A Study on Video Games: Mental Health and Academic Performance

This essay examines the multifaceted impact of video games on children's mental health and academic performance. It delves into both the potential negative effects, such as addiction and aggressive behavior, and the possible positive influences, including enhanced cognitive skills and problem-solving abilities. The study highlights the WHO's recognition of "gaming disorder" as a mental health concern, while also acknowledging that not all video game playing leads to addiction or negative outcomes. The conclusion emphasizes that the impact of video games is highly dependent on the individual and, for children, parental involvement, suggesting that video games are not solely responsible for either mental health issues or poor academic performance. The essay concludes by stating that while excessive gaming can harm academic pursuits, the same could be said for other forms of entertainment, and video games are not a guaranteed method for improving IQ.

Running head: Videogame: MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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.

3MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
The debate has the other side as well which in favor of the argument claiming video
games as help in academic achievement. Appropriate designed video games can have a positive
impact on children that helps in fostering student achievement. Researchers argue that video
games encourage children in critical thinking and problem solving skills. Some well-designed
games also help children in the development of cognitive, metacognitive, motor and spatial
skills. Children tend to develop the competitive nature leading them to perform better in the
class. In this way, video game serves as the source of motivation, collaboration, brain-based
learning, and behavior. Therefore, the video game is considered to improve a person’s academic
performance in an underlying way (Sung & Hwang, 2013).
Solutions:
The most affective method of preventing children from being affected negatively is
control. For children, the parents should set limits and stop children getting indulged in video
games for long hours. Young adults or adults should be able to limit themselves from getting
addicted. Video game cannot be the only reason that harm’s academic performance. It depends
on the gamer’s devoted time. Also, the kind of games should be monitored as violent and
aggressive games are impactful on young minds.
Conclusion:
In the end of the study, the conclusion that can be drawn are several. The positive as well
as negative impacts of videogames have been observed however, the greater factor is the
participants. Video games can impact mental health and in very same way even television and
smartphones. Therefore the cause of mental health cannot be only video game, it is highly
depended on the individual and for children it is on the parents. The two findings of the study

4MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
are 1. Video games are found having positive impact on mental health and 2. Video games not
responsible for poor academic performance.
One who ignores academic activities to play games are definitely damaging their
academic performance. However, the same addiction could be with television or smart phones.
Also, video games can not considered to help in improving IQ drastically as it depends solely on
the gamer and its ability to obtain skills.

5MENTAL HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
References:
Graham, J. M. (2014). Narrative therapy for treating video game addiction. International journal
of mental health and addiction, 12(6), 701-707.
Marchand, A., & Hennig-Thurau, T. (2013). Value creation in the video game industry: Industry
economics, consumer benefits, and research opportunities. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 27(3), 141-157.
Petry, N. M., & O'brien, C. P. (2013). Internet gaming disorder and the DSM‐
5. Addiction, 108(7), 1186-1187.
Plass, J. L., O'keefe, P. A., Homer, B. D., Case, J., Hayward, E. O., Stein, M., & Perlin, K.
(2013). The impact of individual, competitive, and collaborative mathematics game play
on learning, performance, and motivation. Journal of educational psychology, 105(4),
1050.
Rehbein, F., Kliem, S., Baier, D., Mößle, T., & Petry, N. M. (2015). Prevalence of internet
gaming disorder in German adolescents: Diagnostic contribution of the nine DSM‐5
criteria in a state‐wide representative sample. Addiction, 110(5), 842-851.
Sung, H. Y., & Hwang, G. J. (2013). A collaborative game-based learning approach to
improving students' learning performance in science courses. Computers &
Education, 63, 43-51.