Name: Jordan Esteban Ramírez Mejia.

Essay about:

Why it’s not dangerous to play video games for hours

Nowadays people like to enjoy video games, be competitive and spend long leisure time. However,
there are important positive effects of spending hours playing and not affecting health, but
improving our attention, visuospatial skills and prosocial behavior. For this reason play video
games for many hours is not dangerous.

Video games that affect our health is not a new concept. However, how it affects our health is not
discussed in depth as much. The China Electronic Science and Technology University in Chengdu
conducted a study on video games focused on the health of non-expert and expert video game
players. According to Medical News Today, “After playing League of Legends for 1 hour, both
groups demonstrated better selective visual attention, even reporting similar scores in the post-
game test and no health disturbances. Not only that, but the researchers found that non-expert
brain activity increased after playing the game, as brain activity levels between experts and non-
experts were now comparable ”(Railton, David). Thus, evidence shows that selective visual
attention increases due to video game play, but that effect could be only temporary.

Playing video games is a visual process, that is why this activity improves our visuospatial skills
being one of the advantages of playing for many hours. Sometimes players have been tested in
this regard. According to Parentingscience.com, "Researchers have evaluated experienced players,
children and young adults, on a variety of cognitive tasks (eg Boot et al 2008; Green and Bavelier
2007; Dye et al 2009). Compared to non gamers of the same age, seasoned gamers could: track
objects moving at faster speeds, track more objects at once, filter out irrelevant visual
information, switch more quickly from one task to the next, better detect changes briefly.
Intermittent visuals, [and] more accurately predict how 3D objects would appear when rotated "("
Beneficial effects of video games: Do players develop better spatial skills? "). How much carries
over into practical application in daily life has yet to be seen, but it is a step forward in noticing the
changes our brains make while playing video games.

What might surprise you for an apparently antisocial and health-damaging activity is that video
games can promote prosocial behavior and there are some that help you to be in excellent
physical condition such as the Just Dance or Zumba Fitness game. A recent study on virtual reality
and superpowers showed that playing certain video games increased rates of wanting to help
others in need and has allowed people to exercise while having fun. According to the researchers,
"the results indicate that having the 'superpower' of flight leads to greater helping behavior in the
real world, regardless of how participants used that power. One possible mechanism for this result
is that having the power of flight He prepared concepts and prototypes associated with
superheroes (eg, Superman.) This research illustrates the potential of using experiences in virtual
reality technology to increase prosocial behavior in the physical world ”(Rosenberg, Robin S., et
al.). Therefore, if you play video games based on superheroes and games that allow you to
exercise, it is more likely that your development is not only mental, but physical as well.

Moving onto a more physical attribute of the brain, playing certain video games and consoles have
been shown to alleviate migraines in children. In 2013, a research study called, “Effectiveness and
safety of Nintendo Wii Fit Plus training in children with migraine without aura: a preliminary
study” came to the conclusion that, “Our study reported the positive effects of the Nintendo Wii
Fit Plus system as a rehabilitative device for the visuomotor and balance skills impairments among
children affected by MoA, even if further research and longer follow-up are needed” (Esposito,
Maria, et al.). This experimental treatment has proven effective, and who knows what will come
next in treatments from the usage of video games.

Finally, video games are sometimes celebrated and others are demonized. However, there are
some positive effects it has on our brains and our health. Players can have better selective visual
attention, better visuospatial skills, excellent fitness, increased prosocial behavior, and function
better if they have migraines as children.

Sources cited

Railton, David. “Just 1 Hour of Gaming May Improve Attention.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon
International, 17 Feb. 2018, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320943.php.

“Beneficial Effects of Video Games: Do Players Develop Better Spatial Skills?” Parenting Science –
The Science of Child-Rearing and Child Development, www.parentingscience.com/beneficial-
effects-of-video-games.html.

Rosenberg, Robin S., et al. “Virtual Superheroes: Using Superpowers in Virtual Reality to Encourage
Prosocial Behavior.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?
id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055003.

Esposito, Maria, et al. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, Dove Medical Press, 2013,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3890965/.