The Impact of Television Games on Adolescent Boys: A Physiological Study
Playing Television Games is a popular pastime for adolescents. This study investigated the physiological effects of playing violent versus nonviolent television games on boys aged 12-15. Specifically, the research examined how gaming affected sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity during and after gameplay, as well as sleep quality the following night.
Methodology: Measuring Physiological Responses to Gaming
Nineteen boys participated in the study, engaging in three separate sessions: playing a violent television game, playing a nonviolent television game, and a control session with no gaming. Researchers carefully selected the games based on specific criteria: the violent game featured direct physical violence (excluding handguns) against human characters, while the nonviolent game involved no violence. Both games shared a third-person perspective, similar game design, motor activity levels, sound and light effects, and excluded sexual content, violence against women, or racial overtones.
Throughout the gaming sessions and the subsequent night, participants wore a portable device that measured heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and physical activity. HRV, reflecting the variation in time between heartbeats, provides insights into the balance between the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) branches of the autonomic nervous system. Participants also completed sleep diaries and questionnaires documenting their gaming experiences and session-specific feelings.
Results: Autonomic Differences, Similar Sleep Quality
The study revealed significant differences in autonomic responses between violent and nonviolent gaming. During violent gameplay, participants exhibited higher activity in the very low frequency (VLF) component of HRV and total power, indicating increased sympathetic nervous system activation. These differences persisted throughout the night following gaming, with the violent condition showing significantly higher VLF, low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) components, and total power compared to the nonviolent condition.
Surprisingly, subjective sleep quality, as measured by sleep diaries and questionnaires, remained unaffected by the type of game played. No significant differences emerged between the three conditions (violent gaming, nonviolent gaming, and no gaming) regarding perceived sleep difficulties or individual sleep-related items. This suggests that while violent gaming may induce heightened physiological arousal, it may not necessarily translate into noticeable sleep disturbances after a single gaming session.
Conclusion and Future Directions: Long-Term Effects and Gender Considerations
This study demonstrates that playing violent television games elicits distinct autonomic responses in adolescent boys compared to nonviolent games, both during and after gameplay. This suggests that violent gaming may lead to different emotional responses compared to nonviolent gaming. However, a single gaming session did not appear to significantly impact subjective sleep quality.
Future research should investigate the long-term effects of gaming on autonomic balance, potential physiological adaptation to frequent gaming, and possible gender differences in these responses. Exploring these areas will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the physiological and psychological impacts of television gaming on young people.
