Why do young people like gaming so much?

Answer 1

Video Games engage the 'pleasure centers' in the brain. Games do not require for most brain cells to do much more than respond to a single stimulus. There is very little thinking or imaginative effort going on in the brain because games supply the pictures, sounds, and even strategies---the brain does not have to think or imagine to play! Compare this to reading a book. When you read something like, "It was such a dark night. Clouds slipped over the moonlight, casting trees into shadows. The only sounds were of bull frogs and crickets, and the distant howls of a solitary wolf. -- the brain must make its own pictures and sounds. You are drawn into your own mind through the pages of a book. Writing a story makes brain cells take the images our brains make and put words to those images... "It was such a dark night..." Writing or reading forces our brains to imagine details but also to add more details. For example, when you read about the wolf, how big was it; what colors; how loud did the wolf howl; was it male or female; where was it, on a mountainous ridge or hidden in a forest; was it well or injured; what was it doing there...etc. We don't need to make those details when "inside" a game! Games also stop us from wondering about and imagining characters, which we automatically do when reading or telling stories. For example, in our little "dark night" story, readers automatically begin to wonder and imagine "Who" is telling this story. An author might delay telling you-- you might guess the speaker is a male hunter at a campsite in the backwoods--- but finally, on page 5 the author gives more clues by talking about the character's "dress" and you discover this woman lives by herself in a cabin located in a valley very near a non-mountainous forest 25 miles from any other person. Cues like that enrich our brain cells! But, when was the last time you wondered if a Game Character was tall or short, heavyset or thin, loud or soft-spoken, etc--- never! Your brain becomes lazy; it just accepts the pictures the game made to show you this character.

As a past time, games give breaks from drudgery and reality. Who wants to scrub a floor when they can fight a dragon for 30 minutes in a game. BUT no past time should take over reality and our responsibilities. The brain needs more than games to make your brain thrive! Figuring out whether your desk will fit beside your bed when you re-arrange your room doesn't sound as fun as a game, but to your brain, very real problems are how brains play games that brains most enjoy! Figuring out how long your bedroom wall is in feet-- and the length of your desk in feet AND inches-- makes brain cells light up as it "figures" the problems, not just math but whether you'll like having your desk moved. When you give your brain things to think about and work on, your brain becomes quicker, stronger, and more able to work.

Many kids and young people get caught up in games, played over many hours. But by doing so, they rob themselves of "exercising" their brains. For example, just the process of "finding a job" can keep the brain busy for weeks or months. Just figuring out "what should I wear for a job interview" can keep your brain entertained for hours, as it compares and contrasts colors, fabrics, and even your emotions when you try on one outfit to see how well you like it, compared to another outfit.

If young people realized how MUCH they could accomplish just with turning off a game and using their brains (e.g. making your brain play games with the person), they'd understand that there is SO MUCH they can DO in life! Figuring out how to clean an oven (build a shelving unit, make a car engine run, etc.) converts to many other skills you can use elsewhere in life. The key, though, is finding what interests you / your brain the most, out of all the possible things humans can do, and learning how to spend most of your time doing things that interest you!! This will "light up" your thinking and release your passions! Think back to the last time you felt super excited about some topic or activity. Imagine what it'd be like if you felt that kind of excitement and passion most days!

You and your brain will never find your passion inside a game, no matter how well you play. The brain needs SO much more than video games. The next time you think "I'm bored!", instead of turning on a video game, think of one thing you've never done before--- and go try to do it. Skateboarding; rollerskating; building a treehouse; building a birdhouse; rescuing cats and dogs for a no-kill shelter; helping an elderly man paint his porch; or, even writing your own songs, stories, or poems. Whatever non-game activity you choose, it will be SO much more interesting than the same games you've played hundreds of times!