Videogame: Mental Health and Academic Performance

Running head: Videogame: MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Name of the student:
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1MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Introduction:
The video game industry is generating more and more revenue each year (Marchand &
Hennig-Thurau, 2013). There is a considerable portion of the population who prioritize video
games in the entertainment list however, it is often the children who are mostly associated with
it. Video games are taken as one of the most preferred entertainment. The study is carried out to
examine the impact of the video game on mental health and academic performance of children.
Video game and mental health:
Video games, for children, can be highly addictive and there are obsessive video gamers
who are influenced by the virtual world. Playing video game compulsively can cause mental
health issues. According to WHO, the addiction to gaming has now been termed as “gaming
disorder” that can be stated as a separate form of addiction in the mental health care. It can be a
source of affecting the mind in many ways and therefore should be listed as ‘gaming disorder’, a
new problem based on scientific evidence (Rehbein et al., 2015). There are children who tend to
feel take the virtual world in more acute manner than the real world which results in behavior
change and unstable mental health.

2MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
There is another side of the debate where researchers have taken video gaming as a
healthy habit of children and a source causing unnecessary concern among the parents. Not every
child who is spending hours is an addict. Gaming addictions are often treated as the best way of
overcoming stress by therapists (Graham, 2014). Children are as stressed as the adults.
Therefore, video games are not under the label of gaming disorder. According to Psychologists,
the video gaming can be called a kind of gambling through the psychological perspective (Petry
& O'brien, 2013). The percentage of people who seek mental health care caused due to the
addiction to video games are only consisting of a minor part of the population. Also, the people
who are the seeking help are only victims as they are with underlying problems such as
depression, bipolar disorder or autism. There is also a virtual reality device which is a technology
that is getting implemented in the academic field to teach students and to help those pictures
textbooks.
Video game and academic performance:
There is much discussion about children playing video games the way it can impact their
academic performance. There are several areas where the student gets influenced by video
games. For the virtual world video games are capable of providing have often led students to
gain insights regarding a world similar to reality yet not reality. Children are found developing
violent and aggressive behavior affecting their studies. Due to gaming addiction, children fail to
give time and attention to studies that are required. Also, children are often found becoming
more absent in class and preferring gaming at home (Plass et al., 2013). Gaming is considered as
a harmful technology that damages the thinking process due to the presence of technology.