Online video gaming is regarded with great affection, especially by the public. It is a well-liked and in vogue societal activity in the free and relaxation time. As, in a general view, it has many positive and negative aspects on the human being. Positively, it helps to develop focus and skills to manage a couple of tasks at a time by dividing and shifting among them. Thus, in this way, it contributes to improving mental health. People, who feel loneliness, can enjoy social affiliation with other peers while playing in the virtual world. On the other hand, it can affect negatively too. As, due to the competition, the player may develop some psychological issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, gambling, addiction, aggression, loss of control, and educational attachment which may worry the parents too.
Neurological Plasticity and Attentional Control
According to psychologists, video gaming can boost the action and work of the brain in several views. It can cause neurological plasticity which is the adeptness of the brain as a result of maturity and training by experience. Moreover, it can also lead to attentional control which helps in developing concentration on the particular work. This enhances the ability to focus on a particular target at hand and to ignore the other distractions or noise in surrounding at the same time constantly monitoring one’s environment for new sources of information. Thus, in such ways, online video gaming can be an outstanding gadget for human learning and brain plasticity. The quality of performance of the neurons is enhanced by practising and training our brain. Learning is thus, a very beneficial tool to give a healthy elasticity to the brain. It is age-dependent. The malleable and flexible brain is easily influenced as compared to the stiff one.
Maturity
The use of video gaming as a hobby in free time is a contribution to changing personalities and attributes. This experience has an impact on psychology by several parameters. Playing can influence working memory, behaviour, and several other skills that lead to maturity. The players are required to perform their tasks in a limited amount of time. They have to manage, make up their mind, judge, make a choice, select and decide. This can improve the abilities of;
- Decision-making
- Behavioural control
- Coping
- Selection
- Working memory
- Cognitive flexibility
Some genres of online video gaming are time-oriented. Thus, it can account for developing alertness in individuals. This helps them to manage a lot of things and the ability to complete their tasks in a given amount of time. This thus enhances compatibility and boosts up their psychological activeness.
Reasons
Video gaming is very well-known and trendy these days. Several surveys were performed to seek the reasons for the gradual increase in the number of individuals becoming players. The majority of them play to lower the psycho-social well-being, loneliness, to distract themselves from their daily hassles and escape-oriented reasons. To overcome shyness and loneliness, people prefer to enjoy social hook up and friendships with other peers while gaming. They like to discuss the gaming world among themselves. Thus, helping in social connection. On the contrary, many players play for escape-oriented reasons too because they want to free themselves from the daily hassle of work, to avoid everyday problems which are basically because of their poor psychological functioning. So, they want themselves to engage in something else to sober their minds, enjoy the environment and have relaxation by attaining desirable personal satisfaction and amusement.
Negative Aspects on Psychology
Furthermore, playing online video games has its consequences on the psyche of the gamer. Playing a lot of games in a day continuously can not only waste a lot of time but can adversely affect the state of mind too. As a result, one can serve a large amount of energy on the games rather than other daily life activities. The attraction due to curiosity and interest can lead to cravings, loss of control, and mental disorder. The more the time is spent, the more the time is reduced from other work such as if observed among youngsters, this can cause problems such as lowering of the educational attainment that can lead to a gradual change in their grades. Children would find video gaming more interesting than books and would probably spend more time in them. Thus, it could cause difficulty in their learning with interest through the books and hence decreased academic achievements. Likewise, in adults, it can cause a loss of career attainment. They would neglect their career-oriented tasks and devote themselves more towards the gaming programs.
Other well-known Problems
Many other problems in the psyche such as hostility, anger, anxiety, depression, and avoidance are also observed. Punishment in the games can lead to one of these side effects which overall affect the mood and personality of the gamer. Furthermore, problems with the fellows can appear and lower their social skills due to rapid aggressive attitude, reckless behaviour, low self-efficacy, and low self-esteem. The depression due to outcomes of losing any tournament in the video games can seriously affect normal living. Stress can affect lives as well. These psychological issues are more seen in males and younger gamers based on the choice of the genre they like to play. The females, on the other hand, prefer button mashers or games of skill. But males and youngsters prefer action video games and strategy playing that can eventually lead to interpersonal sensitivity.
Conclusion
Making players alert, oriented, enhancing their abilities to shift, dividing, switching, and autonomy (i.e.: – enabling them to make meaningful decisions for oneself) and competence are positive ones but severe effects such as anger issues, phobic anxiety, psychoticism, and aggression. Some games include betting for winning which is an internet gambling activity. These involve the payment of a price for an opportunity to win just like loot boxes. And there is always an opportunity to play demo games first like Five Dragons free slots or Mega Moolah free slot games. Hence, these are social network casinos. Attracting the player with a high degree of realism such as sounds, graphics, settings, character development, and customizing the game, they fascinate them with the risk in the hope of favourable conditions.
