Video Games and Health

Computers are a part of all of our lives these days. I was stunned when, before she hit two years of age, my daughter could click a mouse—this was about the same time she learned to speak in full sentences! She loved to sit on my lap and bang on the keyboard. So much the better if her favorite cartoon characters were on the screen. Now she’s much older, but equally mesmerized by the computer. She is easily sucked into websites that are geared at children, especially if they have a video game component. We are extremely cautious in limiting her screen time and making sure she is only playing games that are appropriate for a kid her age. This article, excerpted from the Harvard Health Letter, gives useful advice about what parents can do to make sure the video games their kids play aren’t harmful. A lot of this information about video games’ impact on health also applies to adults who play video games—a growing group, according to this article.

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The stereotypical video game player is the solitary teenage boy. While teens are the most avid players, more than half of American adults also play video games, according to some surveys, although the likelihood of being a gamer decreases with age. More women and girls are playing. And while people do play games alone, often gaming has a social element to it, either with people in the same room or over the Internet.

Video games and aggressive behavior

Over 30 years of research have shown that exposure to movie and TV violence increases aggressive behavior in children. In most of these studies, aggressive behavior has been broadly defined as physical and nonphysical acts intended to injure or even just irritate. Although fewer studies have looked specifically at video games, results seem to follow a similar pattern. A number of experiments have shown that playing violent games leads to short-term increases in aggressive behavior. For example, a study of children and teens in the United States and Japan found a link between heavy violent video game playing and acts of physical aggression (hitting or kicking). It would be quite a stretch, though, to say that that study proves that playing violent video games causes aggressive behavior.

Many adults worry in particular about the effects of games like Halo and Doom, which are played from the perspective of someone shooting a gun. While it seems logical that these games might stir up violent behavior, a direct link to real-world violence has not been proven. However, studies show that players of first-person violent games were more likely to assign aggressive traits to themselves after play. And brain scan research has shown that aggressive thoughts and violent scenes in shooter games activate similar parts of the brain.

On the other hand, some researchers say action games may have some real benefits, including sharper attention skills. Others note that many old-fashioned make-believe games have children act out scenes from the adult world, some of them quite violent. The games may allow the players to “get out their aggression” in a safe way.  

Video games and other health problems

Video game play has been implicated as the cause of other physical and emotional health complaints. Players have developed “Playstation thumb” and “Nintendoitis” — repetitive strain injuries in their arms and hands from manipulating controllers. Other documented hazards of excessive play include fatigue and headaches.

Although “screen time” in general has a negative effect on children’s fitness levels, video games are perhaps not as detrimental as television. One explanation: people are less likely to snack than when watching TV because their hands are occupied. Movement-based games such as Dance Dance Revolution are also bringing physical activity into the gaming world.

A serious concern is the effect video games have on sleep. Japanese researchers recorded sleep patterns and other physiological measurements for young boys who played an exciting computer game shortly before bedtime. The players had a higher heart rate after playing than nonplayers, and took longer to fall asleep. Key phases of sleep were also disrupted. In another study, children who played video games before bed showed a decrease in memory and verbal thinking ability the following day.

Advice for parents regarding video games

Understand where your child is developmentally. For example, children under age 8 have a hard time distinguishing fantasy from reality, so vivid, violent images may be upsetting.

Use the rating system. Most video and computer games display an Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) code. The code consists of two parts: a letter indicating the age-appropriateness of the game (C for Early Childhood; E for Everyone; T for Teen; M for Mature) and a brief description of the content, such as “strong language,” “violence,” or “suggestive material.” 

Use control settings on gaming consoles. New video game consoles can be programmed to restrict games with certain rating codes. Some models allow other limits to be set, such as when and how long kids play and who they interact with. It’s a good idea for parents to be involved in the setup of a new console so that you retain control of the PIN that accesses gaming restrictions. 

Keep consoles out of the bedroom. The presence of gaming consoles in children’s bedrooms is associated with more gaming time in general and more M-rated play.

Offer alternatives. Just saying no isn’t very effective. If children today are spending too much time gaming, adults can help by getting more involved in their lives. Reading to a child can counteract the lure of the video game. So can playing a board game and exercising together. This is harder to do as children become teens who need their independence.

Do you or your kids play video games? What kind of rules do you set?

More health information and tips from Harvard Medical School

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