Experts Weigh in on How Video Games Affect the Brain
Video gaming is now a significant component of modern life. Shooting, solving complex puzzles, and taking a tour of virtual worlds are the kinds of activities that millions of people do daily. Yet, beyond the fun, how do video games affect the brain?
Video games share numerous similarities with online gambling. Both excite players and keep them interested, which might result in addictive behaviours. Though they share many similarities, the two affect the brain differently.
So, how do video games affect the brain? Read on this comprehensive article by NZCasinoHEX’s celebrated author and gaming expert Maia Hall to get an answer to the question as well as uncover much more. Check out NZCasinoHEX for more of Maia’s coverage of online casinos in New Zealand, including the Kiwis’ most sought-after 4 dollar deposit casino platforms.
Positive Effects of Video Games on the Brain
One of the best things about video gaming is that it enhances thinking. Most games, especially those which require strategy, problem-solving, and attention, make gamers smarter.
Better Attention and Focus: Action games help people players improve their focus. Since gamers often react quickly and make rapid decisions in a dynamic environment, games enhance players’ attention and help them switch between tasks more efficiently in everyday life.
Spatial Skills: Games that require movement, such as open-world or building games, help enhance the ability to conceptualize and manipulate space. This is helpful for driving or even designing in the real world. For example, Minecraft enables one to improve their creativity and spatial awareness by building virtually anything they imagine.
Problem-Solving: Most video games have some elements that need to be solved, strategized, or considered ahead of time. Plenty of games, like Star Craft or Civilization, require players to manage resources and make difficult decisions, hence enhancing critical thinking.
There is some crossover here to online gaming. Poker or Blackjack requires fast action, akin to gaming, but using real money adds tension and risk. It seems to fall back on how both games test the brain, but in most cases, casino games have more serious consequences.
Dopamine and the Brain Reward System
The most critical part of learning how video games affect the brain is how they excite dopamine, a neurochemical that makes us feel good.
Video games are designed to reward levelling up, getting a new item, or winning points. These are forms of reward associated with releasing a chemical called dopamine, which keeps players motivated to keep playing.
“Rewards given through video games also parallel online gambling. For example, slot machine players do not know when they will get their next reward, so they always want more and more. That is just like some video games that give rewards randomly, for example, loot boxes or items that only rarely come up, creating a cycle of hopes and expectations,” Maia Hall elaborates.
“Both online gaming and gambling are based on this notion of a dopamine-driven system that keeps people continuously playing. Still, the subtle difference is that video games offer virtual rewards, whereas gambling involves the usage of real money, thereby making it riskier and emotionally volatile,” experts at CasinoHEX in NZ, a reputable online casino reviewer in New Zealand, note.
Video Game Addiction
While video gaming has many advantages, several risks are also involved. Addiction is a big problem that can arise out of excessive gaming and has similarities with other types of addictions, including gambling.
In 2019, the WHO declared “gaming disorder” an actual issue. It is when gaming takes over an individual’s life and presents problems to their personal, social, or work life. It is very similar to gambling addiction, wherein people continue to gamble even up to a point where it hurts them financially or emotionally.
Why are some people addicted to video games? Many games are designed to keep players invested. Some build immense, immersive worlds that people want to stay in; others supply a sense of connection to social networks of online friends.
Similarly, online gambling sites such as $4 deposit casino in NZ platforms do their part by offering bonuses and access at any time and making playing easy. Gamblers can misjudge how much time they spend online, much like video games, leading to unhealthy behaviours in the form of too much money spent.
Emotional and Social Effects
Video games affect emotions, social life, and thinking skills. The multiplayer option in these games enables players to interact with others by making friends and collaborating towards a common goal. Most people find this communication to be positive.
However, some people turn to video gaming to escape real-life problems. If the time spent in virtual reality is excessive and not channelled into solving one’s problems, such behaviour may lead to loneliness, depression, or other emotional issues.
Online gambling also includes features of social participation, such as chat rooms and multiplayer modes. These sometimes encourage gamblers to take greater risks and gamble for longer periods than intended.
How video games affect the brain bears similarities here with gambling yet again. Just like in video games, social participation features in online casinos can take an emotional and financial toll on participants.
Visit this URL to read an article exploring the recent studies of computer games in psychology and what they reveal for both the industry leaders and players.
Escalation and Compulsion
A common thread between video games and gambling is the concept of escalation; players and gamblers always want more. This can be in the form of the next big achievement that pops up after having reached a certain milestone, unlocking more content, or beating high scores. Some players invest too much time in reaching the next level or acquiring a scarce item.
This can be even more dangerous in a casino game where money is involved. People often play and play, hoping their luck will change to make up for losses, but they only dig deeper to fall further behind in a vicious cycle of higher bets and greater risks. All this can bring a person into serious financial trouble.
Gaming and gambling both significantly influence the brain’s reward system. In due time, the brain gets accustomed to the rewards, and with habitual playing, players feel that the more they play, the greater the feeling of excitement they will get.
Regulation and the Role of Technology
With video games further closing the similarity gap with gambling, the call for better regulations and laws seems to be well-founded. Loot boxes are essentially slot machines: players spend real money in hopes that they might get something of value, except it’s entirely left to chance. Some countries recently started acting on the regulation of these as they would any other form of gambling, particularly for younger players.
Technology is also helping to reduce these issues. Many games by top $4 deposit casino platforms now feature option screens that tell players approximately how much time they’ve spent, or offer ways for players to set maximum limits on in-game purchases. Likewise, several online gambling websites have begun offering “self-exclusion” features, wherein gamblers may remove access to the site anytime they feel they are gambling too much.
Video Games and the Brain: Summary
Video gaming has both positive and negative effects on the brain. On one hand, they improve one’s attention, problem-solving skills, and spatial skills. Yet, on the other hand, they might create an addiction.
It is easy to observe similarities between video games and online gambling, since both lure individuals to invest in them. That said, the level of risk is greater in gambling, considering the involvement of money, while in video gaming, most rewards are virtual. Both could result in addictive habits, leading to poor performance or malfunctioning in other fields of life.
With the further growth and development of gaming and gambling, it’s important to be aware of these risks and use tools that allow one to control and monitor how much time and money one spends.
Knowing how video games and gambling influence our brains helps us make wiser choices about how to enjoy these activities without falling into unhealthy patterns.