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We hear conflicting reports about how video games affect our brains. One study will suggest that video games help us learn; another might imply that they make young people more aggressive. Douglas A. Gentile argues that how games influence our brains is not an either-or proposition; games can have both positive and negative consequences, and which of these researchers find depends on what they are testing. Gentile proposes that researchers focus their investigations on five attributes of video game design to tease out these disparate effects.

Video gamers, parents, politicians and the press often lionize or attack video games, which opens the door to spin that obfuscates our understanding of how these games affect people. For example, the European Parliament has been debating whether to limit children's access to video games. In a press statement about the report that resulted from its deliberations, the parliament concluded that games could have "harmful effects on the minds of children." Reporting on this statement, however, the headline in the Guardian read, "Video games are good for children."

Psychologists and neuroscientists conducting well-designed studies are beginning to shed light on the actual effects of video games. These studies show a clear trend: Games have many consequences in the brain, and most are not obvious-they happen at a level that overt behaviors do not immediately reflect. Because the effects are subtle, many people think video games are simply benign entertainment.

Research projects of variable strength have substantiated claims of both beneficial and harmful effects. Too often the discussion ends there in a "good" versus "evil" battle, reminiscent of the plots of the violent video games themselves.

Games May Teach Skills-or Desensitize Us to Violence

Well-designed video games are natural teachers. ¹ They provide immediate feedback on the player's success by distributing reinforcements and punishments, assist in learning at different rates, and offer opportunities to practice to the point of mastery and then to automaticity. Video games also can adapt themselves to individual learners and train players in a way that helps them transfer knowledge or skills to the real world. Gamers repeat actions as they play, and repetition is one precondition for long-term potentiation-the strengthening of brain-cell connections (synapses) through repeated use that is thought to underlie memory storage and learning. To cite a mnemonic that Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb coined in 1940, "Neurons that fire together wire together."

Several lines of research suggest that playing video games can lead to different types of benefits. For example, a 2002 U.S. Department of Education report presented evidence on the effectiveness of educational games. ² One neuroscience study, published in Nature, showed that playing action video games can improve visual attention to the periphery of a computer screen. ³ Another study, which appeared in Nature Neuroscience, demonstrated that action games can improve adults' abilities to make fine discriminations among different shades of gray (called contrast sensitivity), which is important for activities such as driving at night. ⁴ Other research suggests that games requiring teamwork help people develop collaboration skills. ⁵

Several types of studies provide evidence that video games that include "pro-social" content-situations in which characters help each other in nonviolent ways-increase such conduct outside of game play, too. In one study, 161 college students were randomly assigned to play one of several violent games, neutral games, or pro-social games (in which helpful behavior was required). After playing, the students completed a task in which they could either help or hurt another student. Those who had played the violent games were more hurtful to other students, whereas those who had played the pro-social games were more helpful. ⁶

Games may be beneficial for doctors, too. A study involving 33 laparoscopic surgeons-doctors who conduct minimally invasive surgery by using a video camera to project the surgical target area onto a screen as they work-linked video game play to improved surgical skill, as measured in a standardized advanced-skill training program. In fact, the surgeons' amount of game time was a better predictor of advanced surgical skill in the training drills than their number of years in practice or number of real-life surgeries performed. ⁷

While some reports have linked video games to negative consequences such as obesity, attention problems, poor school performance and video game "addiction," most research has focused on the effects of violent games. Dozens of psychological studies indicate that playing violent games increases aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors, in both the short term ⁸ and the long term. ⁹ This makes sense from psychological and cognitive neuroscience perspectives: Humans learn what they practice. But what really happens in our brains when we play violent video games?

A decade ago, in an imaging study using positron emission tomography (PET), eight men undertook a goal-directed motor task for a monetary reward: They played a video game in which they moved a tank through a battlefield to destroy enemy tanks. Researchers found that a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is involved in learning and feelings of reward, was released in the brain's striatum as the men played. ¹⁰ This and other studies suggest that the release of dopamine and stress hormones may be related not only to ideas of violence and harm, but also to motivation and winning.

Other studies have focused on how specific brain regions of players of violent games respond under varying circumstances. For instance, René Weber and his colleagues asked 13 experienced gamers to play a violent game while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans. ¹¹ The violence in the game was not continuous, so researchers coded the game play frame by frame. At various points the player's character was fighting and killing, in imminent danger but not firing a weapon, safe with no threats, or dead.

By imaging players' brain activity before, during and after each violent encounter, the investigators found that immediately before firing a weapon, players displayed greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This area involves cognitive control and planning, among other functions. While firing a weapon and shortly afterward, players showed less activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and amygdala. Because interaction between these brain areas is associated with resolving emotional conflict, their decreased functioning could indicate a suppression of the emotional response to witnessing the results of taking violent action.

Does this evidence prove that repeated play of violent games desensitizes players to aggression and violence? In a study we are still conducting, 13 late-adolescent male gamers played a game while undergoing fMRI scans. The game (Unreal Tournament) can be set either to include or not to include violent actions. The most interesting preliminary findings appear in the contrast between gamers who habitually play violent, first-person shooter games and those who play less violent games. The latter show increases in rACC activity (suggesting emotional responses) during violent episodes, as expected. We interpret this to mean that while people who are not used to seeing violent images show a strong emotional reaction when confronted with them, those who regularly play violent games do not simply lack an emotional reaction-they actively suppress it, as reflected in their rACC activity (see the figure). These players may have become desensitized to violence in video games. Another study has found a correlation between repeated exposure to violent games and desensitization, as well as increased aggressive behavior in the real world. ¹²

Researchers are continuing to investigate whether repeated exposure to violent games over time truly does desensitize players and increase their aggressive feelings and thoughts. Beyond that, we must find out whether such responses and behaviors become automatic.

Aspects of Video Games Illuminate Their Effects

If video games can be both beneficial and harmful to players, how can we predict their effects on individuals and populations? And how can scientists stay out of the polarizing debate while still reporting the results of their studies? The answer to the second question is that scientists must be precise. I see five aspects of video games that can affect players: amount, content, structure, mechanics and context. Together, these aspects can explain different research results.

Amount

We would expect that as people spend more time playing video games, their risk of performing poorly in school, becoming overweight or obese, and developing specific negative physical health outcomes (such as carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries) would increase. We may also correlate more time spent playing with a higher number of video-induced seizures in people with epilepsy or photosensitivity disorder.

These correlations might begin with gamers' existing characteristics. For example, low-performing students are more likely to spend more time playing, which may give them a sense of mastery that eludes them at school. Nonetheless, every hour that a child spends on video games is not spent doing homework, reading, creating, or participating in other activities that might have more educational benefit. Longitudinal studies support the idea that children's school performance worsens as their gaming time increases.

Furthermore, excessive video game play often reduces time for physical activity, which could account for the link between the amount of gaming and obesity. Movement games (such as Dance Dance Revolution and some Nintendo Wiigames) may have the opposite effect, however. Finally, repetition of a game's features may magnify the consequences of the four other aspects I cite.

Content

What a video game is about-its content-may determine what players take with them from the game to real life. Studies indicate not only that games that include educational content can improve related education skills, ² but also that games designed to help children manage chronic health problems (such as asthma or diabetes) are more effective than doctors' pamphlets in training children to recognize symptoms and to take their medications. ¹³ Similarly, studies reporting that games with violent content increase aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors suggest that these violent tendencies can extend into real-life situations. ⁶

Learning that results from video games may last only for the duration of the game, for a few minutes after play ceases or for the long term. Many content-focused studies, such as those in which children learn information about their health, also show that in-game learning can transfer to the real world in the long term.

Studies of games with violent content also tend to demonstrate transfer of learning to real-world situations. Studies in several countries, including one consisting of 1,595 children in Japan and the United States, suggest that children who play violent games become more aggressive in their daily lives (as reported by their peers or teachers, for example). ⁹

The research question has shifted from whether game content transfers to nongame situations to how it does so. New studies are focusing on the cognitive and behavioral processes by which learning and transfer occur. Learning may transfer to other tasks as a result of fluid intelligence. This term refers to the ability to reason and to solve new problems independently of previously acquired knowledge. In one study, researchers had participants complete a gamelike computer training task. They found that training designed to improve working memory (the temporary storage and use of information) leads to a transfer to fluid intelligence. Moreover, the extent of the gain was related to the amount of training. ¹⁴

Structure

A video game's on-screen structure contributes to its effects. For example, some games require a player to scan the screen constantly for small changes, such as signals announcing the sudden appearance of an "enemy," and to respond quickly to these changes. Effective scanning allows the player to shift attention swiftly and automatically from the center of the screen to the periphery. ³ Such visual attention is analogous to the type of skill that an air-traffic controller needs: the ability to scan all screen areas, to detect minute changes and to respond quickly.

Some games require players to navigate three-dimensional virtual worlds on a two-dimensional screen. To navigate successfully, players must use multiple depth cues (such as interposition, in which closer objects obscure more distant ones, and motion parallax, in which objects move across the visual field faster if they are closer to the viewer). These games should improve a gamer's ability to get 3-D information from 2-D depth cues and use it in other contexts. Because navigating a virtual world requires players to maintain awareness of orientation and landmarks, these games also could improve way-finding skills and mental rotation skills. Such transfer could explain the findings of the laparoscopic surgeon study, because the surgeons need to gather detailed 3-D information from a 2-D screen while maintaining awareness of both the screen's periphery and objects that are not on the screen. The biological basis of how a game's structure affects players requires further research.

Mechanics

We should anticipate that the mechanicsof game play require gamers to hone particular motor skills, which may also transfer to related real-life situations. A game's mechanics relate to its structure. Movements of the controller change what a player sees on the screen, which in turn affects how the player uses the controller. This feedback loop is consistent with hand-eye coordination.

We would expect to see improvements when gamers practice isolated movements or coordinate them between dominant and nondominant hands, in terms of both fine motor skills (such as making tiny adjustments with the thumb on a game pad) and gross motor abilities (such as practicing a baseball swing on the Nintendo Wii). This expectation also applies to the use of the devices required to play a game. For example, playing driving games with a wheel and pedals is likely to transfer to real-world driving more effectively than playing the same game with a keyboard and mouse.

Context

Finally, we should suppose that the social context of a game influences its effects on the brain and learning. Some games require cooperation and teamwork for success. For example, in some quests of the multiplayer online game World of Warcraft, players with different skills must work together to solve puzzles and to overcome barriers. Other games, such as the battle simulator Call of Duty, require real-time coordinated action. Games that involve teamwork may improve players' skills in cooperation and coordination, but scientists have conducted almost no research in this area.

A game's social context may change other outcomes as well. For example, playing violent games with a group of friends who provide social support for aggressive actions might yield greater increases in aggressive behaviors in other contexts than playing the same games by oneself. Conversely, providing players with pro-social motives to help their friends might mitigate increases in aggressive behaviors. Because social context is more difficult to study than the consequences of game content or amount of play, researchers will need to design new experimental methods.

Examining these five aspects of video games has several benefits. It allows us to get beyond the dichotomous thinking of games as simply good or bad. It helps us understand why different types of studies have different outcomes. Finally, it tells us why these findings do not actually contradict each other but simply represent different levels of analysis.
With the exception of educational games, most video games' effects on brain and behavior are unintentional on the part of both the designers and the players. Nonetheless, research suggests that the effects are real. Video games are neither good nor bad. Rather, they are a powerful form of entertainment that does what good entertainment is supposed to do-it influences us.

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Video Games Affect the Brain-for Better and Worse

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Headlines about how video games affect the brain range from upbeat to dire. Psychologist Douglas A. Gentile asserts that although violent games in particular can have negative consequences, well-designed games can teach positive skills. He proposes five attributes of video game design that can help explain findings and guide future research.

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economic and cultural power video games have

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economic and cultural power video games have

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Updated April 06, 2016 14:01:18

Video games have always mattered, but thanks to initiatives like the World Video Game Hall of Fame they are now reaching a cultural legitimacy previously reserved for things like film, music and literature, writes Brendan Keogh.
In late March, the World Video Game Hall of Fame located in The National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York announced the finalists for its second round of inductions.

From 1970s classics such as Taito's Space Invaders, to quintessentially 1990s mascots Sonic the Hedgehog and Lara Croft, to the more-recent but culturally ubiquitous Minecraft, the 15 contenders represent a vast range of video game styles, periods and technologies.

The existence of a World Video Game Hall of Fame suggests a sort of new cultural legitimacy to the video game form, a shifting sense that these digital works matter enough to be remembered. This is reflected in a broader enthusiasm in recent years by museums and art galleries building up collections of video games.

One of the criteria a video game must meet for consideration in the World Video Game Hall of Fame is to have:

Exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. (My emphasis)

Video games influencing other video games is not something many people would have trouble grasping. But this latter point is one often unconsidered up until recent years: the idea that video games have a significant influence on popular culture and society more broadly. Just as any art form or popular culture would. But then again, why wouldn't video games have always had that influence?

Look at the release dates of those games being considered. One of the contenders, The Oregon Trail, was released in 1971, the same year that The Rolling Stones released Brown Sugar and Don McLean released American Pie. Sonic the Hedgehog was launched three months before Nirvana's Nevermind. One of the first ever video games, Spacewar (which is not currently a contender), was made in 1962 - the same year as Elvis Presley's Return to Sender.

For almost as long as there has been modern rock music, there has been video games. Rock music has been ubiquitous for decades; video games still often seem like some odd cultural novelty. All the editorials of the last three decades pointing out how much more money video games make than blockbuster films have not been able to change this perception.

Something weird happened to video games that prevented them, for decades, from acquiring the same cultural clout as their film and music counterparts. Even as they made million of dollars and raked in huge audiences, video games remained on the cultural margins.

We can trace two broad reasons for this.

Firstly, video games require a much more direct and intimate coupling between the work and the audience.

Film and music and literature are all capable of being challenging, of course, but one can at least sit there and let the images, sounds or words wash over them without too much effort. Video games with their input devices require complex haptic literacies from our fingers in addition to the conscious engagement with sights and sounds.

Video games need to be learned, just like a musical instrument. Video games don't just happen. Leave the room during a film and it will keep going. Leave the room halfway through Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic will just stop and tap his foot, waiting for you to come back.

To experience video games on a very basic level requires a significant amount of physical effort not needed to, say, overhear a good song at the supermarket.

Secondly, video games have been stuck in a very particular subculture since their birth that they have been struggling to claw out of ever since.

Born on university campuses by young hacker men, video games have long been seen as simply a thing young men do. There have always been women involved in their creation and playing, of course, but the cultural impression is one of young, nerdy men hunched over computers.

This was only amplified as video games exploded in the late 1980s and '90s as publishing companies narrowed their target demographic to teenage boys, easily seen through some of the marketing of the time. It is no coincidence that many baby boomers remember playing games such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders, but then left video games behind entirely at this time.

Add both of these together - the complex physical exertion required and the self-labelled and patriarchal outsider culture - and it's not hard to see why video games have struggled to receive the same level of cultural acceptance as other popular forms despite being around almost as long - and despite producing important works for just as long.

However, things have changed massively and rapidly over the past decade. After a prolonged and, let's be frank, embarrassing adolescence, video games have once again found themselves more widely played and accepted. The widespread presence of powerful smartphone devices means almost every adult now has a device in their pocket capable of playing millions of video games, many of which have easy and intuitive controls.

The popularity of so-called "casual" games has attracted demographics of players from beyond the core teenage boys, as has the flowering of a great diversity of independent and hobbyist development scenes across the world. Games such as Minecraft and Angry Birds have reached a level of cultural zeitgeist that no first-person shooter could dream of obtaining. Mariah Carey now appears in commercials for the game Game of War.

Editorials that argue "video games matter now" have always made me cringe. Video games have always mattered! Look back over the past 50 years and you see the influence of video games on electronic music, on the special effects on movies, on the military, on increasing the popularity of personal computers.

They have been significant and influential popular culture artefacts since their inception, and the diversity of contenders for the World Video Game Hall of Fame reflects that.

The difference is that this influence has become a whole lot easier for more people to see now that we live in a time where you can't put a hand in a pocket without finding a video game. Now, video games are normal.
Brendan Keogh is a Game Design Lecturer at SAE Creative Media Institute in Brisbane and a freelance video game critic and journalist. Follow him on Twitter @brkeogh.
Topics: games, arts-and-entertainment, games-industry, games-industry-professional-gaming

First posted April 06, 2016 13:50:19

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You can't ignore the cultural power of video games any longer

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Updated April 06, 2016 14:01:18 Video games have always mattered, but thanks to initiatives like the World Video Game Hall of Fame they are now reaching a cultural legitimacy previously reserved for things like film, music and literature, writes Brendan Keogh.

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chemicals produced by addiction. Chemicals produced by drugs and other addictive substances

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chemicals produced by addiction. Chemicals produced by drugs and other addictive substances

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Most everyone recognizes that good communication is important. Communication is the key to well-running human systems whether the system is a group of family members, or a group of people who work together. Our bodies are no different. Without good communication, our bodies do not function well. Not surprisingly, our brains are responsible for this communication. To understand addiction's effect on brain chemistry, we must first understand how this communication system works.

Our five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell) gather and transmit information about our environment. Our brains must then process and analyze this information. Although the brain takes in and analyzes an extraordinary amount of information, it relies on a relatively simple electrochemical process for communication.

The brain's communication system permits specific areas of the brain to rapidly interact with other brain regions. The brain achieves this communication through a vast, interconnected, network of specialized cells called neurons. Our brains have billions of these neuronal connections. These neuronal connections form the foundation for an electro-chemical communication system.

The brain is composed of many different regions (or sections). Each of these regions serves a different function. Therefore, these different regions of the brain must have a way to communicate with each other. In particular, the brain must communicate with, and coordinate, all the body's life-sustaining systems (respiratory system, digestive system, cardiovascular system, etc.). This is similar to how individual players on a sports team must communicate with other to coordinate their actions together as a team. Thus, the brain's communication system is essential to our health, well-being, and overall functioning. Conversely, when this communication system is altered, it negatively affects us.

This brain's communication system is constantly changing and adapting. These qualities allow us to learn, to remember, and to adjust to our changing circumstances. Various drugs (including prescribed medications) have the ability to alter the brain's communication system. It makes sense that anything that alters the brain's communication system will alter the way the brain functions. We need to understand how this communication system works so we can understand some of the defining characteristics of addiction. These include cravings, withdrawals, compulsions, and the continued use of addictive substances and activities despite harmful consequences.

The neuron is the primary unit of communication within the brain. A single neuron is extremely tiny. Scientists estimate there are over 100 billion neurons in the human brain. You can imagine just how complex and distinct your brain is from the person next to you. As you know, good communication is a two-way street: We both listen (receive information) and we speak (send information). The same is true of the brain's communication system. Neurons have the ability to both send and receive communication signals. The dendrite is the portion of a neuron that typically receives information (listens). The axon is portion of the neuron that sends out information (speaks).

When humans communicate with each other, we typically use words and gestures. The different parts of the brain communicate with each other using electrical signals. Neurons use electrical pulses to send their communication signals. These electrical impulses are called action potentials. When a neuron fires, the action potential travels down the neuron's axon where it ends. At the end of the axon is the axon terminal or pre-synapse. In this area, special chemical messengers called neurotransmitters and neuromodulators lay in wait. These are stored in specialized capsules called vesicles. The action potential causes the release of these chemical messengers into an open space between one neuron's axon and the next neurons' dendrites. This open space is the synaptic cleft. At the other side of the synaptic cleft is the post synapse that is formed by the dendrites of connecting neurons. In the post synapse, there are special receptors that receive the neurotransmitters.

Receptors and neurotransmitters function in a way that is similar to a keyhole and key. Receptors are like keyholes and neurotransmitters are like the keys. When neurotransmitters fit into the receptors it is called binding. Once a neurotransmitter is bound to a receptor, the key turns the lock. Once the lock opens, it communicates with the receiving neuron's dendrites. In the post synapse, there may be many different receptors (many different shaped keyholes). However, a particular neurotransmitter may be able to fit into (bind to) several different receptors types. This is similar to the way a single key can open several different locks. The particular receptor type determines the type of signal that is transmitted. Thus, the receptor type is often more critical to the communication than the particular neurotransmitter.

It may be easiest to visualize this communication as a single chain of events: First, a neuron sends an electrical impulse (action potential) down the axon. Next, the electrical impulse causes chemicals (neurotransmitters and neuromodulators) to be released into the space between two neurons. Then these chemicals can signal the next neuron to send an electrical impulse and so on. This electro-chemical process forms the brain's communication system
Neurotransmitters and receptors sites associated with addiction
Some neurotransmitters are "excitatory." This means they activate a neuron and cause it to produce an action potential. Other neurons are considered "inhibitory." These neurons prevent the next neuron from sending an action potential. The most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain is glutamate. The most common inhibitory neurotransmitter is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Both of these play a role in the addiction process. Some other common neurotransmitters that play an important role in addiction are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Besides neurotransmitters, there are also larger neuromodulators and neuropeptides. These also play a distinct role in the addiction process. Some neuropeptides that are relevant to addiction are: 1) opiates made by the brain itself (called endorphins), 2) stress hormones, and 3) peptides associated with feeding and anxiety. These molecules have their own specific types of receptors.

Some neurotransmitters are sensitive to specific drugs. All drugs in varying degrees affect neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine. Stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine have a particularly strong effect on dopamine. However, as previously mentioned both neurotransmitters and receptors play a role in the addictive process.

Cocaine and methamphetamine cause changes to the dopamine system.

Opiates (heroin, codeine, Oxycontin®, Vicodin®, hydrocodone) cause changes in the dopamine, opiate (endorphin), and GABA systems.

Alcohol alters dopamine, glutamate, and GABA systems.

Marijuana activates dopamine and the brains own cannabinoid system.

Nicotine (cigarettes) causes changes in the acetylcholine system.

Ecstasy affects both dopamine and serotonin systems.

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Most everyone recognizes that good communication is important. Communication is the key to well-running human systems whether the system is a group of family members, or a group of people who work together. Our bodies are no different. Without good communication, our bodies do not function well.

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The role of social media in gaming industry

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Mizuho Securities' Neil Doshi explains how Facebook could be a good platform for multi-player games to become more social.

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Early in 1962, a young MIT student was on his way home in the nearby town of Lowell, Massachusetts.

As Peter Samson stepped off the train and gazed up at the stars above, a meteor streaked across the heavens. Mr Samson reflexively grabbed for a game controller that wasn't there, and scanned the skies, wondering where his spaceship had gone.

Mr Samson's brain had grown out of the habit of looking at the real stars. He was spending way too much time playing Spacewar!

His near hallucination was the precursor of countless digital fever dreams to come - that experience of drifting off to sleep dreaming of Pac Man, or rotating Tetris blocks, or bagging a rare Pokemon Jigglypuff.

In 1962, that ability of a computer to yank our Pavlovian reflexes and haunt our sleep would have been unimaginable to anyone but Peter Samson and a few of his hacker friends.

They were avid players of Spacewar!, the first video game that mattered - the one that opened the door to a social craze, a massive industry, and shaped our economy in more profound ways than we realise.

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations that helped create the economic world.

It is broadcast on the BBC World Service. You can find more information about the programme's sources and listen online or subscribe to the programme podcast.

Before Spacewar!, computers were intimidating, vast and expensive: large grey cabinets in purpose-built rooms, closed off to all but the highly trained.

Computing was what banks and corporations and the military did.

But at the beginning of the 1960s, at MIT, new computers were being installed in a more relaxed environment.

They didn't have their own rooms but were part of the laboratory furniture.

Students were allowed to mess around with them.

The term "hacker" was born, meaning not the modern malevolent cracker of security systems, but someone who would experiment, cut corners and produce strange effects.

Video revolution

At the same time, MIT ordered a new kind of computer: the PDP-1.

It was compact - the size of a large fridge - and relatively easy to use. It was powerful. And it communicated not through a printer, but through a high precision cathode ray tube - a video display.

When a young researcher called Steve "Slug" Russell heard about the PDP-1, he and his friends began plotting the best way to show off its capabilities.

They had been reading a lot of science fiction and dreaming of a proper Hollywood space opera.

But Star Wars was two decades away, so they plumped for the best possible alternative: Spacewar! - a two-player video game that pitted spaceship captains against each other in a photon-torpedo-powered duel to the death.

There were two spaceships - just a few pixels outlining the ships - and the players could spin, thrust, or fire torpedoes.

Economic legacy

Other enthusiasts soon joined in, making the game smoother and faster, adding a star with a realistic gravitational pull, and cobbling together special controllers from plywood, electrical toggles, and bakelite. They were hackers, after all.

In one way, the economic legacy of Spacewar! is obvious.

As computers became cheap enough to install in arcades, and then in the home, the games industry blossomed.

One of the early hits, Asteroids, owed a clear debt to Spacewar! - with the realistic-seeming physics of a spaceship that rotated and thrusted in a zero-gravity environment.

Computer games now rival the film industry for revenue. They're becoming culturally important, too. Lego's Minecraft tie-in jostles for popularity with the company's Star Wars and Marvel sets.

But beyond the money that we spend on them, games affect the economy in a couple of ways.

First, virtual worlds can create real jobs.

Virtual sweatshops

One of the first people to make this case was an economist named Edward Castronova.

In 2001, Mr Castronova calculated the gross national product per capita of an online world called Norrath - the setting for an online role-playing game, EverQuest.

Norrath wasn't particularly populous - about 60,000 people would be logged in at a time, performing mundane tasks to accumulate treasure they could use to buy enjoyable capabilities for their characters.

Except, some players were impatient.

They bought virtual treasure from other players, on sites such as eBay, for real money, which meant other players could earn real money for doing mundane work in Norrath.

The wage, reckoned Mr Castronova, was about $3.50 (£2.70) an hour - not much for a Californian but an excellent rate if you happened to live in Nairobi.

More from Tim Harford
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Before long, "virtual sweatshops" sprang up from China to India, where teenagers ground away on the tedious parts of certain games, acquiring digital short-cuts to sell to more prosperous players who wanted to get straight to the good stuff.

And it still happens: some people are making tens of thousands of dollars a month on auction sites in Japan, just selling virtual game characters.

For most people, though, virtual worlds aren't a place to earn money, but to enjoy spending time.

Even as Mr Castronova was writing about tiny Norrath, 1.5 million South Koreans were playing in the virtual world of the game Lineage.

Then came FarmVille on Facebook, blurring a game with a social network, mobile games such as Angry Birds or Candy Crush Saga, and augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go.

By 2011, the game scholar Jane McGonigal estimated that more than half a billion people worldwide were spending serious amounts of time - almost two hours a day, on average - playing computer games. A billion or two is within easy reach.

And that brings us to the final economic impact. How many of those people are choosing virtual fun over boring work for real money?

Unemployment puzzle

A decade ago, I saw Edward Castronova speak in front of a learned audience of scientists and policy wonks in Washington DC. "You guys are already winning in the game of real life," he told us. "But not everyone can."

And if your choice is a Starbucks server or a star-ship captain - what, really, is so crazy about deciding to take command in an imaginary world?

Mr Castronova may have been on to something.

In 2016, four economists presented research into a puzzling fact about the US labour market: the economy was growing strongly, unemployment rates were low, and yet a surprisingly large number of able-bodied young men were either working part-time or not working at all.

More puzzling still, while most studies of unemployment find that it makes people thoroughly miserable, against expectations the happiness of these young men was rising.

The researchers concluded that these men were living at home, sponging off their parents, and playing videogames.

These young men were deciding they didn't want to be a Starbucks server. Being a spaceship captain was far more appealing.

Tim Harford writes the Financial Times's Undercover Economist column. 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is broadcast on the BBC World Service. You can find more information about the programme's sources and listen online or subscribe to the programme podcast.

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The surprising ways video games have shaped the economy

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Early in 1962, a young MIT student was on his way home in the nearby town of Lowell, Massachusetts. As Peter Samson stepped off the train and gazed up at the stars above, a meteor streaked across the heavens. Mr Samson reflexively grabbed for a game controller that wasn't there, and scanned the skies, wondering where his spaceship had gone.

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chemicals produced by addictive video games

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chemicals produced by addictive video games

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Motivating Learning: Neuroscience Insights from Video Game Model & Drug Addiction to Inspire Children's Learning Perseverance and Success
The popularity of video games is not the enemy of children's successful and motivated learning, but rather a model for best strategies to apply to all learning. Games insert players at their achievable challenge level and reward player effort and practice with acknowledgement of incremental goal progress, not just final product. The same brain processes and neurochemicals that compel children to skip meals and sleep to play video games can be activated by parents and teachers to increase their brains' motivation to be attentive class participants, do homework with focus, and even reverse school negativity to reignite the joy of learning.

Dopamine-Pleasure Rewards Achievement
The fuel that compels computer game perseverance and can also motivate academic or other skill learning is the brain chemical, dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that, when released in higher than usual amounts, goes beyond the synapse and flows to other regions of the brain producing a powerful pleasure response.

This is a deep satisfaction, such as quenching a long thirst. This increased release of dopamine is the brain's reward response to achievement of a challenge - intrinsic reinforcement. After making a prediction, choice, or action, and receiving feedback that it was correct, the reward from the release of dopamine prompts the brain want to repeat that action and receive more dopamine-pleasure.

During the play of computer games with progressing levels of challenge, the progressive achievement feedback, such as getting to a higher level of play, is the feedback to the brain that it succeeded in the challenge and made the correct response. These bursts of pleasure drive the brain to seek the next burst, so gamers upon reaching the next level want to continue on playing, even through increasing challenge and frequent failure. Actually if the new level of play doesn't pose new challenge, the gamer loses interest as the dopamine-reward response will not take place if there is no new task or skill to master.

Dopamine & Cocaine Addiction
Compulsive computer game playing, gambling, and risk taking can result from excessive craving of the dopamine pleasure, especially when people are depressed or do not have other sources of pleasurable experiences in their lives.

The addiction of cocaine is the direct result of dopamine increase. Cocaine would have essentially no euphoric effect if it were not for dopamine. Cocaine use is associated with a "high" because it increases the brain's levels of its own dopamine. Because cocaine elevates dopamine to very high levels, the euphoria can be intense, but when the dopamine plunges to below normal as the effects of the drug wear off, the response of an addict is to seek relief from that low by using more cocaine. However, the dopamine takes time to be restored to the storage areas, so repeated use of the cocaine brings less and less of the desired response and to regain that initial high an addict will use the drug at more frequent intervals and/or greater amounts.

Dopamine and Survival
The survival benefit of the dopamine-reward system for mammals is rewarding a successful or beneficial behavior or response when it is chosen so it will be repeated the next time a similar choice or response is needed. For animal survival, the dopamine-release from good predictions promotes life or species-sustaining choices and behaviors, such as remembering that scent that was chosen from other "choices" that lead to a mate or a meal and choosing that scent the next time it presents.

Dopamine Motivates Learning Without the Video Game
The human brain, much like that of most mammals, has hardwired physiological responses that had survival value at some point in evolutionary progression. The dopamine-reward system is fueled by the brain's recognition of making a successful prediction, choice, or behavioral response.

The release of the dopamine surge is a reward because it is a response to choices or the outcome of a behavior or response when the person or animal is not already certain of success. It requires the uncertainty of making a prediction or choice that activates the dopamine-reward cycle release (nucleus accumbens) to respond to the result of that prediction. When there is no challenge of making an accurate choice, because the outcome or answer is already known, such as adding 1 + 1 when a child is certain that the answer is 2, there is no activation of the dopamine-reward release when that answer is given. This lack of challenge disengages children's interest when they are required to drill repeatedly when they have already fully mastered the learning.

In addition to the challenge required for the dopamine reward pleasure response, the brain must be aware that it correctly solved a problem, such as figuring out a correct response in the video game, correctly answering a challenging question, or achieving the sequence of movements needed to play a song on the piano or swing a baseball bat to hit a home run. This is why children are especially motivated to keep playing video games because they give frequent feedback about the accuracy of their choices - hitting targets, choosing the correct move in a maze, such as accumulating points and progression to higher game levels.
Awareness of Incremental Goal Progress
In a sequential, multilevel video game, feedback of progress is ongoing, such as accumulating points, visual tokens, or celebratory sound effects. The dopamine-pleasure reward is in response to the player achieving a challenge, solution, sequence, etc. that allows him to progress to the next and more challenging game task.

When the brain receives the feedback that this progress has been made, it reinforces the memory networks that were used to predict the success. Through a feedback system, that neuronal circuit becomes stronger and more durable. In other words, memory of the mental or physical response used to achieve the dopamine reward is reinforced.

It may seem counter-intuitive to think that children would consider harder work a reward for a predicting a correct response on a homework problem, test, or physical maneuver. Yet, that is just what the video game playing brain seeks after experiencing the pleasure of reaching a higher level in the game. A computer game doesn't hand out cash, toys, or even hugs. The motivation to persevere and pursue greater challenge at the next level is the brain seeking another surge of dopamine -- the fuel of intrinsic reinforcement.

Helping Motivate Children through Achievable Challenge
Imagine you are placed in the following scenarios:
* You are dropped off at the top of a ski resort's steepest run when you've only had experience on the beginner slopes.
* You have to spend your day on the bunny hill when you're an expert skier.
* You play a game of darts with the target two feet away.
* You play a game of darts with the target 200 feet away.
* You are a 3rd grade student trying to do a crossword puzzle designed for experts.
* You are an adult trying to do a crossword puzzle designed for children.
In each of these extremes, you would feel either frustrated or bored, depending on your level of achievable challenge. Reflecting on those personal feelings helps us understand what it feels like for children who do not have the background understanding to understand the new topics the class is learning or who have already mastered the current material and are bored by having to listen to lessons that don't introduce new information for them.

Video games that are designed for progression to appropriate levels based on player mastery all each player to participate at their individualized achievable challenge level. This achievable challenge is key to motivating perseverance in academics, sports, musical instruments and other forms of learning that require effort and practice.

For other learning tasks to have the same motivating effects ad the video game model, the opportunities for progression must be individualized for maximum benefit. The levels vary at different times for different children and no two children, even at the same age, will always progress at the same rate for all new learning. However, we've learned from seeing the powerful compulsion that pulls children to play video games, is good reason for parents and educators to do their best to individualize learning progression so there is always achievable challenge.

Video games with levels of play allow the player to progress quickly through levels when the gamer already has the skill needed and play at levels where the challenge is just right. When instruction and practice requirements for children in other learning experiences are as compelling as video games, children persevere when there is new information to be learned and practice that is at the child's "just right" level of challenge. It is only when the brain perceives a reasonable possibility of success for achieving a desirable goal that it invests the effort to work through a challenge.

This means the child has expectation of possible success without the off-putting boredom causes her to lose interest because she has already mastered the required skill or knowledge so there are no "predictions" made - and no chance of prediction-reward.

The task must also not be perceived as so difficult that a child believes she has no chance of success. fMRI and cognitive studies reveal that the brain "evaluates" the probability of effort resulting in success before expending the cognitive effort in solving mental problems. If the challenge seems too high, or children have developed a fixed mindset related past failures, the brain is not likely to expend the effort needed to achieve the challenge.
The Video Game Model Sustains Perseverance and Desire for Increasing Challenge in All Learning
The motivating video games place players at their individualized achievable challenge levels. When children have opportunities to participate in learning challenges at their individualized achievable challenge level, their brains invest more effort to the task and are more responsive to feedback and they reach levels of engagement much like the focus and perseverance we see when they play their video games.

This type of just right challenge found in video games keeps the brain engaged because the dopamine surge is perceived to be within reach if effort and practice are sustained. This means that children need to participate in learning at their individualized challenge levels and not at a set pace of whole class instruction that is perceived as unachievable or as too easy (the information is already known so there is none of the prediction that the brain needs to activate the dopamine reward system).
Frequent Feedback Sustains Goal Effort
Challenge is a powerful motivator when students take on tasks they find meaningful and, through their efforts and perseverance, succeed. As Mark Twain wrote, "The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

Good games give players opportunities for experiencing intrinsic reward at frequent intervals, when they apply the effort and practice the specific skills they need to get to the next level. The games do not require mastery of all tasks and the completion of the whole game before giving the brain the feedback for dopamine boosts of satisfaction. The dopamine release comes each time the game provides feedback that the player's actions or responses are correct. The player gains points or tokens for small incremental progress and ultimately the powerful feedback of the success of progressing to the next level. This is when players seek "harder work". To keep the pleasure of intrinsic satisfaction going, the brain needs a higher level of challenge, because staying at a level once mastery is achieved doesn't release the dopamine.

Gamers reportedly make errors 80% of the time, but the most compelling games give hints, cues, and other feedback so players' brains have enough expectation of dopamine reward to persevere. These programs provide frequent and immediate corrective and progress-acknowledging feedback that allow the players to recognize their incremental progress, as they build skills progressively.
The academic learning model can follow suit.

Example of Using Incremental Progress for Learning Motivation
The computer game model correlates to using achievable, incremental, challenge, with goal-progress recognition. To achieve the motivating goal-progress recognition of computer games, children can be guided based on current ability to incremental progress achievable goals on the way to greater goals, such as progressing from reading 10 to reading 15 pages a night.

If the class assignment is to read 20 pages a night, but that would be an unachievable challenge for a child, by mutual agreement, a more achievable goal can be set at 15, such that he is willing to apply effort because the goal seems in reach. He can keep a record of the pages read, and see on a bar graph or just from the increase in total pages read in a week, that he has reached his goal. Even though the 15 pages is still not enough to meet the class requirement or his ultimate goal will not mean getting an "A", he will have the intrinsic motivation of recognizing goal achievement. He's gotten to the next level of the video game. He may not be at level 10, but he's gone from level 3 to 4, and that will keep him "playing the game" and with perseverance as the continued feedback about incremental progress sends dopamine to sustain his effort.

Effort-Goal Graphs of Incremental Progress
Helping children keep records and make (or fill in bar graphs such as those you can get or make on websites such as http://www.onlinecharttool.com)of their ongoing progress can support them with a visual model similar to the video game feedback so they see that their efforts do lead to success and they have the power to build and build their achievement level. Creating progress graphs shows children their incremental goal progress in a concrete way to mimic the incremental progress feedback provided by getting to the next level on a computer game. The additional benefit is to show them that their effort toward their goal results in progress.

The brain's prefrontal cortex (PFC), where the brain develops the executive functions, such as the ability to recognize the effort to progress correlation and to resist immediate gratification to achieve long-term goals is the last part of the brain to mature, in a process that continues well into the 20s. What seems obvious to adults is not recognized as an effort to goal-progress correlation by young brains without explicit evidence.

Just as children can play video games for hours, even though gamers "fail" or make the incorrect response about 80% of the time, the same can occur with other learning when their incremental progress is recognized. As they eventually master the skill needed to reach the next level and get that pleasure-reward the dopamine system provides, they will enjoy the challenge of the academic work much like they do the challenge of the computer game......ah the building of resilience!
Teachers Recognize the Value of the Video Game Model to Encourage Children to Invest Effort
When I explain the video game model to teachers, they recognize the value of teaching that gives students opportunities to make predictions and receive frequent feedback as to their accuracy. Comments from teachers follow.

"I have always believed that video games do no good to a child's development. I now have a better insight into the benefits of the video game model on children's self esteem. I never would have thought to compare the rewards children receive when playing a game, to how teachers should acknowledge students' progress along the way to larger goals. I now understand that the reward of frequent appraisal and feedback of progress is enough to encourage students to persevere in their learning efforts."

"I was surprised to learn about the information of how we can use the principles of the video game model as helpful in our classrooms. We can learn how to use video game model in the classroom to encourage students to put effort into their work if we plan instruction so they see their small steps of progress along the way

"I now see that for kids the dopamine effect is a gratifying stimulus that should be transferred into the school setting, by providing the students with challenges without the fear of being judged. Video games do not discourage the player, but encourage the player perseverance and we can do that with other learning."

"Children spend hours playing video games not realizing they are actually working. If this could be applied to the classroom, students would have greater opportunities for success. It is really exciting to hear something positive about video games."

" It's great to find out why kids like video games so much and then come up with ways to apply that information to help kids in school. The idea that children will not only want more challenges, but also crave them is exhilarating. Children would learn so much more if they could take that motivation they have for video games and use it for school and learning."

"The achievable challenge level is a great point that I now believe every child goes through in the learning process; thus, the process of learning with a positive attitude can be made to be the same in classrooms as in video games."

"I never thought to compare learning to playing video games but it makes complete sense! If children understand the concept of starting at the easy level and working their way to the hard level, they can apply the same thinking to learning something new. This concept could be used with other activities like sports. When you begin to learn to play baseball you may not be that good at it. However, with more practice you can get better and eventually master the skill. Teachers and coaches and parents should make sure they give children opportunities unique to their learning experience so they can achieve individualized goals. They should provide effective feedback to keep them motivated and learn how to persevere through tough challenges in learning and life. We can't do that with worksheets!"

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Neuroscience Insights from Video Game & Drug Addiction

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Video games are not the enemy of children's successful and motivated learning, but rather a model for best strategies to apply to all learning. The same brain processes and neurochemicals that compel video gamers can be activated to increase children's brains' motivation to do homework with focus, reverse school negativity, & reignite their joy of learning.

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Video gaming is clearly a popular form of entertainment, with video gamers collectively spending 3 billion hours per week in front of their screens. Due to their widespread use, scientists have researched how video games affect the brain and behavior. Are these effects positive or negative? We examine the evidence.

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There is increasing research focused on the impact of video gaming on the brain.

At a glance, more than 150 million people in the United States play video games regularly, or for at least 3 hours per week. The average American gamer is a 35-year-old adult, with 72 percent of gamers aged 18 or older. For video game use by children, most parents - 71 percent - indicate that video games have a positive influence on their child's life.

Video game sales continue to increase year on year. In 2016, the video game industry sold more than 24.5 billion games - up from 23.2 billion in 2015, and 21.4 billion in 2014.

The top three best-selling video games of 2016 were Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, and Grand Theft Auto V. These games fall into the first-person shooter or action-adventure genres - the top two genres, accounting for 27.5 percent and 22.5 percent of sales, respectively. First-person shooter and action genres often stand accused of stirring aggression and causing violence and addiction.

Decades of research examining video gaming and violence have failed to reach consensus among scientists. Scientists have been unable to find a causal link between playing video games and acts of violence in the real world.

A growing body of evidence, however, shows that video gaming can affect the brain and, furthermore, cause changes in many regions of the brain.

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Game addicts have functional and structural changes in the neural reward system.

Scientists have recently collected and summarized results from 116 scientific studies to determine how video games can influence our brains and behaviors. The findings of their review were published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

"Games have sometimes been praised or demonized, often without real data backing up those claims. Moreover, gaming is a popular activity, so everyone seems to have strong opinions on the topic," says Marc Palaus, first author of the review.

By looking at all research to date, Palaus and team aimed to observe whether any trends had emerged with regard to how video games impact the structure and activity of the brain. A total of 22 of the reviewed studies explored structural changes in the brain and 100 studies analyzed changes in brain functionality and behavior.

Results of the studies indicate that playing video games not only changes how our brains perform but also their structure.

For example, video game use is known to affect attention. The studies included in the review show that video game players display improvements in several types of attention, including sustained attention and selective attention. Furthermore, the regions of the brain that play a role in attention are more efficient in gamers compared with non-gamers, and they require less activation to stay focused on demanding tasks.

Evidence also demonstrates that playing video games increases the size and competence of parts of the brain responsible for visuospatial skills - a person's ability to identify visual and spatial relationships among objects. In long-term gamers and individuals who had volunteered to follow a video game training plan, the right hippocampus was enlarged.

Researchers have discovered that video gaming can be addictive - a phenomenon known as "Internet gaming disorder."

In gaming addicts, there are functional and structural alterations in the neural reward system - a group of structures associated with feeling pleasure, learning, and motivation. Exposing video game addicts to game-related cues that cause cravings, and monitoring their brain responses, highlighted these changes - changes that are also seen in other addictive disorders.

"We focused on how the brain reacts to video game exposure, but these effects do not always translate to real-life changes," notes Palaus. The research into the effects of video gaming is still in its infancy and scientists are still scrutinizing what aspects of gaming impact what brain regions and how.

"It's likely that video games have both positive (on attention, visual and motor skills) and negative aspects (risk of addiction), and it is essential we embrace this complexity," Palaus continues.

A team of researchers from the Florida State University has stated that people should be skeptical of adverts that promote an increase in the performance of the brain that results from brain training games. They have said that science does not support these claims.

Playing brain-training games did not improve cognitive abilities in older adults.

"Our findings and previous studies confirm there's very little evidence these types of games can improve your life in a meaningful way," says Wally Boot, associate professor of psychology, an expert on age-related cognitive decline.

People are increasingly under the impression that brain-training apps will safeguard them against memory loss or cognitive disorders.

Researchers tested whether playing brain-training games enhanced the working memory of players and thus improved other cognitive abilities, including reasoning, memory, and processing speed - a process scientists call "far transfer." However, this was not the case.

"It's possible to train people to become very good at tasks that you would normally consider general working memory tasks: memorizing 70, 80, even 100 digits," explains Neil Charness, professor of psychology and a leading authority on aging and cognition.

"But these skills tend to be very specific and not show a lot of transfer. The thing that seniors, in particular, should be concerned about is, if I can get very good at crossword puzzles, is that going to help me remember where my keys are? And the answer is probably no," he adds.

Charness points out that if your goal is to improve cognitive function, then aerobic exercise may help. Some research has found that aerobic activity rather than mental activity enhances the brain.

In contrast, a study published in Nature found that through the use of a specially designed 3-D video game, cognitive performance could be improved in older adults and some of the adverse effects on the brain associated with aging, reversed.

Scientists at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) clarify that this provides a measure of scientific support in the brain fitness arena - criticized for lacking evidence - that brain training can stimulate meaningful and lasting changes.

After 12 hours of training over the period of a month, study participants aged between 60 to 85 years improved performance on the game that surpassed that of individuals in their 20s playing the game for the first time. Moreover, two other significant cognitive areas were improved: working memory and sustained attention. These skills were maintained 6 months after completion of their training.

"The finding is a powerful example of how plastic the older brain is," says Dr. Adam Gazzaley, Ph.D., UCSF associate professor of neurology, physiology and psychiatry and director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center. Dr. Gazzaley notes that it is encouraging that even a little brain training can reverse some of the brain decline that occurs with age.

A recent study conducted by neurobiologists at the University of California-Irvine (UCI) found that playing 3-D video games could also boost the formation of memories. Participants were allocated to either a group that played video games with a 2-D environment or a 3-D environment. After playing the games for 30 minutes per day for 2 weeks, the students were given memory tests that engaged the brain's hippocampus.

The participants in the 3-D group significantly improved their memory test scores compared with the 2-D group. The 3-D group's memory performance increased by 12 percent - the same amount that memory performance usually declines by between 45 and 70 years of age.

"First, the 3-D games have a few things the 2-D ones do not," says Craig Stark, of UCI's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory. "They've got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they're much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus."

Strategy video games, in particular, have shown promise in improving brain function among older adults and may provide protection against dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

"If the target is to improve older adults' cognitive control, reasoning, and higher-order cognitive skills, and stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease as long as possible, then maybe strategy games are the way to go," informs Chandramallika Basak, assistant professor at the Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Basak, like Charness, agrees that cognitive training should come second to physical activity programs when it comes to improving cognitive function. Physical fitness programs have been linked with positive effects on cognition and brain function and structure.

There is evidence to suggest that video games may be a viable treatment for depression and improve memory and mood in adults with mild cognitive impairment.

The effect of video games on the brain is a new area of research that will continue to be explored. We may just be scraping the surface of the potential that video games could present in enhancing cognitive ability and preventing cognitive disorders.

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Video gaming is clearly a popular form of entertainment, with video gamers collectively spending 3 billion hours per week in front of their screens. Due to their widespread use, scientists have researched how video games affect the brain and behavior. Are these effects positive or negative? We examine the evidence.

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Editor's note: Scott Steinberg is the head of technology and video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, as well as the founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. He frequently appears as an on-air technology analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CNN. His most recent book is "Get Rich Playing Games."
(CNN) -- History has a funny way of repeating itself, especially when it comes to concerns over the cultural and psychological impact of video games on children.

In 1993, the Senate's hearings on video game violence gave birth to the Entertainment Software Rating Board and the industry's current rating system: E for everyone, M for mature (17 and older) and so on. Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will test the constitutionality of a California law that would make it illegal to sell violent video games to minors.

But what gaming insiders find most surprising isn't that such arguments remain topical. It's that some 30 years after video games became a popular form of mainstream entertainment, we're still liable to hear less about games' positive impact on kids' lives than sensationalistic accounts of their hidden dangers.

"Games are an amazing invention that entertain and inform in ways different than traditional media," says Joseph Olin, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "But many critics have little or any experience with them and therefore don't understand where there could be artistic or educational value. No different than with film and TV, media sensationalism and ignorance can contribute to the fear that games are harmful to children.

"There's absolutely no scientific evidence showing a positive correlation between violence in individuals and the games they play," continues Olin, who points to studies from the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health, The Journal of Adolescent Health and The British Medical Journal.

Also, Olin says, nearly two-thirds of all games sold are rated E or E+, meaning they're found to be appropriate for players of all ages or children over 10 years of age, respectively

Researchers like David Thomas, who teaches critical video game theory at the University of Colorado, say the most curious misconception about the field is that games are strictly for juveniles. Such arguments -- the impetus for countless political battles -- ignore the fact that the average player is 35 years old, and more adult women play than teenage boys, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Furthermore, according to the software association, 63 percent of parents believe that games positively impact their children's lives.

Games are simply a tool, Thomas argues, which, like any other implement, can be used for good or ill, and require reasonable balance and oversight.

"We live in a media-rich world, and video games are part of that diet," he says. "Kids are incredibly savvy these days. But being children, they still need guidance. Games can be beneficial to children as a modern form of media, albeit one that they need to learn how to use, cope with, contextualize and manage."

All too often overlooked in debates are the sizable educational and social benefits that games offer kids, says Winda Benedetti, who writes the Citizen Gamer column for MSNBC.com.

"A lot of parents are unfamiliar with gaming and afraid of the unknown," she says. "But games can be a huge positive for children, as long as you set reasonable limits. When my 3-year-old watches TV, he just passively zones out.

"But when he plays games, he's actively engaged, thinks about what's happening, talks to me about what's happening on-screen and takes away so much more from the experience. Games offer parents enormous untapped potential."

Experts say that playing video games helps develop kids' lateral thinking and decision-making skills. Children are also encouraged to discover and experiment at their own pace, failing and trying new approaches to solving virtual problems, which helps build confidence and self-esteem.

"Games aren't solely an entertainment medium anymore. [Many] emphasize cooperation and sharing, and encourage kids to learn economic basics," says Olin, referring to such popular kids' titles as "Animal Crossing" and "Club Penguin."

"Other games like 'LittleBigPlanet' foster creativity, while online games such as 'Toontown' teach lessons on teamwork and community, and the Professor Layton series focuses on critical thinking and puzzle solving," Olin says. "Games illustrate the concept of risk and reward in a manner that's comprehensible and engaging."

Nevertheless, journalists focus mostly on violence in games, says Ariella Lehrer, CEO of software publisher Legacy Interactive.

"Some of the complaints that games destroy a child's ability to concentrate or do harm to the developing brain are silly. The research is not completely clear, but in general, the data paints a very different picture," she says.

Ultimately, gaming experts say, whether games are beneficial or detrimental to kids comes down to fundamental playing habits, exposure to age-appropriate content and, most vitally, active parental involvement.

"Games are a social currency that can enhance the relationship between parent and child -- no different than any other medium," says Olin. Most parents know their kids' friends, the shows they watch and some of the music they listen to. I always recommend that they take the same approach with the games that their children play."

Lehrer, whose titles include sophisticated animal doctoring simulations such as "Pet Pals" and "Zoo Vet," says games for kids can be challenging and don't have to dumb down the experience for them.

Maybe it's time that we held the debate over the impact of video games on children's lives to the same standards.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Scott Steinberg.

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Why does the media still think video games are bad for kids?

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Editor's note: Scott Steinberg is the head of technology and video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, as well as the founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. He frequently appears as an on-air technology analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CNN. His most recent book is "Get Rich Playing Games."

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what negative effects do video games have  

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what negative effects do video games have  

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What affect does social and news media have on new or old video games?

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What affect does social and news media have on new or old video games?

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What chemicals do video games produce and what affect do they have on the body and brain?

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What chemicals do video games produce and what affect do they have on the body and brain?

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What parts of the brain do certain types of video games trigger?

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What parts of the brain do certain types of video games trigger?

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depression and anxiety linked to video games

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depression and anxiety linked to video games

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Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

There's been a lot of buzz about whether video games are habit-forming, and whether parents are exaggerating when they say their teenagers are "addicted" to game playing. Now new research on children who are heavy gamers suggests parents may have something else to worry about: depression.

Two recent studies of gamers are among the first to follow large groups of teenagers over time to assess their mental health and how much time they spend playing video games. Their gaming habits were assessed at the start of the study period, and the researchers then followed them for a year or two to see how they were faring.

The results are discouraging. The latest study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, followed 3,000 students in the third, fourth, seventh and eighth grades in Singapore. Children who were more impulsive and less comfortable with other children spent more time playing video games, the study found. Two years later, these heavy gamers, who played an average of 31 hours a week, compared with 19 hours a week for other students, were more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and social phobias. They were also more likely to see their grades in school drop and have worse relationships with their parents.

The findings come on the heels of another study, released last fall, that followed more than 1,000 healthy Chinese teenagers ages 13 to 18. Those who used the Internet excessively were more than twice as likely as the others to be depressed nine months later; most of the Internet use was for video games, the researchers said. That study was published in The Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

Even before the latest study was released, officials with the Entertainment Software Association, which represents companies that sell interactive video games, attacked it. They noted that there is no clear consensus on what defines "pathological gaming" or agreement on whether gaming can really be considered addictive. The association is challenging a state law passed in California in 2005 that bars the sales of violent video games to minors (the case was heard by the United States Supreme Court last year). They have also questioned earlier studies by the researcher, Douglas A. Gentile.

But Dr. Gentile, an associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University, says his latest results don't prove that playing video games causes depression. Rather, he says, in young people a range of mental health problems and what he calls "pathological gaming" may develop in tandem, much as illnesses like the flu and pneumonia can set off one another and lead to new problems.

"You can get the flu, and then get pneumonia, which is a different thing, but it kind of came along with the flu, and flu made you at greater risk for it," Dr. Gentile said. "And then, once you got the pneumonia, you're at risk from something else."

He says his study shows a certain chronological progression: Young people who were more impulsive, more socially inept and less empathetic to begin with were more likely to become excessive video game players. Then, once they became what he terms pathological gamers, their grades were more likely to drop, and their relationships with their parents deteriorated.

Two years later, they were more likely to suffer from depression, social phobias and anxiety than those who played video games less often. In the study, the few heavy gamers who stopped playing so much tended to show fewer symptoms of depression.

Dr. Gentile suggested that teenagers who are experiencing problems may retreat into gaming, and that the gaming may, in turn, increase their depression and isolation. He says that parents should regulate their children's use of video games and trust their instincts on what constitutes excessive use, something that his critics from the gaming industry also agree on.

"We've always said these games should be used in moderation and should be a part of a well-rounded lifestyle, along with going outside to play, and reading, and doing schoolwork," said Dan Hewitt, a spokesman for the Entertainment Software Association.

Many teenagers experience mental health problems and can benefit from psychological or medical help, Mr. Hewitt said, but added, "Why point out their game playing?"

That's where Dr. Gentile disagrees. A gaming habit cannot be ignored, he said. Few youths spontaneously drop the heavy gaming, and even if it's not the initial trigger for depression, he said, "It looks like it's an independent actor, not just a symptom of something else."

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Jae C. Hong/Associated Press There's been a lot of buzz about whether video games are habit-forming, and whether parents are exaggerating when they say their teenagers are "addicted" to game playing. Now new research on children who are heavy gamers suggests parents may have something else to worry about: depression.

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research in American Psychologist.

The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth. An APA task force is conducting a comprehensive review of research on violence in video games and interactive media and will release its findings later this year.

"Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored," says Isabela Granic, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands, lead author of the article. "However, to understand the impact of video games on children's and adolescents' development, a more balanced perspective is needed."

While one widely held view maintains that playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games, which are often violent, the authors found. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses designed to enhance these same skills, according to the study.

"This has critical implications for education and career development, as previous research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," Granic says.

This enhanced thinking was not found when playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children's creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.

Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as "Angry Birds," can improve players' moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said. "If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider," said Granic. The authors also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools for learning resilience in the face of failure. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can rely upon in their everyday lives.

Another stereotype the research challenges is the socially isolated gamer. More than 70 percent of gamers play with a friend, and millions of people worldwide participate in massive virtual worlds through video games such as "Farmville" and "World of Warcraft," the article noted. Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.

- Lisa Bowen

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Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review finds

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Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research in American Psychologist. The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth.

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computer science and information technology

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"I'm hearing more and more people saying the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts," Trump said. But some experts' findings disagree.

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what chemicals do your brain produce when you play video games and what in the game causes this

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what chemicals do your brain produce when you play video games and what in the game causes this

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The Chemistry of Playing Video Games - www.ChemistryIsLife.com

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The Chemistry of ... is a student created website showcasing the importance of chemistry in our lives.

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What genre of video game Make the most in the economy each year and why?

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What genre of video game Make the most in the economy each year and why?

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U.S. most popular video game genres 2016 | Statista

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This statistic shows the most popular game genres in the U.S. by sales. Ranking third among the most popular video game genres, 11.7 percent of all video games sold in the United States in 2016 were sports games.

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How social media influences our purchasing decisions.

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How social media influences our purchasing decisions.

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The customer journey contains a variety of purchasing influencers like product and service reviews, targeted ads, and of course, social media. As we hear more about social media's role in the current purchasing process, many important questions come to mind. Let's take a look at how social media influences consumers along their path-to-purchase, and see what companies today can do to step up their social game.

Gamification and Special Interaction Opportunities

Most social platforms have opened their doors to help marketers pursue the social consumer via gamification and special interactions. Twitter and Facebook play well with consumers who are ready to refer a product or service (today's version of word-of-mouth marketing). Nearly all social platforms have success with campaigns focused on prizes, giveaways, and customer competitions.

A great example of a social media success is Sony's leverage of the Twitter platform to incentivize additional purchases by offering 1,500 Twitter users the opportunity to customize their Vaio laptop. By offering a more personalized shopping experience via social, they managed to increase their sales of that laptop brand by $1.5 million during the special offer timeframe.

Different Consumables Spur Different Habits

According to a Deloitte review, the percentage of consumers that use social media when shopping varied by the category of the item desired. Interestingly, shoppers seeking out baby and toddler items led the pack by 56%. These shoppers were followed closely by those seeking out home furnishings, electronics, and health and wellness. In addition, shoppers were 29% more likely to purchase on the same day that they used social media to assist them in their shopping endeavors. And those who used social media during the shopping process were four times more likely to spend more money on their purchases.

Age Factors In

Not surprisingly, age factors into the social media influence on a consumer's purchasing decisions. Millennials are especially primed for the social media experience, as they have grown up in the age of the internet and are very comfortable navigating through the online experience. Deloitte's review found that social media influences a full 47% of millennials, compared to just 19% of non-millennials. These consumers also spent more when they used digital shopping methods.

Psychology Plays a Part

As humans, we tend to let emotion fuel our purchases. Social media caters to the right side of our brains, so it makes sense that it plays a part in our purchasing decisions. According to an article by Social Media Today, 41% of people who purchase a product say they weren't planning on buying an item before they stumbled upon it online.

Social media helps instill trust in a purchaser through fellow reviews and experiences. Consumers also tend to compare, contrast, and keep up with the purchases of their friends and family.

With 75% of consumers not accepting advertisements as truth, marketers have quite a bit of ground to cover to reach their target audiences and convince them to purchase a product. Referrals, reviews, and recommendations from trusted sources can help quell suspicions and form the confidence a buyer needs to pull the trigger and make a purchase.

Social media is a strong influencer in the world of e-commerce. Shares and recommendations of products or services help increase brand recognition, improve buyer trust, and drive sales. According to Hubspot, 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media reference. As shoppers become more socially inclined and begin to base their opinions less on advertisements and more on consumer-to-consumer interaction, the role of social media is sure to steadily increase its influence on customer purchasing decisions.

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How Social Media Influences Purchasing Decisions - Luth Research

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The customer journey contains a variety of purchasing influencers like product and service reviews, targeted ads, and of course, social media. As we hear more about social media's role in the current purchasing process, many important questions come to mind.

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What genre of video game Make the most in the economy each year and why.

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What genre of video game Make the most in the economy each year and why.