How video games affect the mind

Violent Video Games and Their Effect on the Mind As with many other social subjects, constant controversy revolves around whether or not violent video games have any effect on the minds of players, specifically having to do with aggressive behaviors. Supporters of the claim that playing games such as Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and Halo cultivates real-life violence will always exist, and this controversy will not soon go away. What I’d like to point out are some of the positive effects of playing. First of all, in shooting games, the player must multitask, doing things such as aiming and shooting while also moving and navigating. This helps to increase hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. These are important skills needed in real life. Developing this can also lead to an increase in real-life situational awareness and management of time and resources. Games such as these can teach players how to respond to challenges in life, and how to react when things don’t go as planned. They can help to create a host of good effects, such as increased concentration, memory improvement, perseverance, strategy, and so many others. One article states “Sustained changes in the region of the brain associated with cognitive function and emotional control were found in young adult men after one week of playing violent video games, according to study results presented by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.” Their findings were that this region of the brain, after playing violent video games for one week is indeed physically affected, and these changes “may translate into behavioral changes over longer periods of game play,” but there is no proof that the behavioral changes are negative. Although I believe that countless positive effects can be found in avid play of virtual world violent video games, I also believe that if any true link can be formed to players and any real world violent behaviors, there should be restrictions on such. Some lawmakers call for an all-out ban of all games such as these, while some say age restriction is key. In 2011, The Supreme Court ruled against a California law banning the sale of violent video games, stating the law was an infringement on the First Amendment rights of citizens. If the law had been passed, stores that sold violent video games to persons under the age of 18 were subject to a fine of $1000 per offence. Many laws and bans on this subject have been ruled unconstitutional, and the right to freedom of speech has been upheld. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for five justices in the majority in the video games decision, Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, No. 08-1448, said video games were subject to full First Amendment protection.
“Like the protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas — and even social messages — through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot and music) and through features distinctive to the medium (such as the player’s interaction with the virtual world),” Justice Scalia wrote. “That suffices to confer First Amendment protection.” This age old debate has valid points on either side, but the bottom line is that we cannot have our rights infringed on because of a possibility of negative behaviors, when so many positive things can come from playing violent video games.