Will video games hurt you or those you love?

Have you ever heard that video games are good for you? What about “video games hurt people”? I certainly did. I figured it would be good for me to address this topic on Joyful Gaming Co. So…will video games hurt you or those you love?

What does the science say?

I did some cursory googling, and I found many articles from science and gaming websites. They said active gaming probably has some benefits. In this article, they cite the World Health Organization and various scientists who discuss this topic.

The specific study referenced in the article looked at a slice of the Japanese population who received a gaming console via lottery from 2020-2022. They were later surveyed as to whether or not their mental health improved by playing video games. Many answered their mental health improved after starting to play regularly. (There is some question about how much the COVID 19 pandemic affected these responses) You can always check out this article for yourself if you want more information on how they studied people.

I also found another study that surveyed other scientific findings where the effects of video games were directly studied in a lab. The determination scientists came to was that they do have an effect on people over the age of 12, but whether it’s a net positive or net negative is yet to be determined. Read that study for yourself here if you want to learn more.

So, we don’t have a firm answer from scientists as to whether or not theyare hurtful.

What is the moral answer?

Since we don’t have a conclusive answer from scientists, I think it’s important to look at some moral truths. Morality speaks to the truth of things behind the physical world. We can find guiding principles we can apply to many things in life including video games.

I want to share something from the Bible with you.

This scripture is from 1 Corinthians 10:23. It’s in the middle of Paul addressing the Corinthian church about what to do with matters of conscience. One of his conclusions is to take each situation on a case by case situation, avoiding knowingly choosing something wrong.

I believe storytelling is a powerful, magical thing people do. We connect with each other and teach future generations through story. Some of the best stories of our time are from video games. I think you might be missing out if you avoid playing. In fact, you enjoy good stories in movies and TV shows, you will be able to enjoy video games.

To conclude: no, video games probably won’t hurt you or those you love.

As I said in a previous article (check out that article here), it really is up to you and your family what video games look like in your house. If your family plays them to excess on a regular basis and have no outside hobbies…yeah, they’re probably going to affect you in a negative way. But if it’s one hobby among a couple that you enjoy from time to time, it more than likely won’t hurt you and, in fact, will probably bring some small benefits to your life.

If you are a single person making this decision about how much video games to allow into your life, take some time to write out pros and cons. If you have a family and/or are married, talk to the people that matter most and decide together what video games will look like for y’all. Then, let me know how that goes! I’d love to know if this was helpful for you or not.