Negative Impact of Gaming and the Neurological Development of Children

[Torch]

Hi GQ,

As a former gamer, I was curious about how computer games may affect a child's brain.  My nephew and niece are both younger children, and they are not into video games.  Their parents are, however, heavy gamers in World of Warcraft.  It's a miracle their kids don't even want to play on the computer or phone.  My nephew once told me, "I stare at the computer screen in class all day.  I don't want to do that when I go home!".  Instead, he's involved with soccer, swimming, and just started learning martial arts.  My niece is the quiet artsy one and she is involved with expressive dance, aerobics, and painting.  Her parents showed her how to play Super Mario but it's been three months since that time, and she hasn't shown any interest.  

In my childhood, I did not grow up with video games when I lived in Alberta, Canada.  I was outside playing with the neighborhood kids for most of the afternoons when the weather was nice.  Or I'd go bike riding around the community with my brother.  We'd build snow forts outside in the winter, and wanted to be outside even if it was snowing like a blizzard.  Mum and Pop would bring us to the library to rent books, or games.  They'd drop us off at the pool to take swimming lessons.  And just like almost every other kid in my class, we even had weekly piano lessons.  After school activities included floor hockey (I loved this sport as a kid), ice skating, Girl Scouts, badminton, ping-pong, even music band practice.  I played clarinet in the jazz band.  I did all of this without even touching a video game.  Those were very happy memories, and I am so grateful for my parents who worked their butts off, and paid their hard earned money to enroll their four children into these activities.  

I'm an older adult now, and my entry into video games began about ten years ago.  I played excessively for three years, but then stopped cold turkey for a long time.  Currently, I can't seem to enjoy gaming as much as I did ten years ago.   I feel physically and mentally unwell  sitting down in a chair for more than an hour at a time.  My back hurts, my legs feel numb, my eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen, and it does not help my posture.  Not only that, there are moments I feel higher irritability and frustration.  That's why I am doing a thirty day detox to hopefully reset my mind and body.  If I am experiencing these physiological and mental changes at my age, then how does it compare with a younger person in their teens or twenties?  I had naively assumed that a younger person would naturally have more resilience compared to an older gamer.  But that was absolutely NOT the case after I read a few studies.  

One video demonstrated the blood pressure spike in a young man (early 20's) who was playing Call of Duty.  The researcher took his blood pressure before he started to game, and then after he played CoD for a short session, under five minutes.    His blood pressure escalated from 120/80 to 140 in a matter of three minutes.  it was shocking to watch that happen in real-time.  And he was a healthy person!  How much more damage can that inflict on a person who is unwell with chronic disease?  And what about the brain development in young kids?

So that leads me back to the concern about computer games and a child's neuro-development.  Their brains are still developing, and will continue to develop into their twenties.  I will paste part of an article I recently read online.  https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/how-do-video-games-affect-the-developing-brains-of-children

"According to a study by the NPD Group, a global market research firm, his gaming obsession isn't unique. Nine out of 10 children play video games. That's 64 million kids—and some of them hit the keyboard or smartphone before they can even string together a sentence. The problem: many researchers believe that excessive gaming before age 21 or 22 can physically rewire the brain.

Researchers in China, for example, performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies on the brains of 18 college students who spent an average of 10 hours a day online, primarily playing games like World of Warcraft. Compared with a control group who spent less than two hours a day online, gamers had less gray matter (the thinking part of the brain).

As far back as the early 1990s, scientists warned that because video games only stimulate brain regions that control vision and movement, other parts of the mind responsible for behavior, emotion, and learning could become underdeveloped.

A study published in the scientific journal Nature in 1998 showed that playing video games releases the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. The amount of dopamine released while playing video games was similar to what is seen after intravenous injection of the stimulant drugs amphetamine or methylphenidate.

Yet despite mounting evidence about the cognitive, behavioral, and neurochemical impact of gaming, the concept of game addiction (online or not) is difficult to define. Some researchers say that it is a distinct psychiatric disorder, while others believe it may be part of another psychiatric disorder. The current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-V, states that more research needs to be done before "Internet Gaming Disorder" can be formally included."

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So after reading the article, I think that gaming disorder not only includes a psychiatric definition, but also a physiological disorder that can lead to chronic illness.  The video games being made nowadays are deliberately made to captivate young children and create addiction.  You would be naive to think differently about this industry's intentions.  

In conclusion, I am going to take a stand against video games for young kids because I know how harmful it can be neurologically, and that it is a very slippery slope that can slide into a potential addiction.  I will NOT be encouraging video games for my young nephew and niece because there are just too many risks.  

Edited November 15 by Torch

[D_Cozy]

Thanks for providing links with your findings Torch 🙂 I always appreciate a thorough post with resources to back up what it says. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I'm glad you're looking out for your niece and nephew. Are their parents generally present in said outdoor activities for their kids? I hope they are. You're putting a good example in my opinion for your nephews.

My kids also do soccer and they like it a lot. They also do swimming, and my oldest is also really into baseball. I love being outdoors with them in general, my wife and I also make it a point to go outdoors and get some exercise before they use any tech. Even during snowy days that's something I always try to encourage (snow can be a lot fun too)