Just like anything, too much of something can be harmful to you. Too many hours under the sun to absorb all the vitamin D you can get can lead to a sunburn. Reading books for too long can negatively affect your eyesight and eating too many vegetables can mean your body is deprived of essential nutrients found in healthy fats, and meats such as beef and chicken. 

 

Similarly, gaming has its upsides and its downsides, like two sides of a coin. Just like any coin, no one can deny the coin exists.

 

Research into the short and long-term effects of gaming is still in its initial stages. With many studies conducted around the world, we move closer - step by step - to breaking past all the myths and stigmas associated with gaming.

 

Just like everything one does in life, this must also be taken with a grain of salt. However, studies show promising results that can shed light on the positive effects of gaming, especially on the development of the brain in humans.

 

According to a study by the NPD Group, a global market research firm, 9 out of 10 children play video games. Gaming satisfies all three. The downside of gaming is the undeniable onset of addiction to gaming. 

 

However, if approached correctly, gaming has many positive benefits. Gaming helps with enhanced visual perception, a sharpened ability to switch between tasks, and a superior knack to process information. Judy Willis, a neurologist at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) says that gaming “can feed information to the brain that maximizes learning.”

 

An article by Psychology Today talks about a study that has found that video gaming stimulates neurogenesis (growth of new neurons) and connectivity between regions of the brain responsible for spatial orientation, memory formation, strategic planning, and development of motor skills.

 

When you think of your child playing video games, you would want your child to be adept in all of these areas. MRI showed that the gamers in this study exhibited increases in a grey matter which is home to the bodies of nerve cells in the brain. The level of connectivity between brain areas is positively correlated to higher intelligence and consciousness. 

Gaming improves cognitive function as it links cerebral function to cerebellar muscle memory, which means it makes your brain think and work in symphony, better than it may have before. This doesn’t mean our brain just starts to function better, it changes structurally to adapt to the better workings of the brain.

 

Video games affect attention. The regions of the brain responsible for attention are more efficient in gamers as compared to non-gamers, ultimately requiring less activation to remain focused on demanding tasks. These demanding tasks that one engages in while playing video games leads to more competent regions of the brain used for visuospatial skills. 

 

Visuospatial skills are the ability to identify visual and spatial relationships between objects. Long term video game use has also enlarged the right hippocampus, which is responsible for those visuospatial skills. This is a positive long-term effect of gaming on that structurally alters one’s brain - for the better.

 

What does this mean when we bring a child into the equation? Are games good? Are they bad? Should they be allowed to play games? For how long? What type of games should they play? These are all questions that there is no clear cut, black or white answer for. It depends on the child, their propensity to the game, and their personal preferences. 

 

At the end of the day, moderation is key. Without supervision, gaming can lead to addiction, due to the release of dopamine (the feel-good substance in the brain). Over time, this could mean that gamers’ brains release less dopamine because a lot of the dopamine reserves of the brain have been depleted while that person was gaming.

 

The release of dopamine while gaming is so powerful, that in some cases it can almost shut down the prefrontal regions of the brain. This is when gamers develop the ability to continue to play for 18 hours at a time, without food, water, or sleep. They get hooked. This was the flip side of the same coin, which everyone needs to be aware of. 

 

You don’t go to buy a car without getting details on all the service contracts, insurance policies, and other quirks of the car, do you? Why would you do that when it comes to gaming? Being informed is the key to unlocking our brains’ full potential.

 

“Use it or lose it” is a philosophy that does not just apply to the muscles below our neck, but the strongest, most complex muscle of them all: our brain. Playing games is responsible for the generation of strong neural pathways that are not as effectively used otherwise, putting them at risk of pruning. 

 

Just like a flower in a garden, if you want it to survive and bloom, you must water it. Video games also activate the reward centers in our brain, tied to motivation, which allows the brain to become more receptive to change. This could be due to the fast-paced and unpredictable nature of games that allow for the brain to work overtime, in many different aspects. 

Challenging games require players to strategize and perform several tasks simultaneously. This has short and long-term benefits and could cause problems when used excessively. If a child is very used to processing mountains of information and deals with several problems at once, sitting patiently in a lecture room may be a daunting task. Use it or lose it, right? Use your brain for so many things, it forgets how to function when you have to tackle one thing. Scary, if you ask me.

 

There is a shiny, gleaming, attractive side to gaming. There is also a rusty side to gaming. As someone who is looking over a child, you need to pay attention to it. David Greenfield, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine asks parents to monitor what their children are playing, as 80% of the time a child uses a smart device, it has nothing to do with school or academics Establish boundaries. 

 

The maximum screen on time for a child. Complete one chore for 30 mins on your gaming console. Provide incentives while limiting their usage of video games. Set expectations with the child. They should know how much wiggle room they have, and how many hours they are expected to play. Lastly, know the kid.

 

Get to know the child. If their academics aren’t taking a severe hit, cut them some slack. Maintain a presence in their lives and be aware of the child’s interests.

 

At the end of the day, there are undeniable benefits to gaming, if done right.
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