The Social Effects of Video Games – www.kincardinenews.com
The Social Effects of Video Games http://www.kincardinenews.com
While video games are a great source of entertainment, there are legitimate concerns about their social effects on players. These games have a major impact on real-life social interactions, where people learn essential skills like listening, recognising non-verbal cues, responding, cooperating, and sharing.
Conversely, some studies show that video games have positive effects on players if played with real-life acquaintances or friends. Here’s a look at some positive and negative social effects of gaming.
Positive social effects of gaming
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Development of social skills
Playing video games has proven to be a great way to develop your social skills. These social skills include assertiveness, communication, behavior control, coping, problem-solving, and the ability to make friends. You can develop these skills by interacting with others and being part of different social skills.
If you don’t often interact with people, then your social skills might not fully develop. That’s especially true for people with disabilities as they may face different barriers in interacting and socializing with others. Fortunately, video games give people with disabilities new opportunities to interact and socialize with others.
Playing video games also offers you the opportunity to connect with other players who share your interests. Even when you’re not actively playing video games, you might still connect with other people to discuss strategies and the general gameplay.
Creation of new friendships
Another positive impact of playing video games is that it can help you form new friendships. As earlier mentioned, playing video games allows you to meet new people across the world and it’s a great ice breaker when getting to know people. In fact, statistics show that many gamers use video games as a way to meet and connect with new people who share their interests.
In most cases, new people who you play games with often become friends when you’re a regular gamer. Sometimes, there is even the chance to meet these people in person to strengthen your friendship. That’s especially helpful for people with disabilities as it may be hard to meet new people.
Decreased feelings of Isolation
If you have difficulties interacting with people and making new friends, you might often suffer from feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression. This social isolation presents several health issues comparable to obesity, smoking and physical inactivity. However, playing video games can help reduce the risk of feeling socially isolated.
Negative social effects of gaming
While playing video games has impressive positive social effects, excessive gaming has several negative social impacts. Some of these adverse effects of unhealthy gaming habits include:
Social anxiety
Many people today are struggling with gaming-induced social anxiety because of playing video games too much without developing their social skills. Research shows that people who struggle with gaming addiction are highly likely to have social anxiety compared to those who don’t. That’s because video gaming disorder and social anxiety are closely related and affect each other.
Relationship breakdown
Gaming addiction can put a huge strain on your relationships with friends and family members. Most gaming addicts find themselves lying to their families about the amount of time they spend on their screens gaming and neglecting others. As such, playing video games compulsively may result in conflicts, confrontations, and marriage breakdowns.
