Computer game that you should play

 

Have you ever wondered what the positive and negative effects of computer games are? What does it actually do to our minds and behaviors when we play computer games? This article presents some of the results that research has given us. The surveys are selected on the basis of the questions we are most often asked by our clients and partners. Some of the effects describe here are negative expectations, which have been disproved through research.

Computer games and violent behavior

This topic has proven to be one of the primary focal points of research into the effects of computer games. A large number of articles have examined the connection between playing realistic violent games and violent behavior. The research has been gather in a number of meta-studies, which describe the connections that actually exist. One of these meta-studies indicates that there is not a statistically strong enough correlation between computer game consumption and the development of violent behavior. The study also concludes that a nuance of the debate, which also includes all the positive effects that computer games have on children’s development, is important.

Inconsistent results

Another article describes a collection of meta-studies. It shows that the results of the studies are too incoherent to be used to conclude on the topic. They refer to the debate that exists around television broadcasts with violent content, which has more clearly shown a connection between violent films and violent behavior. The outcome of that debate has been that certain films and broadcasts have been marked as unsuitable for children and young people. This is also what has happened in the gaming world, where all games that are released are marked with a “PG rating”, which puts a suggested age on when children can start playing the game without being unduly affected by this.

Hard to draw conclusions

Concluding for the debate on whether computer games give birth to a generation of more violent young people is impossible to draw. On the other hand, it is probably also impossible to get around the fact that free html5 games are a big part of our society. Therefore, it is also relevant that it is a topic we spend time guiding, and talking to our children and young people, about. At first glance, there is no reason to be more afraid of the effect of computer games on children’s violent behavior than there is to be afraid of the effects of television broadcasts and movies on the same.

Attention, working memory and other cognitive effects

Some effects computer has that the TV does not have are the development of certain centers of the brain which have to do with the cognitive skills. Some surprisingly positive effects from the research in children and young people who play a lot of computer are  here.

Attention and working memory

Attention is one of the most important cognitive components, which is the human ability to focus thoughts and senses on a single subject over time. Computer games seem to have an effect on children’s development of visual attention, which has positive consequences, according to an article from Nature (one of the largest scientific journals). Children and young people who get an improved visual attention ability also find it easier to learn and develop their reading skills, in among other positive effects in relation to academic development – see for example article from 2005 here .

Working memory also seems to be positively affect by playing computer games. In a study from 2013 , researchers investigated how the use of computer games that are about shooting the opponent (called FPS – First person shooters) affects working memory. The results showed that people who were more experienced in playing FPS games performed significantly better in tasks that were about using the working memory quickly. In school, children and young people use working memory to process the new knowledge and information they receive, and it has a great influence on how well you understand the material you work with. So there seems to be a positive effect of computer games, here.

Other cognitive effects

In the same study that examine children’s aggressive behavior in connection with computer games, which is presents above, italso investigates how computer games has an effect on what is call the visio-spatial cognition. The visio-spatial cognition is our ability as human beings to understand and process the visual impressions we get from the outside. In the study, it turned out that there was a connection between a higher competence in visio-spatial tasks and computer games. One explanation may be that computer games usually consist of visual tasks that must be solve through the use of the cognitive skills. Therefore, the best html5 games also train our brain to be better at processing the stimuli we get from the outside.

One last exciting effect that computer games can have on cognitive factors is the development of decision speed. Computer gamers who play high-speed computer games (such as CounterStrike, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, etc.) seem to have an increased ability to make decisions faster. Among other things, a few researchers have proposed a model of the effect of playing computer games, where they use a large part of the model to describe the decision-making processes. They present exactly how the decision-making process is important for the development of children and young people’s ability to learn new material, and enter into collaboration with others, because through the process leading up to a decision they are quicker to incorporate the available knowledge about them than their peers. not playing computer.

Learning and development

In the development of children and young people in school, their heads are trained in more than being able to remember the royal line. The essentials we get from our schooling are no longer concrete knowledge; it our ability to acquire knowledge, reading skills, arithmetic skills, critical sense, and several other important effects that affect our ability to acquire lifelong learning. Computer games are an important tool to learn how to make optimal use of in this world. This is also the background for why concepts such as edutainment, gamification and digitization are in rapid development.

Within the last few years, there has been a development in the recognition of these phenomena, which has meant, among other things, that both private companies (see eg Danish eSports Education ) and large associations, such as DGI , have become involved and developed educations, which enables educators to harness the power of computer games to bolster their teaching and motivate their students.

An increasing digital worldview

The effects described in the section on the positive effect that computer games can have on cognitive effects also underline how the positive effects of computer games are important to reap, in order to put our children and young people even stronger in their learning and development. When you begin to embrace the good things that can come out of combining computer games with teaching, while keeping an eye on the negative effects that can be, you create a development that is undoubtedly need in an increasingly digitalized worldview.

In an articleThe authors describe how one of the important effects of computer games in relation to the development of learning skills is that computer games contribute to the development of children and young people’s digital skills (digital literacy). These “skills” are described as the ability to have attention, attitude and the ability to use digital tools and facilities, to identify, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, analyze and synthesize digital resources, create new knowledge, create media expression , and communicate with others, in a context of specific life situations, so as to create constructive social action; and reflect on this process ”(Our translation). In short, it is an important part of the development of our learning system that we make our children and young people digital world citizens.

Avoid the pitfalls

But one must also be careful not to fall into the pitfalls that can be find in the use of computer games in teaching. One of these effects may be the executive control, which is our ability to control the impulses we receive, instead of performing actions that do not fit with our personal goals and expectations. As humans, we are constantly getting an impulse to do something that is often light-heart.

It may be the urge to eat pizza even though we are on a diet. Translated into school children and young people, a reduced executive control can help make children more likely to say no to performing tasks that their teacher sets them because they do not feel like doing the task. It is undoubtedly a challenge that educators have always had in the school system. However, if computer games help to reduce the ability to control the executive function, then this problem may become even greater. This, of course, would be inappropriate. There are some studies that examine the connection, however, with mixed results. This effect is important for educators to be aware of in the future.

Also read :The Impact Of Technology On Furniture Design

Digital formation

An extremely important positive effect of children’s use of computer games is digital education. Basically, the concept covers the ability to perform in a digital, online world that is constantly changing. Computer games present the digital world in a way where children and young people have the opportunity to explore digital contexts, master digital aids, and most often also gain an in-depth knowledge of how to communicate online.

Ugly language online

Not everyone speaks equally nicely to each other online, which is important to work with as a parent and educational institution. But it is still an important part of the learning that must take place around the digital world, for the child, that they become acquainted with the online communication. In many ways, shielding children from an online universe is tantamount to trying to control the communication that takes place on the school playground.

Of course, digital education also speaks together with the mastery of the digital skills needed to be able to perform in the labor market of the future. Here it is also important that children have the opportunity to learn and explore the digital opportunities and currents that exist.