Video Games, Rotting Your Brain or Enhancing It?

As the video game industry advances and games are more diverse the question,“Are they bad for you?” is a consistent subject. I can see both sides of this argument as video games have been highly beneficial for myself but not for others close to me. Let us discuss. 

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM OR FACT?

There have been contradicting studies that argue Both sides of this question. Some studies show that playing video games can lead to aggression and playing video games for too long can have an impact on your grey matter. In contrast studies also show the complete opposite where aggression is resolved and video games cause individuals to utilize different portions of the brain. So, which is it?

That is exactly my argument for today. While my opinion of video games is that they are a highly valued asset to technology; it should be stated that video games are not for everyone. Often individuals will have a different experience with video games based on their own mental state and the discipline (or lack thereof) that they have built into their daily habits. My brother and myself are key examples of how two completely different people can react to playing video games throughout their life.

THE ROT

There is an 8-year age difference between my brother and myself. My father allowed my brother to play video games and allowed him to have consoles. When it came to me it was completely different. I could play with my brother and he even told my brother to take it easy on me. I was not allowed to have a console. The reason for this is a bit unclear but I believe it is rooted in the way my brother reacts when he does not have his games.

For some time, my brother solely focused on playing video games and I believe this was because it was his outlet. This was his way of escaping our home life and probably a relief in the stresses of society. this is all understandable except my brother did not want to work and he did not want to do school he just wanted to play video games. When my dad would take them away or threatened to take them away his behavior was not acceptable.

Please keep in mind that we had a different childhood with poor upbringing by parents who were not ready to be parents let alone spouses. Our troubled childhood probably impacted his life more than his addiction for video games. Throughout the years my brother struggled to keep a job. He lost many opportunities after only a few days with many excuses as to why. Today he plays video games less and has a job that he for the most part enjoys. I am very proud of him as he has kept this job for quite some time now. The video game addiction lasted well into his 20s but now seems to have subsided.

ME, MYSELF, & GAMING

For myself, not being able to play video games when I was younger, I did not get to fully invest myself until I was 18 and moved out. Almost every other day I will play video games, but I do know my limits. I enjoy playing on the weekends more than I do going out and a lot of my aggression comes out when I play the more stressful games. Playing video games help me get a lot of my aggression out and when I was younger, I had a lot of aggression. It is interesting to see someone like me who was a very angry teenager and then play video games turn into an adult who is calm and controlled. Obviously, we cannot say that this is all due to myself playing video games in the past few years as psychology is very complicated. There are many things in my life that have made me the person I am today, but I know I have video games to thank for some of my better qualities. My creativity went away when I had some big spouts of depression, but that creativity was still able to shine when playing some of my favorite games today.

WE ARE THE ROT.

In conclusion, while many people state video games will rot your brain or will enhance it, the facts are not there for either side. This is a statement that is believed by many people and is considered a fact on both sides. While in reality the only thing (besides drugs and alcohol) that can rot your brain is yourself. Our choices that we make everyday is what decides how video games impact our lives. There are mental illnesses that can affect the outcome of studies and there are outside factors that interfere with the results.

My brother chose to dive fully into video games and became addicted. I chose to use them as an outlet and use other creative outlets. The children that are addicted to video games can be correlated with a lack of discipline in the home. There are children who learn a lot of basic life concepts from video games and there are children who play mindlessly.

We are the ones who rot each other, not video games.

#therot #Videogamesrottingyourbrain