Computer games

[sAlt_sHaKer]

Hi, I'm doing a research on the benefits and disadvantages of computer games. For example, the effects computer games have on the development of the brain or something like that. Can somebody tell me any websites or articles which might concern this topic? I can't seem to find any around.

Thanks a mil!
sAlt

[Paul Victorey]

Hmm, I don't think there's ANY information... I searched Medscape, which is one of THE places to go for medical journal searching, and came up with nothing relevant.

I actually haven't heard of ANY studies being done on positive/negative effects of video games. Media is blamed a lot for various things, but you'd be hard pressed to find any studies to confirm it.

The closest you could get are studies proving things like "violent movies desensitize you to violent movies", but there is almost no data on any effects between media and social behavior.

[Statica]

I guess the question you are attempting to dis/prove is more from a psychological point of view rather than a medical point of view (unless the games are constructed such that they trigger photosensitive epilepsy episodes, or disorientation/blurred vision from switching between a gaming environment to a real environment [Source: am afraid I dont have the URL but check medscape for an article by Hung, Mindy .. should be c. 1989-1990]) or CTS or related repetitive stress injuries... these arent merely triggered by games, but by any media .. or any series of lights .. or any repetitive task.

There arent any other medical journals that deal with the issue you have at hand.

[audiyoda]

I ran a check on Lexus-Nexus and all the other databases available to me here at MSU and found 0. You may have to broaden your search and use comparative results -- compare/contrast violence in other forms (ie..movies, music) and their relative effects.

-Craig

[Paul Victorey]

Honestly, you might consider a new topic. Firstly, there's no directly applicable data, and the data which exists for similar situations (other kinds of media) is already sketchy at best to prove any effect of media on social behavior. From what I've seen of psychology reports on media, most studies are usually performed in very unusual conditions, and it's unclear how the results tell you ANYTHING about normal human behavior in a normal environment. And to interpret one limited study's data and infer something rather different, you'll begin to lose any basis in fact, and base your entire report on supposition and possibility.

[jet_rider]

I had a lot of fun with this topic not long ago. I wrote two college papers one for comp one and the other for comp two. Anyway, what I enjoyed was that depending on which article you and who the writer was things seemed to lean that direction. So, for comp one I used research to show that video games did not cause any violent tendencies in kids. The the very next semester I show how it did. I used a first search data base to get my information at the local junior college. Have fun!

[troysvihl]

I have heard of various studies done to see the impact of violence on young children's behaviour, but I've never heard of any studies involving computer games specifically. However, I would think there's been at least some psych studies done on computer games.

[sAlt_sHaKer]

Thanks for recommending Medscape. I've got some pretty good info about epilepsy, but I still can't find any studies about the effects games has on the development of the brain. But in any case, thanks all for your suggestions!