Tech Positive : The Story Untold…

(Positive impacts of Social Media and Gaming)

-article by Manan Singh, CS-DSVV, 30th May 2014

Abstract

Despite the perpetual discussions and disputes on the ‘harm’ of the new Tech trends,

mainly: Social Media and Gaming, there is a bright side to them that cannot be ignored. This

article explores and expresses this bright side supported with factual information and

research results, thus, revealing some unexpected positive impacts of Social Media and

Gaming.

Social Media

What is Social Media ?

Social media is the social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange

information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. It can have different forms viz.

Internet Forums, weblogs, social blogs, micro blogging, wikis, social networks, etc. Some

extremely popular are Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and twitter. Irrespective of the strong

controversies, they have took and shook the world with a storm. Facebook is considered to

be the third largest country in the world in terms of resident population. From Politics to

Marketing, the Social Media has given a hard challenge to the conventional practices. Let’s

enumerate and explain Five of the Positive Impacts of Social Media.

Impacts

1. News: Social media has become an important source of news. While the credibility

of some sources can clearly be contested, news channels tweet or give real time

updates on significant happenings all over the world. Their availability on social

networks makes news more accessible. Additionally, news quickly gets passed

around the networks in ways never experienced before.

2. Interaction: Social media has furthered interaction by such a massive scale that is

hard not to notice it. It allows people to keep in touch in a more regularly, and

sometimes, more intimately, than was ever before because of time and space

constraints. People cities or continents apart can keep in touch so effortlessly,

creating an opportunity to experience different cultures.

3. Politics: Social media has enabled greater political awareness and organization,

which has in some cases rewritten entire political landscapes. It has particularly

played a large part in the Iran elections, Obama’s reelection for a second term as US

President, and inspired the political unrests in Egypt. The unprecedented victory of

BJP in the Lok Sabha Elections 2014, India is also credited somewhat, to the efficient

use of Social Media.

4. Learning: Social media has also played a large part in fostering literacy. Children who

start using the platforms develop early communication skills, and generally become

more literate. This is an encouraging trend, and thanks to the huge availability of

information, both simplistic and complex on the internet, anyone can become as

smart or intelligent as they desire.

5. Marketing: The whole dynamics of marketing have been changed, and rather than

investing in mass channels ads, companies are becoming more consumer-centered

through interactions made over social media. They are able to understand the needs

of the market from the market itself(by deploying clever Web Analytics and Research

Methods), greatly altering the way marketing has been done in the past.

Gaming

What is Video Game ?

By definition, a video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a

user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Throughout the history, video

games have been criticized dramatically. Despite that, it has created a new industry and

have evolved to remarkable extents. Various games come under various genres e.g.

RPG(Role Playing Games), Racing, Arcade, FPS(First Person Shooter),etc. A huge

achievement considered to be the realization of 3D Virtual Reality is the MMORPG

(Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) – World of Warcraft, which was able to

entice and engage nearly Three Fourth of American Population. Despite the criticism and

controversies on video games, numerous academic studies indicate that playing video

games has many psychological and even physical benefits.

Taken together, it turns out video games actually make you a better human being. How? Let’s see…

1. ‘Mario’ is like Steroids for Your Brain

To better understand how video games affect the brain, German researchers conducted a study, in which they asked 23 adults with a median age of 25 to play "Super Mario 64" for 30 minutes a day over a period of two months. A separate control group did not play video games at all.

Examining the brains of the two groups using an MRI machine, they found that the gaming group had a rise in gray matter in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum -- areas of the brain responsible for spatial navigation, memory formation, strategic planning and fine motor skills in the hands.

"While previous studies have shown differences in brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase," study leader Simone Kühn said. "This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games."

Kühn and her colleagues concluded that video games could potentially be used as a therapy for patients with mental disorders that cause brain regions to shrink or be altered. Such diseases include schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer's.

2. ‘Starcraft’ may make you stronger

In August, British researchers found that certain video games, particularly strategic games such as "Starcraft," can increase a player's "brain flexibility," which the scientists described as "a cornerstone of human intelligence."

The study, conducted at Queen Mary University of London and University College London, is based on psychological tests conducted before and after 72 volunteers played "Starcraft" or the life-simulation game "The Sims" for 40 hours over six to eight weeks. They found that participants assigned to play "Starcraft" experienced gains in their performance on psychological tests, completing cognitive flexibility tasks with greater speed and accuracy.

"We need to understand now what exactly about these games is leading to these changes, and whether these cognitive boosts are permanent or if they dwindle over time," study researcher Brian Glass said in August. "Once we have that understanding, it could become possible to develop clinical interventions for symptoms related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or traumatic brain injuries, for example."

3. Video Games may slow the aging process

Playing brain-teasing game for just two hours a week may help slow the degree of mental decay associated with the natural aging process, according to a study this year from the University of Iowa.

A study of 681 healthy individuals ages 50 and older revealed that playing 10 hours of a specially designed video game was able to stall the natural decline of different cognitive skills by up to seven years, in some cases.

Over five to eight weeks, one group of seniors was given computerized crossword puzzles while three other groups played a computer game called "Road Tour." The game involves matching pictures of vehicles while remembering the location of a particular road sign as more and more "distractors" appear as the player advanced. The experience is meant to mirror the difficulty older drivers have when they have to process information from multiple points of view at an intersection.

"Whether it's a specially manufactured game or something like 'World of Warcraft,' games are cognitively complex and require mental energy and abilities to play them," said Jason Allaire, an associate professor in the department of psychology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, who was not involved with the study. "Whenever you do anything that requires mental energy, you're exercising your abilities -- it's just like if you exercise your muscles, you get stronger."

4. They may help Dyslexic Kids Read better

A study from the University of Padua throws cold water on the idea that video games are bad for the brains of young children. In February, the Italian researchers presented evidence that playing fast-paced video games can improve the reading skills of children with dyslexia.

The team separated children age 7 to 13 into two groups, one of which played an action game called "Rayman Raving Rabids" while the other played a lower tempo game. When the reading skills of the children were tested afterwards, those who played the action game were capable of reading faster and more accurately. The authors of the study hypothesized that the action games helps kids increase their attention spans, a skill considered crucial to reading.

5. Video Games can be Pain Reliever

In 2010, researchers presented evidence at the American Pain Society's annual scientific meeting that video games, specifically ones with an emphasis on virtual reality, have proven effective in reducing anxiety or pain caused by medical procedures or chronic illness. The study found that when people undergoing chemotherapy or other serious treatments were immersed in a virtual gaming world, they reported significantly less stress and fear. In

addition, those being treated for burn wounds found a decline in their pain ratings by rates of 30 to 50 percent.

Referencing the motion sensor technology of the Xbox Kinect or the Wii, Charles Friedman of the Pain Relief Centers said that gaming allows the brain to stay busy using other senses instead of focusing on pain. Gaming also releases endorphins in the brain, a chemical that is generally associated with happiness and capable of numbing discomfort.

6. ‘Call of Duty’ can improve your eyesight

According to a University of Rochester study, shooting bad guys in video games can unexpectedly give you better vision.

In the 2009 study, expert action gamers played first-person shooting games like "Unreal Tournament 2004" and "Call of Duty" while non-experienced action gamers played "The Sims 2." Those playing the shoot-'em-up games saw a boost in their "contrast sensitivity function," or the ability to discern subtle changes in the brightness of an image. Considered one of first of the visual aptitudes to diminish over time, the ability to pick out bright patches is key to tasks like driving at night.

The study's authors believe that the process of locating and aiming at enemies exercised gamers' eyes. And with bad guys unpredictably popping up, the shooting games also helped players learn to analyze optical data on the fly. The researchers believe their study shows the potential of video games -- particularly action games -- to serve as an aid in the way we correct bad eyesight.

7. Video Games can be as Effective as one-on-one Counseling

While video games are often blamed as a cause of mental illness, studies have shown that they can also be a cure.

In 2012, researchers in New Zealand created a novel way to treat depressed teenagers with "SPARX," a video game designed to give therapy to kids in a way that was more fun and active than traditional counseling. The acronym stands for “smart, positive, active, realistic and x-factor thoughts,” strategies that have been commonly used to battle depression.

The study included 168 teens with an average age of 15 that had previously sought help or struggled with depression. Half of the group was randomly assigned to "treatment as usual,” which was usually one-on-one counseling over five sessions. The other half played SPARX, a fantasy game where the subjects created avatars in order to squash “gloomy negative automatic thoughts,” and restore order in the virtual world. Each level taught players basic facts about depression, strategies for dealing with intense negative emotions and relaxation techniques.

The results for the SPARX group were extremely encouraging. About 44 percent of SPARX players recovered completely from depression while only 26 percent of the control group were no longer depressed.

8. Educational Games

On 23 September 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama launched a campaign called "Educate

to Innovate" aimed at improving the technological, mathematical, scientific and engineering

abilities of American students. This campaign states that it plans to harness the power of

interactive games to help achieve the goal of students excelling in these departments. This

campaign has stemmed into many new opportunities for the video game realm and has

contributed to many new competitions. Some of these competitions include the Stem

National Video Game Competition and the Imagine Cup. Both of these examples are events

that bring a focus to relevant and important current issues that are able to be addressed in

the sense of video games to educate and spread knowledge in a new form of media.

www.NobelPrize.org uses games to entice the user to learn about information pertaining to

the Nobel Prize achievements while engaging in a fun to play video game. There are many

different types and styles of educational games all the way from counting to spelling to

games for kids and games for adults. Some other games do not have any particular targeted

audience in mind and intended to simply educate or inform whoever views or plays the

game.

Verdict

No doubt, the bright side of Social Media and Gaming contains some very interesting

impacts. If the positive potential of Social Media and Gaming can be explored and,

harnessed effectively and efficiently; it can redefine and revolutionize, innumerable

fields(such as Education, Personality Development, Governance, Politics, Marketing, etc.);

and possibly, also the world.