DON’T worry if your child plays video games (but they still need to go outside)

Video games have long been a hot topic when it comes to our children and their potential affects on children.

A study carried out by researchers in Hannover Medical School, Germany, looked at long-term players of violent video games and found they had the same neural response to emotionally provocative images as non-gamers. All candidates —who were boys—had played violent games such as Call of Duty or Counterstrike for at least two hours a day for the past four years. Using candidates who play these games regularly meant they were used to being the player carrying out the violence, otherwise known as the ‘first-person shooter.’ Researchers did point out that the difference between this particular study and the majority of others was the key factor of time. In other words, participants in separate studies were playing violent video games immediately before or during the experiment. In contrast, this study looked at the long-term effect—most gamers had stopped playing at least 4 hours before being analysed. Candidates were asked to complete psychological questionnaires and subsequently underwent brain scans in an MRI machine. Here they were shown specific images that were created to provoke an emotional response in the average person. Upon seeing these images candidates were asked to imagine how they would feel in the situations depicted if it occured in their own lives. Afterwards researchers measured responses from different brain regions and compared these to the responces of non-gamers. The results from both questionnaire and scan showed no differences in aggression or empathy between the two groups studied. According to Science Daily, Dr. Gregor Szycik who’s team carried out the study said,

“The next step for us will be to analyse data collected under more valid stimulation such as using videos to provoke an emotional response.”

He also said that the need for the research arose due to increased quality of video games and how more of his patients are having to deal with "compulsive video game consumption." Speaking to the Irish Times—lecturer in psychology and mental health in Dublin City University—Dr. Gerry Moore said,

“... games have their benefits too. Hand-eye co-ordination is one such positive. We have a project here in DCU, called Actualize, where young people with autism are being helped to develop their emotional responses to various things via playing video games."

Clearly other factors are coming into play when young people or children experience anti-social behaviour or are seen to become more agressive. What this study doesn't explore is how staying indoors playing videogames for lengthy periods of time will affect a child's social and communication skills. Not spending time in a socially active environment is an aspect that could be more of an issue than the actual game being played itself. Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilydotie