Positive and negative aspects of playing mobile games

February 14, 2018 by Benny

When you hear about the effects of mobile games, you tend to think about negative
ones first, like the fact they are causing addiction. We are surrounded by people who
prefer to spend time alone with their mobile phones instead of starting a conversation
with a random stranger, and mobile games consume more and more of our time each
day.

If you like to play mobile games and you had an “addictometer” app installed to your
smartphone, you would probably be surprised by how much time you spend every day
on your device distracted by the latest puzzle game or battling with alliances and clans
in strategy games. But let’s try to have a global picture of the phenomenon and see
what the effects of mobile gaming are, both good and bad.

Positive effects
Encouraging physical exercise
Augmented reality games like the famous Pokémon Go has encouraged millions of
people to explore their city environment, walk more every day, and simply burn more
calories during these activities.

Improving brain functions

Science is proving that playing video games with moderation is good for your brain.
Puzzle games are generally considered the most beneficial. This is what brain scientist
Daphne Bavelier declares: “the effect of video games on the brain is very similar to
the effect of wine on the health: there are some very poor uses of wine, there are some
very poor uses of video games. But, when consumed in reasonable doses and at the
right age, wine can be very good for health. Video games are the same and they have
a number of ingredients that are very powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention
or vision”. Some video/mobile games can even be used to fight brain diseases and
studies have found a link between playing video games and volumetric brain increase.

Educating children
Some mobile games which contain learning tools can have a positive impact on the
way kids learn and they may improve classroom engagement and encourage more
effective study habits. Gamification is an excellent incentive for students of all ages
and allows teachers to reach students using the media they are most attracted to.

Encouraging individuals to have a healthy lifestyle

There are so-called pact apps that encourage users to live a healthier life by imposing
dieting and exercise resolutions that one must respect. Users who break their promises
have to pay other players, in what looks very much like a fitness challenge. Without
these apps, some people may never consider the idea of dieting or exercising.

Negative effects
Distraction while performing another important activity
One of the most dangerous effects of mobile gaming is not paying attention to your
environment and going through dangerous situations because you are too immersed in
the game world. Some people play mobile games while driving, while others do it as
they walk around – both can be just as harmful.

For instance, the augmented reality game Pokémon Go is blamed for having caused
injuries, and road accidents. A rough estimate of almost 114,000 incidents has been
reported in the US where drivers and pedestrians have been distracted by the game.
For instance, in Japan in August 2016 a distracted driver playing the game did not
notice a woman crossing the street and struck her with his truck. The victim died of a
broken neck in what was declared the 79th Pokémon Go-related accident in the
country by Japan’s National Police Agency.

Affecting social interaction

But distraction is not a problem just when you are crossing a road or driving – it also
prevents you from spending quality time with other people. Smartphones have been
blamed for affecting social interaction; mobile phones with their apps, including
games, change the way people interact with each other and their expectations for
social interaction.

Social life has moved for young adults to their smartphones, as Internet natives cannot
imagine a day without interacting with other people via text, chat, or social media.
People have gotten used to maintaining and enhancing social relationships through
their mobile phones and apps. It is a new paradigm, not completely demonic, but one
cannot help and see something deeply wrong with it. For instance, think of a couple
spending time together in their bedroom while each is playing mobile games or
talking to other people on chat and barely interacting with each other – and you may
be doing it every day too without even realizing.

Increased spending
Many mobile games are free, but in fact they use a “free to premium” business model,
which means you can have the basic game for free but have to pay money to get those
interesting extras. Some people end up spending large amounts of money on in-app
purchases, just to make sure they don’t lose a battle or to unlock an extra level of the
game. These types of games can be very addictive to vulnerable categories, like
children, and even if parents allow them to play the free game, there have been cases
where purchases were made accidentally without the possibility of receiving a refund.

Sleep problems
Playing mobile games before going to sleep? Bad idea because this activity causes
disruption of sleep patterns and prevents you from getting the rest you need. As a
result, you will feel sleepy during the day and probably have behavior issues as well.

Loss of productivity
You may not play for hours in a row, but you are probably doing it several times a
day, and the apps installed to your smartphone send you alerts and updates throughout
the day about various things that happen in the game. You take a couple of minutes
just to check the game or complete a simple action instead of concentrating on the
task you were doing. It sounds inoffensive, but these dozens of micro-transactions add
up over the day or week and cause a lot of wasted time.

If we were to compare positive and negative aspects against each other, we would
probably discover that negative ones are more prominent and have a higher impact on
society. Smart mobile developers know how to make a profit from our weaknesses
and tendencies to addiction. However, we cannot blame mobile games per se – they
are an entertainment source that we choose to accept or not. We are the ones who
decide how many gaming apps are installed to our smartphones and how often we use
them. You choose what kind of effects that you will experience from mobile games –
the good or the bad ones.
The Negative Effects of Mobile Games
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As hardware power increases, and prices decrease, the smartphone has

quietly made quite a foothold as a platform in the video game industry. Many
companies are using smartphones to target previously unreachable market
segments in video gaming, such as casual gamers and women. As this
platform becomes more popular, researchers are beginning to notice potential
problems and dangerous behaviors associated with this type of video gaming
that has never been observed with any other type of gaming.

Dangerous Distractions

The first negative effect of mobile gaming is the potential for distraction when
performing another more important activity, such as driving. Video games
should never be played while driving. Some mobile games use the internet
and have the ability to push information and notifications to a player even
when the player is not actively playing. The game may send these alerts while
a player is driving, and the player may not identify the alert's origin as being
from a game, or be tempted to check it anyways, creating a potentially
dangerous situation.

Loss of Productivity Distractions

Many mobile games have a social aspect, or rely on other players taking turns
or participating in the game. In games like this, it's common to have alerts
and updates throughout the day about various things happening in different
games. It's also very tempting to take several minutes and quickly check on a
game, or make a quick move. These micro-transactions can quickly add up
over the course of a day or week, resulting in many wasted hours of
productivity.

Sleep Problems

Mobile phones and video games have both been independently linked to
disruption in the sleep patterns of children in studies. Jan Van den Bulck, a
senior lecturer in psychology at the Catholic University of Leuvenin Belgium,
found through surveys that one in five teenagers reported being awakened
regularly by their mobile devices. Playing video games on mobile phones will
no doubt continue to prevent children from getting the rest they need.
Disruption in sleep patterns, like the ones caused by mobile games, have
been linked to behavior issues, and sleepiness during the day.

Out of Control Spending

Many mobile games operate on a "free to premium" business model, where

the basic game is free, but extras within the game cost money. Some players
have found themselves spending large sums of money while playing games,
in an out of control fashion. These types of games are potentially very
dangerous to gamers with any type of addictive personalities. There have also
been reports of parents allowing their children to use their devices to play
their free games, and their children have somehow managed to purchase
items accidentally, with no way for the parent to receive a refund.