Online video games are a great way to entertain yourself. With one click of a button you can have a friend on the other side of the world playing a game with you and chatting. Many people also use these online video games as a way to relax before going to bed at night.
Now there is new research that claims to put to rest some of the long standing debates about whether online games cause autism. In a recent study conducted at a prominent University in the United States, it was found that online video games did not increase the levels of autism disorder in children. This study compared children who played online video games with those who did not and found no difference between the two groups. This current study strengthens the claim that there is no link between gaming and autism.
The second study comparing children in a non-interactive control group and those in an interactive gaming group also came up with a negative result for those in the non-interactive group. However, this study did not compare levels of autism disorder with those in an in-game friendship. Those in the control group spent more time chatting than participating in an online game and spent significantly more time talking to others in-game friendships than those in an interactive one. Again, the current study supports the claim that there is no significant increase in autistic disorder among children who do play an online game. However, it may be possible that those in the non-interactive control group who spent more time chatting logged onto games more often than those in the in-game friendship group. Visit daftarkiu.net for more information.
It is important to note that this study has a number of limitations. For example, the participants were self-selecting by demographics; this means that there is no telling whether the same patterns would hold for a different age category, a different race, or a different sex. This study used Google Scholar to search for published works using the keywords “online game playing”, “virtual friendship” or “internet gaming”. This is a problematic study design because many scholars have shown that internet searches for terms like these are very fluid and vary greatly by time. It is also important to note that there are problems with using Google Search within the social network of internet gaming.
A recent study performed at the University of California Davis Center for Mental Health Services found that young people in the UK and Australia spend more time talking to others through in-game chats, rather than searching for other information or sharing personal experiences on the Internet. This is similar to what was done with Google Scholars. In addition to looking for evidence of an increased prevalence of autism, the researchers looked for an increased prevalence of Friendship Quitters, or feeling lonely or isolated. Interestingly, they found that there is a negative correlation between Friendship Quitters and an increased prevalence of depression, substance abuse and unprotected sex. Online friendship chat rooms may indeed be a venue for unhealthy activities, but it does not necessarily mean that you must leave the chat room to participate in social support activities online.
Whether the increased loneliness of Internet Use is problematic or not remains to be seen. The important takeaway from this study is that it demonstrates how the human mind functions when it is engaged in multiple task. Online gaming has certainly expanded the scope of interactive human behavior, but we need to be careful and not assume that this means that all online games are bad for you. As with most things, moderation is the key.