Are Video Games A Waste of Time?

Video games have been a big hype among the young and the adult generation for over 60 years.

Since the dawn of computers, video games have become widely popular and this popularity has sky-rocketed to unimaginable heights in the last decade.

Playing video games is subjective and differs from person to person. Most Gen-Z people are more inclined toward video games than any other form of sports. Although this inclination is the side-effect of modern civilization, excess video gaming is a drastic waste of time and health.

The Video Game Walkthrough

Video Games were first invented during the 60s by a Physicist named William Higinbotham and the game was sort of a table tennis game.

However, the actual gaming revolution started in the 70s after the first computer games were created. Sooner after that, arcades were made for gaming purposes only.

The present video game industry took a massive fall during the 90s because of concerned and panicking parents. Later it was proven that video games don’t cause any physical or mental problems in the human body. Finally, we come to the 20^th-century gaming industry that has thrived more than ever.

The current video game industry has provided everyone with video games for all ages instead of being novelty toys. With the help of advanced technology and consoles, it has branched out far and wide into the world and has achieved success in all aspects by improving the virtual experience.

Video Game Related Superstitions

Video games have different genres and all the games in the world differ in gameplay and characters. This leads to some games being exceptionally gore, psychotic, or even inhumane. Such games have a large community, which leads to many concerns from parents and other senior citizens.

Video Games Brainwash Children

This is a big superstition among parents that the characters and scenes might manipulate their children in the video game, leading them to a life of danger. According to the current state of gamers worldwide, it’s clear that this is fake. Most gamers are calm and introverted with massive potential in them.

Video Games as Scapegoats

Video games are often used as scapegoats by government officials and people that know nothing about video games. Instead of diving deeper into the person’s lifestyle, they try to blame the video game for the rage in a murderer or suspect. Games don’t induce such rage because they are nothing but leisure for casual gamers.

Video Game Causes Violence

Video games often have violence, blood, and gore scenes in them as part of the gameplay. Many people blame that such forms of violence affect the healthy mind of their kids. However, according to the leading psychiatrists, violent video games are nothing but a distraction from the pains of the real world.

Video Games Destroy Creativity

This is the exact opposite of how video games influence a gamer to use their imagination. Several times, it has been proven that Video gamers have a higher sense of understanding and improving the world around them. Video games maintain a clear sense of creativity and competitive behavior among their players.

Healthy Effects of Video Games

Video games are a great way to have fun anywhere and help to create a world of your own. A mind that is joyful lives longer than a person who feels lonely and depressed all the time. In the present world, video games are considered virtual playgrounds where children from all over the world come to play.

Harmless Online Friendship

Most online games these days require you to team up with other gamers from all over the world. This is a great way to make friends and learn about their culture. In addition to that, there’s no physical connection involved, so no harm can be done to one another.

Competitive Mindset

It’s necessary to have a competitive thinking process for children, and video games are the best way to achieve this goal. The online gaming platform is so competitive that it has become a habit for individual gamers to compete for the best awards in every aspect of their life.

Unlocking Creativity & Innovation

When a person plays games, that individual has to use all the problem-solving parts of their brain and has to expand their mind to new heights. This makes a significant change in the innovative mind to always think outside the box and accomplish tasks at an accelerated rate.

Sharpens Senses

According to tons of studies made on gamers vs. non-gamers, it has been proven that gamers tend to have a faster reaction rate compared to ordinary people. Their reflex actions are faster and their senses work twice as fast as a regular human. This happens because of the intense sensory concentration required during gaming.

Negative Effects of Video Games

Although video games tend to increase different body functions to a greater level, the negative effects of video games are not few and can become permanent to the gamer. To provide a clear understanding if games are a waste of time, it’s necessary to know the negative effects of video games too.

Lack of Patience

Video games tend to provide a lot of information and excitement to the gamer at a fast rate. For this reason, the average gamer loses patience whenever something grand isn’t taking place around them. Compared to other forms of entertainment types, games have this negative impact at large.

Fake Sense of Accomplishment

Unless you’re a professional gamer who wins prizes and fame through gaming, it’s a potential waste of time. Winning single-player or multiplayer games sets a false sense of accomplishment among its players which releases dopamine at an accelerated rate. It’s not particularly bad but not good either.

Excessive Time Wastage

Gaming for a set amount of time is healthy. On the contrary, playing games for a long time wastes time and affects your body. Games are made in such a way that they tend to draw the full attention of the person. For this reason, it becomes tough to fight the urge to stop playing games once started.

Obesity

Most gamers in the present decade have obesity-related health problems because of becoming lazy and gaming too much. Spending too much time gaming provides the body with physical exercise, which then causes health problems for the gamer. This is a major problem that is related to gaming incessantly.

Final Words

From the positive and negative effects of gaming mentioned above, it’s possible to understand that video games are a great way to spend time.

However, spending too much time on video games is a total waste of time and health. Gaming is not a bad habit but obsessing over it is harmful.

Video Games are a platform to interact, compete, and enjoy with the AI or your friends. The question of if video games are a waste of time is both yes and no, depending on the amount of time you spend gaming.

Try to take advantage of the game, don’t let the game take advantage of your vulnerability.