Since the 1980s, video games have been the subject of heated debate between those who see them as an enjoyable or, at best, harmless pastime, and those who demonise them, believing that they lead to violent behaviour or addictions similar to alcohol or hard drugs.
After forty years of scientific research, we have a clearer picture. First, while it is true that video games can have a negative impact on young people’s mental well-being, it is not related to the amount of time spent playing. The team at the Internet Institute, the department set up by Oxford University in 2001 to study the opportunities and social challenges of rapidly developing technologies, conducted a study of 40,000 gamers in 2022 and found that the amount of time spent playing video games does not negatively affect young people’s mental wellbeing, but it is the attitude to gaming that makes the difference: “The discrepancy between concerns and evidence highlights that we know too little about the impact of gaming on well-being. We address this question by linking objective data collected over six weeks on the gaming behaviour of 38,935 gamers, provided by seven global game publishers, with three waves of data on their self-reported well-being. We found no evidence of a causal relationship between gambling and well-being. However, the results suggest that motivation plays an important role”.
The researchers also explain that the study was limited to relevant but circumstantial data and that further research is needed. However, it is important to continue to analyse these dynamics given the risk of censorship and demonisation of video games by some governments, such as the Chinese government, which has restricted their use to one hour a day, two days a week.
The educational potential of video games
A few years earlier, the University of Rochester (New York) and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, also conducted studies on the positive effects of video games.
Specifically, the latter showed how video game players show better performance in top-down attention processes, i.e. selective or focused attention, and their brains show increased activation of regions dedicated to cognitive control, inhibition, activity switching and visual processing.
Therefore, in addition to entertainment, video games can offer a number of educational benefits. They can help improve visual-spatial skills, enhance problem solving, develop social skills and promote learning through play. Educational games are designed to teach historical, cultural or scientific concepts in a fun and engaging way, increasing players’ knowledge on a variety of topics.
The game-based approach to learning, or gamification, is supported by many education experts. Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, argues that video games can motivate students to tackle complex challenges and deal with failure in a constructive way. Similarly, cognitive psychology professor Richard Mayer found that educational games can enhance learning through interactivity and incremental challenge.
Video games and the study of history
One of the most fascinating aspects of video games is their ability to transport players to different historical eras, offering an immersive experience that stimulates an interest in history. Titles such as ‘Assassin’s Creed’, ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’, ‘Age of Empire’ and ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ are examples of games that offer realistic and curated historical settings, enriching the gaming experience with historically and culturally accurate elements.
Titles such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance’ stand out for their historical accuracy, recreating period settings and customs with great attention to detail. These games offer a unique opportunity for players to explore and understand past historical periods in an interactive and immersive way.
In this regard, the story of an American teacher who used the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey episode for a lesson on ancient Greece went viral last February. The teacher, known on Tik Tok as a content creator with the profile “Mr Mahathey”, received more than two million views and online praise for a video in which he used the video game to describe the Battle of Thermopylae,, one of the key conflicts in the Greco-Persian War of 480 BC. “If my teacher followed this example, he would pay much more attention,” commented one user.
Not just history
There are many video games that allow us to take part in the First World War, but one of them focuses on its aftermath. “War Hospital allows you to run a field hospital during the conflict. Rather than focusing on the dynamics of battle, the aim is to run a medical facility and save as many lives as possible under pressure.
It is therefore understandable that another interesting aspect of the subject is realistic simulation, which is of interest to many educators. An article published in the journal Simulation & Gaming highlighted the value of virtual simulations in teaching practical skills such as time management and conflict resolution. In addition,a study conducted byHarvard Medical School showed that virtual simulations of surgery can improve the motor and decision-making skills of medical students.
Video games can be used as tools to address mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, or stress. Some are designed to provide a therapeutic experience, an interactive way to address such challenges and improve mental wellbeing.
More light than shadow
As video game addiction, also known as “gaming disorder”, is a clinical pathology recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it should be limited to those forms of behavioural addiction that can be attributed to the macro-category of “pathological gambling”. Compulsive gambling, the feeling of being unable to stop or social isolation due to time spent in front of the console are rarely found in young people. And it is important to note that not everyone who plays video games, even for several hours a day, is automatically affected by this condition, which only becomes pathological when it starts to have a negative impact on everyday life.
Nevertheless, in this article we wanted to emphasise that the use of video games in school education represents a new frontier in modern education, supported by studies and statements from experts in the field. Because of their educational potential, video games offer students an engaging, interactive, and personalised learning experience. However, it is important to adopt a balanced and conscious approach to ensure that the use of video games is integrated effectively and responsibly into the school curriculum. Used properly, video games can transform education and prepare students for the challenges of the future in an increasingly digital and complex world.
The educational benefits of video games include:
- Improved visuo-spatial skills: “open world” type games help develop orientation skills in space, both virtual and real.
- Improved problem solving: facing logical challenges stimulates problem solving, improving logical and creative skills;
- Improved visual-spatial skills: “Open world games” help develop orientation skills in space, both virtual and real.
- Social skills development: multiplayer games encourage teamwork and collaboration, improving social and interpersonal skills; Learning through play: multiplayer games encourage teamwork and collaboration, improving social and interpersonal skills.
- Stimulation of physical activity: some games promote physical movement, contributing to the physical health of players.
- Mental health benefits: some games are designed to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, offering an interactive way to improve mental well-being.
- Maintain cognitive skills: Video games keep the brain active, stimulating quick thinking, decision making and mental flexibility.
