Have you ever wondered how fast-paced video games
affect the brain?
Most of the common stories about gamers are:
- Lot of screen time during gameplay makes your
eyesight worse,
- Games lead to attention problems and greater
distractibility.
But is that all really true ?
Step into a lab with a cognitive researcher Daphne
Bavelier to hear surprising news about how video games affect your learning,
focus and multitasking abilities.
Questions:
1) Are you an action game player ?
If not, what other games do you prefer and why ?
2) Do you agree with the statements
presented in this TED ?
Comments
I have just had an idea. Maybe this is tha answer to problem with women drivers. When they drive a car they don't see some things. Meybe they should start playing FPP games.
One thing I don't want to believe in is the fact that video games improve our vision.
Surprisingly, all the experience you gain from some game(especially shooter) is applicable only to this game. Shooters are good only for enjoyment, and you gain nothing in return.
I'm also not agree with statement that average gamer has better vision than others. Only a certain environment can improve our vision, and it's definitely not the screen in front of us.
I think playing games is pretty similar to the children playing with their toys. We play them as long as we find them entertaining as well as when we can still learn something from them. There are many successful people who state that playing games has teached them scenarios similar to those which they have experienced in their real, professional life.
I can't agree that games have only positive effect on our health. Sure, we can still learn many things from them, but playing them for hours a day may result in worse eyesight, obesity, increased risk of infarction.
I am mostly agree with statements presented in the video. They have a lab, they did some research, I think they can be trusted. Still, the sad truth is - gaming require a huge amount of time, and that's where the probleme is for most of gamers.
Funny thing you wrote - as I'm recalling right now most of the women in my company that drive really good are also gaming. Maybe there is a correlation.
When it comes to attention problems - I do not believe this at all. Especially in action games you have to train your focus to achieve anything, and I personally feel that action/racing games are actually very good for solving this kind of problems rather than causing them.
I love FPS because they get you right in the action from the start - and some of them like Wolfenstein II or the first Homefront are just too realistic and gives a good thrill.
I think FPS needs less planning and more reflex than those games I wrote about - still a good thing to mix up both types.
Here is a fine show of my favorite actor and dynamic shooting live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpr8oqyjKIc
And my first reaction when I saw TED title was the same as yours :)
About vision improving I think it is more about following many objects at one time. Not many people have this ability - usually shooters, pilots, car drivers are the group with that ability more developed. It is a part of the test when you have to do psycho-manual tests for professional driving, pilot licence or shooting.
A good screen setup is also very needed to straining the eyes at all - I have to say, yes and no. I remember when I swapped my monitor from Dell Ultrasharp IPS 24 to iiyama G-Master GB2760QSU-B1. My previous monitor had one setting that made it great and this was light sensor that dynamically changed everything when it got brighter or darker in the room. I missed that function a lot after a swap and even though the monitor was technically great, my eyes were killing me after few hours of work (the image was either too bright or too dark depending on time period and I hated changing it all the time). After a week of working like that I had to use software way to deal with the problem (f.lux) and it did the job perfectly.
Sadly I do not know why all current monitor producers are removing light sensors from their monitors.
I usually don't play games due to my wrist problems, but my favourite type is definitely racing (and building houses in the Sims, but shhh). My very first racing game was some rally racing (I was 8 when my friend lent me the CD).
I've heard some of the statements presented in this TED, the one about focusing on multiple things at once, about switching tasks and shorter reaction time. But I would never think such games make your eye sight better. I liked the example of seeing in a fog.
About racing games - I still remember the times when I was playing the game called Stunts in 1990 where you could make your own track and then ride on it (yes I know, I'm old :).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CITIXlw_T4
And the first time I saw Need For Speed in 1995 I was just speechless. I think through the time games got really complex and graphic is just amazing right now - our eyes had to adapt to that also.
I belive that playing any type of games improve some skills but games are also a huge time consumers. Playing games can be very helpful when it comes to improving some skills (and it's very enjoyable way of improving ourselves) but we have to remember about the real life (because mostly we want to improve some skills that are useful outside the games).
I'm wondering if some politic will make warning signs on games like on cigarettes. "Game responsibly - heavy gaming may be addictive and time wasting" :) I think someday PEGI warnings will not be enough - that would show that people really do not understand nothing and there should be more TED's and people like Daphne.
And you asked how shooting is relevant to multitasking. Watch dynamic shooting live and believe my words that keeping focus on few targets is something people learn few years and has to be trained all the time.
Here is a fine show of my favorite actor and dynamic shooting live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpr8oqyjKIc
Overall, I agree with a researcher. But still, the main problem with gaming - time. If you fully involved in gaming , you need quite a lot of time. I envy people that have total control over themselves and can play games on regular basis without suffering of lack of time.
No, I don't actually play games. But I like to watch people play them on YouTube. Maybe games were not that good for our eyesight some years ago, but since then monitors have improved so much. Some days ago I've turned on my old laptop and worked for some time. I should say, that the laptop is over 6 years old. Maybe 10, I don't remember. And after working on it my eyes sored a little. And the situation is the same with old TV.
As to games. When I was a kid, I played many good games. There was some with a fish Freddy and other with mouse Maya. I knew a lot of from them about nature, animals, scientists. Games are not just a waste of time.
I am agree with the statement in this TED. I was pleased that I heard opinion which was very simillar to my own. Usually we heard about dangerous which games can make but as we can see now - it is not a full truth.
I am really glad that there are presentations like this, that do not demonize gaming at the start of the conversation, but try to conclude why is that such a popular form of entertainment.
It's a sad state of affairs that we still have people demonizing video games for their own personal gains. The best thing to do is to just ignore them.