I was walking the other day in downtown Buenos Aires and caught sight of a newspaper with the title question for a headline. It's a magazine called El Cisne ("The Swan"), published by the Orientation, Derivation and Capacitation for the Handicapped Network. I bought it and read through a lengthy article which I'm about to translate and post fragments of it, because I sure as hell would like to know your opinion on it.
[HEADING=2]Videogames responsible for cognitive decay?[/HEADING]
"There are yet those who maintain that console gaming provides certain benefits, such as the increase of hand-eye coordination and that of certain skills and abilities; however, this one-sided development would go hand-in-hand with a decrease in interest for other activities like studying, PA and socializing. On the other hand, experts assures us that such skills[footnote]As in hand-eye coordination, etc.[/footnote] have no real use within "reality". "If a boy takes a pencil in his hand and a sheet of paper, he can establish a direct connection between work and result, thus resulting in an activity true to the word "understanding". But if a kid pushes a mouse or a button and the action results on a screen, the process is incomprehensible to the child. Hence, there's no learning or understanding from it." -------- That first quote is from one Prof. Heinz Buddemeier, specializing in Media and Audiovisual Communication.
The article goes on to talk about health risks such as obesity, and mentions exposure "to scenarios that are limited in their portrayal of life, wherein aggresion is predominant and there're all sorts of reductionisms and negative stereotypes. In fact, one of the biggest worries regarding the noxious effect of videogames is their bond between violece and juvenile crime. Experts such as Buddemeier assure us that these risks have been made evident and backed by over 700 studies conducted over the past few years involving over 500,000 children and teenagers. The article then mentions there're 500,000 videogame-addicted people in Germany.
[HEADING=2]Multitasking and cognitive disorders[/HEADING]
"It is estimated that most people of 21 years of age have ammassed an average of 10,000 hours of videogames. That's 24 hours less than the total time of both school and high school combined. That's equivalent to a full-time job clocking over 40 hours a week (...) Buddemeier says, "Games are used to channel unfulfilled wishes[footnote]I'm translating from "deseos", which could perfectly mean "needs" or "desires"[/footnote]. Gamers are awareded for their success, are masters of the situation and can exercize pressure over others. When the game is over, the problems of life ensue, and the need for another game arises".
One study conducted at the Indiana University School of Medicine established a direct relationship between playing violent videogames over an extended period of time and a subsequente change in the brain, specifically in the regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control. The frontal lobe, the main affected area, is responsible for self-control, concentration, reasoning and social behavior. Yang Wang, assistant professor in the investigation, said: "We've discovered that a number of young adults showed a notable decrease in activity of the frontal lobe after a week of playing violent videogames in their homes".
The article then goes on to talk about the results of one study conducted earlier this year by one Hao Lei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan. I found very little on this in the web, though there's a similar study by Hao Lei published by BBC news on internet addition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16505521. Anyway, back to the subject at hand, here's a resume of what he found through the study:
Physical Well-Being: The unhealthy practice of videogaming may cause obesity, posture, muscular and skeletal disorders such as tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, visual fatigue and "ocular dryness" due to excess focus on a screen or monitor, migraine, epileptic attacks, anxiety and nervous tension.
Social Skills: Excess dependence of videogames can encourage social isolation (...) this "fun in isolation" may turn into a relationship substitute, alienating the person from the real world. There're also mentions of increased temperament and aggresiveness, and a poor academical output, as well as links to ADD and autism.
TL;DR? The article goes on (I'm a bit tired of translating and sampling the "hottest hits"; maybe I'll make another try later).
[HEADING=2]Videogames responsible for cognitive decay?[/HEADING]
"There are yet those who maintain that console gaming provides certain benefits, such as the increase of hand-eye coordination and that of certain skills and abilities; however, this one-sided development would go hand-in-hand with a decrease in interest for other activities like studying, PA and socializing. On the other hand, experts assures us that such skills[footnote]As in hand-eye coordination, etc.[/footnote] have no real use within "reality". "If a boy takes a pencil in his hand and a sheet of paper, he can establish a direct connection between work and result, thus resulting in an activity true to the word "understanding". But if a kid pushes a mouse or a button and the action results on a screen, the process is incomprehensible to the child. Hence, there's no learning or understanding from it." -------- That first quote is from one Prof. Heinz Buddemeier, specializing in Media and Audiovisual Communication.
The article goes on to talk about health risks such as obesity, and mentions exposure "to scenarios that are limited in their portrayal of life, wherein aggresion is predominant and there're all sorts of reductionisms and negative stereotypes. In fact, one of the biggest worries regarding the noxious effect of videogames is their bond between violece and juvenile crime. Experts such as Buddemeier assure us that these risks have been made evident and backed by over 700 studies conducted over the past few years involving over 500,000 children and teenagers. The article then mentions there're 500,000 videogame-addicted people in Germany.
[HEADING=2]Multitasking and cognitive disorders[/HEADING]
"It is estimated that most people of 21 years of age have ammassed an average of 10,000 hours of videogames. That's 24 hours less than the total time of both school and high school combined. That's equivalent to a full-time job clocking over 40 hours a week (...) Buddemeier says, "Games are used to channel unfulfilled wishes[footnote]I'm translating from "deseos", which could perfectly mean "needs" or "desires"[/footnote]. Gamers are awareded for their success, are masters of the situation and can exercize pressure over others. When the game is over, the problems of life ensue, and the need for another game arises".
One study conducted at the Indiana University School of Medicine established a direct relationship between playing violent videogames over an extended period of time and a subsequente change in the brain, specifically in the regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control. The frontal lobe, the main affected area, is responsible for self-control, concentration, reasoning and social behavior. Yang Wang, assistant professor in the investigation, said: "We've discovered that a number of young adults showed a notable decrease in activity of the frontal lobe after a week of playing violent videogames in their homes".
The article then goes on to talk about the results of one study conducted earlier this year by one Hao Lei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan. I found very little on this in the web, though there's a similar study by Hao Lei published by BBC news on internet addition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16505521. Anyway, back to the subject at hand, here's a resume of what he found through the study:
Physical Well-Being: The unhealthy practice of videogaming may cause obesity, posture, muscular and skeletal disorders such as tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, visual fatigue and "ocular dryness" due to excess focus on a screen or monitor, migraine, epileptic attacks, anxiety and nervous tension.
Social Skills: Excess dependence of videogames can encourage social isolation (...) this "fun in isolation" may turn into a relationship substitute, alienating the person from the real world. There're also mentions of increased temperament and aggresiveness, and a poor academical output, as well as links to ADD and autism.
TL;DR? The article goes on (I'm a bit tired of translating and sampling the "hottest hits"; maybe I'll make another try later).
