The Issue of Video Games and How They Effect Players
When video games first came out, most people though they were harmless. Today, video games are being blamed for everything, especially violence. Do all of these allegations against video games have any basis, or is there something else at work? In this article we will go over the controversy surrounding video games, and how they effect society and those that play them. Free online games have been the subject of controversy as well.
Neuroscience is directly related to video games, and many people aren't aware of this. When you play video games you use your brain more than you migh realize, especially on games which require you to solve puzzles. The research conducted by neuroscientists is becoming more interesting to those working in the video game industry. The recent work on mirror neurons is expected to have an impact on the video game industry which will last for many years to come.
Motor functions such as holding on to a game controller and hitting somone when you lose at a fighting game have always been seen as being an easy to understand process. Our brain cells will send signals to our muscles, and then we will complete the corract actions. Over a decade ago, scientist who were studying monkeys found that the cells in the brain which are activated when a monkey holds a banana are the same as when the monkey sees someone else holding a banana. These brain cells are called mirror neurons because they allow the monkey to behave in the same way as it is watching itself in a mirror.
Mirror neurons allow a monkey to understand what it is like to hold a banana without actually holding it. The same is true for video games. We can relate to the experiences we see without actually having to experience them. If you talk to most people, they will tell you that they know the difference between a video game and the real world. Many neuroscientists believe that this is evidence that violent video games can cause kids to be violent.
However the statistics of violent crime and the sales of video games tell a different story. As the sales of video games have increased since 2001, violence has gone down. Because of this, the debate rages on. One thing we know for sure is that video games in the future will become more interactive, and the effects it has on our brain are still being studied.