Pros and Cons of Video Games

To enjoy video games without going overboard is the key so that these are not harmful. Supervision of children and adolescents is very important.

"At first I played only two or three hours, but with time it was worse.I spent three weeks without leaving my room and stopped sporadically to prepare me some fast food.There were days when I did not even sleep.One of those days I felt a very strong dizzy and a migraine that did not went away until after several hours of sleep.I realized then that I was addicted to video games and that I had spent my university vacation living in a virtual world.

This story can be the story ofany gamer, the one of a person who started playing two hours a day and ended up suffering an addiction. This risk is one of the disadvantages of these popular gadgets with the ability to amuse, excite, frighten and move like a movie or television show.

Not all gamers are addicted nor are several hours in front of the console is dangerous. An addict must live days of virtual immersion for a period of between six months and a year. The important thing is to learn about the advantages of video games, which are many, and the disadvantages to take measures of good use, especially for the young.

¿But why is it so easy to get addicted?

Video games are one of the favorite devices for playing both children and adults. In 2016 the different consoles and games reached more than 41 billion dollars in sales.
According to a 2015 report by the Entertainment Software Association, in the United States, 58% of Americans were players and they spent an average of two hours a day playing.
As expected, the smartphone game market grew, especially with the arrival of the famous Pokemon Go and the average age of the user is 35 years, while those under 18 alone have 29% of the market.

These figures draw attention to something fundamental: constant and unsupervised play can cause addiction to video games which in turn carries serious health risks.

However, it is crucial to know that video games have two ways of looking: the positive side is that they can teach and improve physical and mental abilities. The down side is that they can encourage aggression and make people invest too much time in them losing the sense of reality.

These are the advantages and disadvantages you should keep in mind:

Advantages:

Training - Improvement of physical and mental abilities

It has been proven that if you play video games daily, you can improve our visual attention and be more efficient when you have several tasks.

Research by the University of Oxford with 5,000 children aged 10 to 15 found that those who played at least one hour a day had higher levels of sociability and a lower degree of hyperactivity or emotional and friendly problems than other groups.

It has therapeutic advantages

Video games can be used in people who have physical and mental problems. As for example for those who have problems of mobility in the arms, or that they find it difficult to be related; As is the case of people with autism.

It serves as a didactic medium.

Video games can be a means of learning for people who use it because it is a different context and more playful. Therefore, they are a good means of motivation for children and young people, as well as for children who have learning difficulties.

Disadvantages:

They can create addiction

As is the case in our example, there are people who are susceptible to becoming addicted to video games, however and despite the studies that have been done about it, today it is not possible to prove that playing with video games can create addiction, Which should be analyzed is the person and ask why he has reached that point.

Excessive use may increase user aggressiveness

Some games are very aggressive and violent. At times, this content is not only limited to the propensity to physical violence but to the adoption of violent ideas. By playing for long periods of time, with extremely war games, you can reach insensitivity in these issues, an effect that is only achieved with addicted and long-term players.

If you play a lot you can have negative effects on our social life

The child who has fun with games that are violent may have negative effects on his socialization with other children. In addition, because video games do not encourage dialogue, they can increase the use of violence as a solution.
Watch out! If you do not have control over the usage of it, and there is not enough supervision, it can negatively affect yourlife; Thus influencing the school performance of children, family life and our day to day life in general.

¿Then, how to act to avoid its possible negative effects?

It is essential that you take these recommendations into account, especially if you are concerned about their impact on children:

• It is necessary that we pay attention when acquiring a video game for our children to: the plot and history that presents and especially to the age band indicated in the packaging, with the idea to avoid violent games and to choose those that are directed to the learning.

• As a general rule, we have to implement a usage schedule that does not exceed the daily time. For this, we will have to have other alternatives available to the console such as outdoor sports and play with friends. If the game is on the cell phone or on the computer the recommendations are the same.

• Join your child! It's time to become a "player". Whenever possible, it is important that we share with them, so we will know the different games there are and the ones they like.

• If adults also play at home, it is important that playing in front of the children would be with the proper games for the family and, above all, not over pass the stipulated time. That is, to preach by example.

Source:

http://www.vix.com/es/btg/curiosidades/6820/los-efectos-de-los-videojuegos-en-el-cerebro-segun-los-cientificos
https://campus.usal.es/~teoriaeducacion/rev_numero_02/n2_art_etxeberria.htm
http://www.cosmoenespanol.com/salud-y-fitness/news/14/01/28/que-beneficios-tiene-jugar-videojuegos/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction
https://es.slideshare.net/isabelmiguel/video-games-advantages-and-disadvantages