Multiple studies have been published regarding the impact of video games on health. On the occasion of Paris Games Week, here is a summary of the different results.
- According to a recent survey, 19% of French people aged over 15 reported playing video games in 1997, 36% in 2008 and 44% in 2018.
- Among users, young people are particularly consumers of video games.
- Video games have positive and negative impacts on health.
While Paris Games Week is in full swing, we are taking stock of the impact of video games on health.
Health and video games: what are the negative impacts?
Let’s start with the negative consequences of this type of leisure. Overused, video games can first cause sleep problems (7 out of 10 players sleep poorly). And like all screens, they are also capable of generating a real addiction. “According to research carried out on more than 2,000 adolescents, 14% of weekly gamers are in a situation of problematic use”, can we read on the website of the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).
Furthermore, the Video games can cause heart problems in children and potentially increase their risk of becoming nearsighted.
Finally, concerning violent video games in particular, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology emphasizes that fans engage in riskier behavior in real life: alcohol and/or drug abuse, lack of sexual protection, etc. This type of product is also a significant source of stress for students.
Health and video games: what are the positive impacts?
Despite all these harmful aspects for health, video games can also have a positive influence on our body. In small doses, they stimulate our brains, increase our memory, improve cognitive performance in children and can even help them learn to read. “We observed an improvement in attentional control in the children who played the action video game 7 times greater than that obtained for the control group”, underlines on this last point Angela Pasqualotto, author of a study published in Nature Human Behavior.
Video games can also have real healing effects. Thus, it has been demonstrated by various tests that these entertainments help to treat back pain, depression in the elderly, Alzheimer’s disease, certain vision problems such as lazy eye syndrome or childhood attention deficit disorder (ADHD).
Finally, playing active video games, that is to say using your body, provides the body with the same benefits as physical exercise such as running.
More and more French people are consuming video games
According to a recent survey19% of French people aged over 15 reported playing video games in 1997, 36% in 2008 and 44% in 2018. “The technological development of video games has increased over the years (graphic power, modernization of consoles, mobile and online offers, etc.) and has allowed an expansion and diversification of uses”, specify the authors in their report.
Among users, young people are particularly consumers of video games: 93% of men and 74% of women from generations born between 1985 and 2004 played them during this year.
