasonable and unstable. Thus, playing violent video games is beneficial to the long-term abilities and health and can be compared to learning high school mathematics. Just like mathematics where tasks are easy and do not have direct application to real life situations, it is hard to see the benefits of engaging in these games. However, the main focus of taking math which is often overlooked is that it improves an individual’s problem solving and logic skills. In a similar manner, violent video games acquire certain neurological connections reinforcement.