Video Games Effects On The Mind And Body

How do computers, video games, and watching television affect the mind and body? All three of these have some positive and negative effects on the mind and body. They can range from being as positive as increasing cognitive skills, to as harmful as atrophy of a person’s social skills and muscles. However, there are also ways to counterbalance the negative effects that playing on the computer, playing video games, and watching television may have on the mind and body while still being able to participate in these activities. Normally when someone is using a computer, they are sitting in a chair, barely moving any part of their body, staring at a screen. This is one of the cons of using a computer. Because the person is not moving most of their …show more content…
Studies have shown that playing violent video games can make children and adults more hostile and aggressive. The player is rewarded, in some games, for being violent. This causes the player to think that being violent is a good thing and that causes them to show less empathy and be more aggressive. Excessively playing video games can also cause a person to become socially isolated, hindering their abilities to communicate with other people. Excessive video game play time can also cause a student to do worse in school as they will sometimes skip homework to play video games. Video games can also cause a child to lose long-term concentration capabilities and cause postural, muscular or skeletal disorders. However, there are plenty of positive effects of video games that need to be recognized also. One positive effect of playing video games is that it can increase a child’s problem solving skills and even time management. One game that utilizes problem solving skills and time management is the Nintendo game Pikmin. Pikmin is a game about a man named Olimar that delivers different items from his planet Hocotate. While flying back to Hocotate in his spaceship, the S.S. Dolphin, he is hit by an asteroid and sent crashing onto an unknown planet. The S.S Dolphin loses every part that it needs to fly out of the orbit of the unknown planet. The player, taking control of Olimar, only has thirty in game days to recover the parts of Olimar’s ship as the planet contains high levels of oxygen, which is a deadly element to the people of Hocotate. During the first day, Olimar encounters plant-like creatures fighting off a predator. He calls the plant-like creatures Pikmin because they resemble the pikpik carrots for which his planet is famous. By whistling to the Pikmin, they come to him and begin following his commands to fight against the predators for