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CYBER-GAMES
MAKE `EM BRIGHTER
COMPUTER games
are giving a generation of young Britons a level of
co-ordination equivalent to those observed in top-level
athletes, a British government-funded study has shown.
Youngsters who play computer games regularly but not excessively
also tend to have more friends and better adjusted than those
who make do with traditional pastimes such as reading and
television. The research, funded by the British government’s
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), challenges the
common view of computer gamers as “geeks” who cut themselves off
from the world and develop few social or wider academic skills.
Instead, it suggests that playing computer games could happen
young people’s mental agility to a level superior to that of
previous generations by exposing them to intense stimuli from a
young age. “People who play games regularly seem to develop a
mental state that we have seen before only in serious athletes
or professionals such as astronauts, whose lives depend on
concentration and co-ordination,” said Jo Bryce, who led the
research. “Their minds and bodies work together much better than
those of most people.”
Bryce did her research by visiting computer gamers, often during
regional or national competitions around Britain, and giving
nearly 100 of them a series of psychological tests and
questionnaires. The results were then compared with those of
similar tests applied to athletes and other groups. She found
that although there remained a minority of gamers who are
obsessive, the majority had a healthy mix of other interests and
varied social lives. Playing games helped them to do better in
other areas, including schoolwork.
“Our subjects were averaging about 18 hours a week on computer
games, which sound a lot, but they were spending similar amounts
of time reading and doing sport or socializing,” said Jason
Rutter of the ESRC’s centre for research on innovation and
competition at Manchester University, who worked with Bryce.
“They seemed able to focus on what they were doing much better
than other people and also had better general co-ordination.
Overall these was a huge similarity with top-level athletes. The
skills they learnt on computers seem to transfer to the real
world,” Rutter said.
The research may explain why some racing drivers find it useful
to practise on computer games. Rubens Barrichello, a member of
Ferrari’s Formula One racing team, reportedly prepared for the
Malaysian Grand Prix, a course he had never driven, by using a
popular F1 computer game. Similarly, some upmarket car showrooms
have ordered copies of Sony PlayStation’s new Gran Turismo3
racing game to give to those customers who are interested in
any of the 150 models that it features. Tests have shown that
drivers can develop the skills necessary to drive such sports
cars by playing the game in the safety of their own homes. A
recent study by the British Home Office indicated that those who
regularly played computer games when young were more likely to
go to university and get a better-than-ever job. They also
tended to be more intelligent.
Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at Nottingham Trent University
and an expert in computer gaming, found recently in a study of
800 children that those who played games “moderately”- no more
than two hours a day tended to do more sport than those who
played games. They had more friends, were better adjusted and
tended to read more. “Depending on the types of games played and
the types of games played and the age of the children, computer
games can be a positive experience,” said Griffiths.
Not
all research shows the benefits of information technology for
teenagers. A separate study by Griffths showed that many
children using their computers in excess developed severe
personality problems. One 16-year-old boy spent 70 hours a week
at his computer and had no friends except those he met on the
internet. He once abstained for three days and showed withdrawal
symptoms.
By
Syaharuddin 5 PKE 2
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