Hector Moreno

The effects of video gaming in a human’s mind

Since the day humans have been able to walk this earth, we have had the tendencies to

get addicted to certain things or actions which cause dopamine releases. By this I mean that we

are easily engaged into things that make us happy. Although this might not seem like a bad thing,

when no base line is set, we get trapped in it and lose a sense of reality. Fast forward to the 21st

century and many of us are addicted to technology. More importantly for some of us, to video

gaming. This paper will in turn go into the positives and negatives of gaming and if it’s really a

cause for aggression in teenagers.

To begin with what are video games and how where they formed. Video games were

created during the mid-1900s by a physicists called William Higginbotham (APS, 2008). The

“game” he created was about hitting a ball by the turning of a knob inspired by tennis. Many

now would see this as boring but back then this was a revolutionary invention. Which would be

the inspiration for many video games to be formed shortly after. This is known as the birth of the

now known video gaming, which has blown the world by storm. Furthermore, there are now

more than 1 billion gamers from around the globe making this a huge market and place to

understand its effects.

Therefore, many research has gone into understanding its effects on us. For an example a

research study conducted by the Iowa State University in 2001 found many correlations to

increased aggression when playing violent video games (Craig A., Brad J., 2001). This in fact

can be an occurrence of many violent media taken into a young teenager’s mind. Causing them

to see this as a normal occurrence when in fact its not. Even though there are some occurrences
Hector Moreno

when someone will never actually go out and cause all the actions they cause in the virtual

world. For the most part many would just be more easily aggravated to cause violence since this

is what they spend much of there time doing. Playing and watching violent media! This is where

the word addiction comes into play since people who play in moderation show no signs of

violence, in fact many lowering their stress levels!

The balance of life is between the grind and the pleasure. When both these things are

balanced life becomes a little less stressful. Same thing with the balance of video gaming.

According to a bunch of research like the “healthy gamer” they state that “it is possible to be a

“healthy” gamer and enjoy video games as a recreational activity” (Healthy Gamer, 2020). This

of course being with moderation and giving yourself windows of when to play. Furthermore, in

another study made by the Harvard Health Publishing they refer that gaming is a way for people

to connect and interreact with others (Healthy Gamer 2020). As our generation is one of the

loneliest in recorded history partly due to the current pandemic going on. More than that there

are more benefits to gaming that meets the eye, like it being a way to train pilots, doctors, and

solders with simulators. This of course only being a small percentage of people, but it showcases

that not all gaming has to be gore but educational.

In conclusion video gaming is a huge part of our society now and we will only see more

of its effects on a human mind be researched. Although as it stands right now gaming is not

much more harmful than watching a movie, its negative effects having not much correlation to

big terror attacks that many point gaming to be a main cause. With the help of balance and

moderation gaming can be a great pass time to those who feel like destressing themselves from

the stress of life.

Hector Moreno

CITES

 Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on

Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal,

and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature.”

Psychological Science, vol. 12, no. 5, [Association for Psychological Science, Sage

Publications, Inc.], 2001, pp. 353–59, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063648.

 “Health Information and Medical Information.” Harvard Health,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/.

 “October 1958: Physicist Invents First Video Game.” American Physical Society,

https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200810/physicshistory.cfm#:~:text=In

%20October%201958%2C%20Physicist%20William,Brookhaven%20National

%20Laboratory%20open%20house.

 “Video Games and Mental Health Explained.” Healthy Gamer, Heathy Gamer,

https://www.healthygamer.gg/blog/video-games-and-mental-health-explained.