A lot of people see playing video games as a hobby or activity that does not help you at all. A few years ago, the World Health Organization included gaming disorder in the category of mental health issues people can develop along with their lives. Gaming is mostly seen as a bad thing that reaps you of your free time and health. However, gamers do not exactly feel this way. 

It’s true that playing video games can slowly turn into an addiction. We have seen a lot of cases of youngsters that spent entire days in front of their computers, without eating or drinking water. But video games can have a positive effect too, especially for college students. 

There are popular games developed by students that are pretty interesting and educational, so they might be a good choice. So, are games and college life a successful combination? How do they affect each other?

Positive Effects

Playing games should not be seen as something bad, a destructive and harmful hobby. Its frequency and intensity should tell you if you should worry or not. Many people, when they think about video games, imagine shooter or action video games. 

However, there are a lot of other game genres you can play. There are educational games that teach you more about geography, history, chemistry, biology, nature, pollution, and many more. Even action games can help you improve your hand-eye coordination and attention to detail, only if you play them for a reasonable amount of time. 

Playing video games helps you improve your logic and problem-solving skills, as you have to face new challenges every step. This is something that definitely helps students’ college life. Playing video games can be a hobby that helps you relax and that boosts your skills too. Any college student can learn the depths of academic writing, but lab report assignment help is always welcomed. Sometimes, you may lose track of time when you are playing video games, so some expert support is always a good idea. 

Negative Effects

The media focuses on and highlights the negative effects of playing video games more than the positive ones. As the number of people who develop gaming addiction is higher and higher each year, the need for designing solutions and raising awareness is urgent. Gaming addiction is real and it puts a toll on your education and academic progress. As more time is spent playing video games, less is given to academic tasks. Which will make studying and progressing especially challenging. 

Gaming addiction can lead not only to failing grades, but it can cause some students to even drop out of college. Learning to recognize the symptoms helps anyone help themselves and the ones around them. 

Gamers who are addicted to playing tend to have irregular sleep patterns. They spend most of their time in front of the computer which leads to poor hygiene, sleeping, and eating habits. Moreover, the only activity that arouses their interest is gaming, not other hobbies they had before. 

As gaming is the main activity they do, failing exams is something common. And, of course, mental health issues appear along. Depression and anxiety might be triggered by the desire to perform exceptionally in the game, so there is immense pressure to invest money and a lot of time to become better. 

These mental health disorders will influence not only academic life but a personal one too. Spending time in the online world and not talking with anyone apart from your teammates on game topics might make students feel alienated. The positive effect of social support and meetings with friends is usually underestimated. 

Final Thoughts 

Games and college life could be a good match if only students would carefully choose the games they play and limit the amount of time spent doing them. Playing educational games can help you boost your knowledge and cognition. 

Even shooters and action games have positive effects as they improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, logic, attention, memory, and many more. However, it is important to recognize that gaming addiction is affecting more and more college students. 

Lack of sleep, poor eating habits, and hygiene put a toll on their physical and mental health. It is important to know that you can get specialized help from experts that can guide you to help your friends or help you learn how to cope with it. 

Bio lines: Charlie D. Kennedy is a blogger and content writer. He is passionate about video games and his favorite one is WOW. Charlie loves psychology too, so he usually writes articles on gaming addiction.