Ryan Jonathan 

There has been a lot of debate between the positive and negative sides of playing video games. In the current technological era, interest in video games has increased rapidly. Furthermore, the accessibility of video games has improved so much; it also affects the rate of people starting to make video games as their source of entertainment. With the current technological advancement, people can enjoy video games even while using their mobile phones. Previously, video games were limited to certain consoles and devices. So people that want to enjoy video games have to begin with buying the appliances used to play the games. With this in mind, everyone still has different reasons for playing video games, which leads to other benefits or disadvantages we get from them.

Optimistic of Playing Video Games

It cannot be denied that despite the debate, we have to be conscious that there are some benefits to playing video games. Here are a few examples of people’s positive effects on playing video games.

• Source of Fun

Fun has to be why many people are starting to get interested in playing video games. The amount of new experience, exploration, and accomplishment are a part of the joy we receive from playing video games. People might enjoy the game differently. For example, some would want the visual aspects of the video game, while others focus on the storyline that it brings. Hence entertainment can differ, but it is one of the biggest reasons anyone plays video games. Playing video games can significantly reduce stress if you play for the right reasons with the true purpose.

• Increase Social Environment

While playing video games is famous for making individuals create bad social skills, it can sometimes be the opposite of what it was famous for. Many video games in the current times always have a friend feature where you will be able to add your friends into the friend list inside the game. While this most likely is added because you are adding your real-life friends into the game, it can also increase the chance of meeting friends online. Also, many puzzle games are famous for their difficulty, which makes players search online for the solution and sometimes make friends in the process.

• Train Skillsets

Different games bring in different skill sets and train your mind either consciously or subconsciously. The first example of the game genre that helps prove this is the real-time strategy game, which requires players to build, expand, and defend a settlement. It also involves resource collection, in-game technological development, base support, and army control. Since we play against human opponents, we significantly develop our logical thinking skills and predictive abilities. The next genre has to be First Person Shooter. This genre is about players viewing the in-game experience from a first-person perspective. This genre allows players to improve their hand-eye coordination, long-term concentration, and assumption skills.

Negative of Playing Video Games

Now moving on to the adverse effects that playing games have on us. It cannot be ignored that when playing games, we can forget how time passes quickly and make some responsibilities undone. Here are a few examples of people’s adverse effects on playing video games.

• Bad Time Management

One negative example is being irresponsible with time management and neglecting the duties we are supposed to accomplish in the period. Being able to enjoy playing video games for a long time without disturbance would surely be a dream come true for video gamers. But, we should enjoy our gaming time but only after we finish our obligations and not before.

• Create Potential Mental Problems

Playing video games for too long can lead to developing some mental problems. We choose to play games because we are feeling depressed or anxious about our current situation. The main problem with this method is that when we choose to suppress those emotions at the slightest hint that it might appear, it will become an unhealthy habit because we avoid those feelings altogether by playing games.

• Create Physical Problems

Health problems are the most typical issue when playing video games for long hours. This will show the person having a bad posture that will affect the overall body condition. Other physical impacts can come from playing video games for too long and not focusing on sleeping and eating time. We tend to forget or skip meal time because we do not feel hungry, leading to inconsistent meal time.

Playing video games has its benefits but can still be very harmful if we do not utilize it properly. Even though playing video games with a bad habit creates many problems, it can also have its benefits when playing in the right amount of proportion. If we choose to enjoy a game after we finish our responsibilities and are still having a proper meal and sleep time, we might as well reap the benefits of actually enjoying playing video games.

Talking about games, to spend time in free time, you can try to play casual game such as otome game called Memories Interactive. Memories is a story based mobile game which can be played anytime and anywhere. If you interested to try casual game, especially story-based game, you can download and play Memories for free through this link for iOS and this link for Android. Happy playing!