Why are more and more young people are playing video games (and it is a bad thing)
Games / / December 19, 2019
Video games, as well as the work is essentially a series of similar repetitive tasks. We not only play the game, how many follow its rules. Game - it is our boss, and to succeed, you need to fulfill its requirements.
Games simulate the work and career growth
This is especially true for games of the genre, which is now dominated by the market - action role-playing game with an open world, connecting a cruelty traditional shooter with vast landscapes and a complex system of pumping of the character skills, characteristic RPG.
These games consist of a series of tasks for which the player gets a reward, becoming as a result of stronger and more experienced. To pass usually takes time and dedication. For example, the average single player game takes more than 60 hours, and online multiplayer games can take hundreds or even thousands of hours. Although these games are usually wrapped in a fantasy-shell, they no longer look like fun, but on the simulator work.
No wonder that for many young people, especially those with low levels of education, video games, more and more take the place of work.
According to economist Eric Hirst (Erik Hurst) from the University of Chicago, a man without education aged between 20 and 30 years are working less and spend more time on computer games than in 2000 year. Also it increased the likelihood that men from this group are single, have no children and live with their parents or other relativesLeisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men. .
It would seem, have something to lose heart: to live without work, without prospects, giving all the time playing computer games. But according to the survey, members of this group have higher levels of subjectively perceived happiness than men of the same age at the beginning of the XXI century.
Hurst believes that the problems begin later. If a person's youth spent on video games, in adulthood he will be without the skills in demand and ties. "These young people without qualifications, who were happy to 20, feel much less happy in the 30 and 40", - says Hurst.
Games help to cope with the psychological stress during unemployment
However, video games, there are benefits. Long-term unemployment - one of the most depressing situations in which a person can be. Happiness drops sharply and never returns to the previous level. According to German researchers, unemployment is even stronger effect on life satisfaction than the partner's deathSubjective well-being and adaptation to life events: a meta-analysis. . And video games facilitate the hardships of this period.
For those who can not find a permanent job interesting (or at least some work), gaming becomes a way to spend the extra free time. It is rather a symptom of economic problems than its cause.
Games give a feeling of success, evoke the feeling that you are moving in the right direction, develop their skills and achieve something. They bring to life the players aim and schedule. In other words, they make people happier and act as a buffer between the player and his despair.
Of course, there are in this situation and cons: although the game and protect people from life's difficulties and problems, they can also reduce the desire to work, because with them during unemployment It does not seem so difficult.
Games create the illusion of mastery
"Videogames made to feel that you're in something well understand," - says game developer Eric Vulpe (Erik Wolpaw), uchastvovashy in creating Portal, Left 4 Dead and Half-Life.
Tactical Shooter helps to feel cool special forces soldier and car simulator - first-class racer. But in fact, you just train to recognize visual information on the screen and move the fingers on time. You learn to manage the controller, not a gun or a race car.
Games create a sense of mastery, not giving these skills. It's just a way to realize his fantasy. Fantasia on the work, objectives, social, and professional success.
On the question of whether games make us happier or they offer only a pale semblance of happiness, Vulpe replied: "This is a philosophical question. They definitely bring pleasure. I spent a lot of time to develop games, but even more time - on their passage. And I do not regret it. "