Litereture Revew – Video Gaming

Litereture Revew – Video Gaming

Video games are widespread today, especially after computers became popular and online gaming became something children and adults participate in. Thus, video gaming is often classified under online entertainment, making many people believe it is addictive. This classification has prompted many experts in the field of psychology to undertake studies to examine various impacts of video gaming. What stands out in the literature is that the studies have conflicting perspectives. Some studies reveal that video gaming is addictive and thus can be harmful to children. Others also connect video gaming with violence, especially when children play violent video games, disputing that playing violent video games makes one have violent tendencies. Simultaneously, some studies show very different outcomes because they reveal that video games may be educative and helpful in cognitive development. This paper will show the contradictory research on video games to demonstrate that they can be both beneficial and harmful.

Literature review

Various studies have focused on the negative impacts of video gaming. A study like the one by Abbis et al. (2021) sought to show the connection between video gaming and addictive tendencies to the practice. In this study, they were specifically interested in proving that video gaming can lead to addiction to video games. The researchers used data analysis and experimented on 176 gamers between 15 and 25. The researchers found that there was no significant connection between video game consumption and video game addiction. This study showed that video game consumption may not be as addictive as previously believed. Another study that is also connected to addiction and which is significant is the study by Mills et al. (2018). In this research, the scholars wanted to know if people with higher needs and experience frustration use video games to get satisfaction. In other words, those who experience higher needs and frustration are likely to spend more time in video games to escape their frustration and find fulfillment in the video games. This study was significant because it helped to show that video games could be addictive when gamers are using them to escape their emotions and psychological state, which may be harmful. However, the study showed no connection between frustration, the higher needs of the gamers, and the time they spend playing the games.

Another study examining the adverse outcomes of video gaming was conducted by Porter and Goolkasian (2019). This research was intended to show that video games hurt the mental state of gamers. The experiment intended to show that engaging in video games can increase stress because it may increase heart rate and cause diastolic and systolic blood pressure. The researchers thus anticipated that playing video games could cause either negative or positive emotions. It is significant to note that this research revealed no connection between stress and video gaming. This study again disputed another negative impact of video games on individuals, proving that video gaming may not have an adverse negative effect of video games on gamers. In another study, Shao and Wang (2019) found no connection between violent tendencies and playing violent video games. In this study, where they sampled 600 middle schoolers, the researchers noted that even though some children demonstrated violent tendencies, there was a connection between them and their family environment. This study showed that playing violent video games did not cause children to be violent in their characters but rather by their environment.

Subsequently, the impacts of video games on psychological functioning were also assessed in research undertaken by von der Heiden et al. (2019). In their study, the researchers sampled 2,734 individuals who were willing to participate. In the end, the study showed no connections between psychological functioning. The research was mainly intended to see if some video games cause psychological problems. The researchers also found that the types of video games people choose are unrelated to their psychological functions. In other words, video games do not impact an individual’s psychological makeup, thus proving that even if someone plays violent video games, the games do not influence their behavior. The other significant study was the research done by Brilliant, Nouchi, and Kawashima (2019). In their study, they discovered that video games can be helpful for neuroplasticity. Therefore, even though studies most studies show the challenges of video games, it is evident that there are positive outcomes.

Conclusion and Recommendations

There are several studies on video gaming, especially because it is a new trend. Video gaming has attracted the interest of psychologists because it is thought to be addictive and might have psychological impacts on gamers. The studies show that some researchers have identified adverse effects of online gaming. At the same time, some researchers have identified the benefits of online gaming. The conclusion made out of these findings is that online gaming may have both merits and demerits. Hence, it is apparent that online gaming is an area that still requires more studies to find out whether this trend is beneficial or harmful.

As such, the following three recommendations are made based on the findings and conclusions above. Firstly, it is recommended that scholars consider the benefits of video gaming. Some studies show that video games can be helpful; therefore, there is a need for these areas to be studied further. The second recommendation is that more studies should be conducted on video games to determine whether they are more harmful than beneficial. Since different studies show different outcomes, more research is needed to offer the most reliable and generalizable results. The third recommendation is for psychologists to determine new treatment approaches for online addictions since it is a societal issue.

References

Abbasi, A. Z., Rehman, U., Afaq, Z., Rafeh, M. A., Hlavacs, H., Mamun, M. A., & Shah, M. U.   (2021). Predicting Video Game Addiction Through the Dimensions of Consumer Video    Game Engagement: Quantitative and Cross-sectional Study. JMIR serious games, 9(4), e30310. https://doi.org/10.2196/30310

Brilliant T, D., Nouchi, R., & Kawashima, R. (2019). Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the   Brain: Evidence from a Systematic Review. Brain sciences, 9(10), 251.     https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9100251

Mills, D. J., Milyavskaya, M., Mettler, J., Heath, N. L., & Derevensky, J. L. (2018). How do passion for video games and needs frustration explain time spent gaming?. The British journal of social psychology, 57(2), 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12239

Porter, A. M., & Goolkasian, P. (2019). Video Games and Stress: How Stress Appraisals and       Game Content Affect Cardiovascular and Emotion Outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 967. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00967

Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). The Relation of Violent Video Games to Adolescent Aggression:   An Examination of Moderated Mediation Effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 384.             https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00384

von der Heiden, J. M., Braun, B., Müller, K. W., & Egloff, B. (2019). The Association Between Video Gaming and Psychological Functioning. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1731.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01731

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Video Gaming

By the due date assigned, you conducted a literature review in a specific area of mass media using the course competencies as a guide in choosing the articles. For this week, you will take that information and incorporate it into a final paper. The paper is not just a literature review. It is a culmination of what you have learned over the course using the particular type of media you chose as the focus of your paper. By the due date assigned, use the course competencies as a guide to developing your paper.

Understand the major theories associated with the examination of the psychological influences of the media.
Understand the historical context of the media in the development of societal standards and perceptions.
Analyze modern trends of the media in the development of societal standards and perceptions.
Critically evaluate the relation between the historical and contemporary background of media influences to allow for a global and detailed view of the critical components responsible for impacting society.
Demonstrate an understanding of the independent and dependent nature of media sources and the apparent consequences of such systems.
Understand the evolving nature of media sources in a technologically advanced society.
Evaluate the ability of individuals to mitigate the psychological impact of media influences on their daily lives over time.
Critically evaluate research studies focused on psychology and the media.