Question: How does video games affect your brain? Is it negative

Gemma Barron answered on 16 Nov 2015:

Hi @KingSP,
Thank you for your question. I’m not a video game expert but, I do enjoy playing Nintendo so I was very interested in trying to find an answer to your question so, I hope my answer is okay for you.
Your question of whether video games has an negative effect on our brains has been investigated for over the past 30 years in much the same way as rock and roll, television and even certain books containing lots of violence might have to our brains. This is because negative effects of playing video games could lead to addiction, increased anger, or health problems including obesity or repetitive strain injuries. Also, becoming isolated from friends and family, neglecting school work and struggling with exams and coursework are some other negative effects which researchers have found. However, video games can also be put to educational and therapeutic use and may also improve our reaction times and our hand-to-eye coordination which are positive effects generated by video games. Therefore, I think that moderate use of video games can be used for education and entertainment use but, video gamers must have a real life outside of video games (like friends and hobbies that are found through playing a video game). I think that this is extremely important. Thanks, Gemma