The industry of video games has grown exponentially over the past twenty to thirty years, and the amount of games available to the public has skyrocketed (Green 2). The first video games were being made only 50 years ago. Access was not widely available, and content was limited to very simple games such as Pong, which in itself became popular. However, in a world where computers are becoming ever more essential to everyday life, the video game industry can only climb higher in public popularity.
With that popularity, questions come to light; such as if videogames adversely affect health, or if they can be used as a tool to teach the next generation. Video games are now an integral part of today’s society, and can have many positive and negative effects on people.
The video game market is one of the fastest growing areas of entertainment within the last two decades (Gunter 124), and has especially taken root in many western countries (Gunter 15).
Roughly sixty percent of all Americans–145 million people–play video games, the average age being 24 (Green 2). Unlike the physically passive activity of watching television, video games are interactive and must be played (Gunter 12), which undoubtedly has its physical effects. The fear that people will become so caught up in video games that they neglect any physical exercise is common, as is the fear that younger children in their developmental stage will suffer adverse mental effects. A majority of research and attention has been focused on the negative effects of videogames (Green 2), especially by the media, however in recent years there has been a significant increase in the amount of more positive-minded attention.
Even so, video games continue to remain a subject for debate among many (Green 15).
One of the immediate physical effects of playing video games is the ‘Adrenaline rush’ one gets when experiencing something exciting, intense, or nerve-racking. The flight-or-fight response initiated when one is startled, scared, or excited by something can be triggered by playing video games. Extremely competitive multiplayer settings, especially if violent, realistic, and immersive (Decety 1006), will be the most common occurence of this, as it most realistically creates a situation of uncertainty and thrill that would be present in real-life. Secretion of adrenaline as a stress response causes a significant increase in heart-rate and blood-pressure (Jagadheeswari #). This adrenaline response is slightly more common in males than in females, and is enhanced in cases where the game is rated Mature as opposed to Everyone (Jagadheeswari #).
A more long term physical effect of video games could be deteriorating eyesight, however not all people are subject to this. Some people have the ability to continuously play a video game for hours on end, and never develop problems related to their eyes. Others, however, are not so lucky; their eyes can become strained due to the constant distance from the screen, and they can become short-sighted. Most people require breaks after long periods of time working on a computer because the exposure causes headaches.
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