Gaming. Adopted into our modern day culture globally, and almost completely integrated into normalcy in our society. Chances are you’ve played some form of video game in your life, or at least seen one. Whether you’re a high-stakes completionist, or just a casual role player, gaming might be fun, but it can also be detrimental to you and your health.
Gaming as we know it today has changed drastically during the last few decades. From simple arcade games, to home consoles, live streaming, and a billion-dollar industry thriving on consumer demand, gaming and its evolution has changed significantly. The first video game was very different from the games we think of today; some of the earliest games were arcade games, which started to kick off in 1972. After that, they started to pick up traction throughout the rest of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, becoming a popular fixture in society. During that time, private companies and other manufacturing businesses started to produce home consoles, and other portable devices. However, there was an industry crash in 1983, largely due to the fact there was a surplus of over-hyped, low-quality games. Recovery was driven by many third-party companies, such as Nintendo, which brought popular games such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid to the metaphorical table. There are some questions about gaming to consider, though. Is gaming healthy, mentally or physically? Is gaming good for younger audiences, or does it promote unhealthy behavior early on? Can gaming benefit physical and emotional responses to select situations? Can you be actually addicted to gaming?
Having positive reinforcement in your life is an incredibly important mental and emotional health boost. However, in everyday life, you might not get that uplifting positivity on a regular basis. Games can offer that positivity via a reward system after completing certain tasks. A reward system in particular is quite gratifying, especially in horror, action, fighting, or other combat-inclusive games. The “danger” so to speak of a situation, then being able to beat it gives the players a sense of accomplishment or gratification they don’t necessarily get in real life- especially for people more orientated to being a thrill-seeker.
Due to fast-paced action simulations, that form of gaming can offer hand-eye coordination boosts to the players. Some games offer this via QTE’s (Quick-time events) where you have a limited window of time to complete a task. According to Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, “When you’re watching a video game, you’ve got to pay attention to every little thing that comes into your visual field and react to it . . . Being able to visually contrast, being able to tell the difference between one thing and another, is also a skill that can be developed by playing video games.”
Memory and attention spans can also be benefited by gaming. A study conducted in 2022 observed 2,200+ children who played on average more than 21 hours a week seem to have performed significantly better than ‘non-gamers’ when they were tested on memorization skills and impulsive actions. “In fact, researchers observed gamers had more activity than non-gamers in regions of their brains that were associated with attention and memory.” (Cleveland Clinic).
However, there are some serious drawbacks to extensive gaming, both mentally and physically. Health, and more importantly healthcare, has been the subject of debate for as long as people can remember. What a lot of people don’t know, is that gaming can hurt you too. When someone sits down to play their favorite game, of course they don’t want to stop playing. After all, it’s a way for you to be your favorite version of yourself through your character, have endless quests, or experiencing anything presumably more interesting than everyday life. However, because of this “love” of videogames so to speak, people have been neglecting everyday life and suffering from mental declines.
Younger audiences, specifically ones born in the late 90’s or early 2,000’s on, have had way more exposure to technology and gaming than previous generations, who grew up with arcades as their primary exposure to games. Gaming, and in turn advanced technology, has become the norm for many children, teens, and young adults across the world. Moderation however, is not as familiar as a concept. By getting used to extensive hours per day or week of gaming, that could promote unhealthy patterns early on in someone’s life. Because of this, many concerning behavioral patterns have been observed in children, teens, and young adults. According to Harvard Health Publishing the following have been observed:
- gaming preoccupation
- withdrawal
- tolerance
- loss of interest in other activities
- downplaying use
- loss of relationship, educational, or career opportunities
- gaming to escape or relieve anxiety, guilt, or other negative mood states
- failure to control
- continued gaming despite psychosocial problems.
These are all symptoms of something called “internet gaming disorder” (IGD). Research into IGD has only just begun- treatments are a work in progress, and probably won’t be ready for widespread use for a while. There have been concerns about possible sleep disorders and mental disorders attributed to gaming as well, but none have been confirmed. Desensitization of violence is also a concern, because “ . . . exposure to the extreme violence that is commonly found in video games can desensitize teens and young adults to such violence, causing emotional problems and even leading to young people committing acts of violence.” (Harvard). It is worth noting this desensitization isn’t a guaranteed response for fictional violence, but can be observed.
There is no short or easy answer to the question about addiction. Addiction is a very dangerous real-world problem, and many people face it via substance abuse. However, people who game aren’t necessarily safe from addiction, just a different kind that what we typically call “addiction.” Addiction is classified as the feeling of needing something (regardless of whether you do or not) and having aggressive physical responses or emotional withdrawal if you don’t get said item. There are many forms of addiction, but alcohol and drugs are two prominent examples. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is also known as a form of addiction. Some researchers also consider IGD to be very similar to gambling disorder, “in which the rush of winning becomes one of the main reasons for playing” (Cleveland Clinic).
There are physical drawbacks to extensive gaming, too. One of these drawbacks happens to be “Gamer’s thumb.” Harvard Health Publishing states that, “Gamer’s thumb,” which was previously called “PlayStation thumb” (or “nintendinitis” or “nintendonitis” when Nintendo was popular), occurs when the tendons that move the thumb become inflamed. The medical term for this is de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, and it can lead to swelling and limited movement. Gamers are also at risk for trigger finger, or stenosing tenosynovitis, which is when a finger gets stuck in the bent position due to chronic inflammation. Gamers can also get tennis elbow, a painful inflammation of the place where the tendon inserts into the bone on the outside of the elbow.” There are some recognized and approved methods for avoiding those conditions, as well as eye strain. Such as, looking at things far away for a few seconds, stretch breaks, and lastly using ice for any tendon or bone pain.
Obesity has also been observed in teens who play video games constantly. This occurs because of “the obvious phenomenon that if a teen is sitting in front of a screen for hours every day, he or she isn’t getting much exercise. Obesity is also thought to be due to increased food intake while playing video games. According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “a single session of video game play in healthy male adolescents is associated with an increased food intake, regardless of appetite sensations.” The proposed mechanisms are that either the signals that indicate satiety (fullness) get impaired, or that the mental stress involved with playing video games activates the reward centers, which leads to increased food intake” (Harvard).
Can you develop mental disorders because of gaming? Can you be addicted to technology? Can you retain physical injuries because of it? In conclusion, yes, you can be addicted to video games, and you can have mental and physical health problems resulting from gaming, and addiction fro it is on the rise. However, gaming and participating in gaming isn’t just a negative hazard to avoid at all costs. As mentioned before, gaming does have both mild and serious health and mental health concerns if used/played extensively. However, like a lot of things, with moderation, eye and body breaks, daily exercise, and participation in social and/or in-person activities (ie, sports, clubs, etc.), gaming can be a safe, fun break from a mundane reality. Like everything, gaming should be partook in moderation.