Poor Mental Health

People with poor mental health often gravitate to things that they find to relieve stress. This is not however the only mental that people gravitate towards things they enjoy. Researchers Yemaya Halbrook, Aisling O’Donnell, and Rachel Msetfi discuss the positive findings that video games have been found to have in their study “When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being” and in this study they make the connection that different factors of play have different effects on mental well being. This means those who play for fun and entertainment have a greater possibility of having a healthier mindset versus those who play for obsession or even accolades. As stated in the study, “In addition, the motivations behind game play are an important factor in the effects of gaming on well-being, such as playing for enjoyment purposes rather than playing for achievement or obsession (Carras et al., 2017; Lafrenière, Vallerand, Donahue, & Lavigne, 2009).” There is a fine line between playing for sport and obsession, for sport implies that one only indulges in the hobby every so often, while obsession means that one will never stop and compulsively continue in their pursuit. This compulsive obsession is a definite effect of some sort of different mental disabilities.

The study “The Impact of Video Games on the Players Behaviors: A Survey” by researchers Muhannad Quwaider, Abdullah Alabed, and Rehab Duwairi delves into the cause and effect nature that video games have on players in terms of aggression and other mental disabilities.   “The response that comes through playing a specific video game varies from player to player depending on how the content of the video game is displayed and interpreted to the player’s mind.” Content in video games varies wildly and some people are affected by levels of aggression in games at intervals especially those of fragile mindsets. It is not much of a stretch to assume that people who play aggressive games might cause some violence, but it is not the violent games that cause the aggression but the aggressive nature of the person. Personality plays a major factor in how people are affected by outside stimuli i.e. video games. This means that those of compromised mental states are affected more so by the games that they play as stated by Quwaider and his fellow researchers, “The personality of the player or any other person has a strong influence on how they think and behaves under a certain condition.” Effectively this statement means that those with aggressive tendencies are affected by the video games that they play and this can be further brought to those who are mentally unstable will do horrific acts.

Another study, I’d like to highlight titled “Gaming Your Mental Health: A Narrative Review on Mitigating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using Commercial Video Games” by Magdelena Kowai, Eoin Conroy, and four other contributors. In “Gaming Your Mental Health” the therapeutic properties of certain games are researched and expanded upon. Kowai and the others discuss how certain genres can be great for helping ease depression, specifically multiplayer role player games (RPGs). The researchers of “Gaming Your Mental Health” state, “An array of research alludes to the possible benefits of RPGs for individuals with depression” and these multiplayer games are great ways to meet and interact with others in a sporty fashion, whether it be through a sort of online e-commerce to competition depending on the game. This is because healthy people have healthy interactions, depression is not something that on its own can be a leading cause of violent actions but, some people can have depression in combination with other types of disorders or illnesses. 

The final study I would like to bring to light is “Understanding the Lives of Problem Gamers: The Meaning, Purpose, and Influences of Video Gaming” by Jing Shi, Rebecca Renwick, Nigel Turner, and Bonnie Kirsh. The negative repercussions of using video games as a coping mechanism, which is highlighted in the study, are what I would like to talk about in particular. Using video games as one’s only coping mechanism is not a healthy process especially when one already has present issues. As stated by Shi and the other researchers, “Participants acknowledged that using games as a coping method only offered temporary relief from their negative emotions and did not address the problems they were facing.” If someone of a mentally unsound mind uses video games as their sole coping mechanism then they will more than likely have some sort of exacerbation of their issues potentially leading to aggressive and violent actions. Shi and Co. then go on to explain how problems with gaming can cause a variety of psychological issues. It is stated in “Understanding the Loves of Problem Gamers” that “Problem gaming can be defined as a persistent and recurrent involvement in video gaming that results in psychological distress and functional impairment.” Unhealthy play can cause an exponential increase in distress and this further leads to my finding that people with a propensity towards mental issues are negatively influenced by play and the external stimuli that they receive. 

Video games are both a great and wonderful way to spend time and interact with a wide variety of people not only in their circle but also all over the world. This, however, is not always a good thing as those with mental issues can be negatively affected by the violence in the media that they consume. Games are something that usually gets the negative press in the news and such due to the interactive aspect that they possess. Aggressive and violent tendencies are something that normal functioning members of society do not pick up from video games but those very few people with abnormal mental facilities are the ones that ever so rarely commit horrendous atrocities. Even then it is very rarely the sole fault of video games for these crimes but instead a wider array of issues which video games can exacerbate.

References

Halbrook, Y. J., O’Donnell, A. T., & Msetfi, R. M. (2019). When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(6), 1096-1104. https://doi-org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/10.1177/1745691619863807

Jing Shi, Rebecca Renwick, Nigel E. Turner, Bonnie Kirsh,

Understanding the lives of problem gamers: The meaning, purpose, and influences of video gaming, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 97, 2019, Pages 291-303,

ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.03.023. 

Kowal M, Conroy E, Ramsbottom N, Smithies T, Toth A, Campbell M

Gaming Your Mental Health: A Narrative Review on Mitigating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using Commercial Video Games, https://games.jmir.org/2021/2/e26575. 

Muhannad Quwaider, Abdullah Alabed, Rehab Duwairi, The Impact of Video Games on the Players Behaviors: A Survey, Procedia Computer Science, Volume 151, 2019, Pages 575-582,

ISSN 1877-0509, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.04.077.