Psychologists mull benefits, disadvantages of video gaming

AMMAN — Sitting in the dark munching on snacks and isolated from the world as he played video games or watched anime: this is how Issa Abu Shaqra used to spend his days and nights.

Looking at him now, a physically fit and outgoing young man, it is almost impossible to picture.

To psychologist Raed Sammour, people like Abu Shaqra are addicts.  He said that spending more than three to four hours on a video game or watching anime, two favourite pastimes of many youth in Jordan and around the world, is "a textbook case of addiction", noting that Issa was "one of the lucky ones", as such cases of addiction become harder to solve with time. 

“I remember I was so socially isolated; I wouldn’t talk to any one of my friends,” Issa recalled.

For Sammour, people with gaming and anime-watching addictions often miss out on social interaction. "You need to have eye contact when you are communicating with others, but gamers… don't… which limits their ability of expression beyond the screen,” he explained, adding that Issa's experience confirms that certain technologies and isolation often go hand in hand.

A study published by The Economic Times showed that video gaming can be as addictive as cocaine, a theory Sammour agrees with as video games and anime increase dopamine levels just like cocaine does.

There are no official statistics about use of video gaming in Jordan, unlike the US, where specialised agencies estimate that 59 per cent of households play some sort of computer games.  However, the number of Internet users in Jordan exceeded 6 million in 2015, according to figures by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, which highlighted the "very high" access to Internet-based gaming and anime shows in a country of only 10 million inhabitants. 

Another problem Sammour highlighted was how video games can also lead to the normalisation of violence. Some of the most popular video games, such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, have very violent content, which can lead to a reduction of empathy and a rejection of accepted social norms, the psychologist explained, noting that these games tend to lead people to rebel against a socially conservative society. 

Video games present a unique challenge to young people as they play certain characters that they personally identify with, to the point of confusing virtual achievement with real world success. 

Furthermore, online gaming also poses the issue of not knowing the real identity of other players, who might be hiding their actual identities for criminal purposes.

Sammour prefers to help people with cases of addiction through "distraction". For example, he encourages parents to take their children to watch actual sports competitions and play real-life games. 

Parents can unintentionally deepen the problem of video gaming and anime addiction when they use other activities as a way to keep their children occupied, the expert noted, stressing that the more they neglect their children, the more the younger ones get indulged in their virtual world to fill the void.

While video gaming in particular “encourages and normalises violence and crime in the minds of gamers and anime viewers” according to Sammour, Ola Diab, a psychologist working at education centre ILearn, begs to differ. 

Diab believes that video gaming and anime can be "very beneficial" for children and teenagers who are not as socially competent, as it helps them learn many things that they are not capable of learning in a traditional environment.

“There are some children who have autism or educational challenges and use video games and anime as a tool to help them learn,” Diab said, adding that some people dubbed socially awkward or suffering from social anxiety are able to socialise through video games or coming together to watch anime. 

"It creates a sense of community. Whether they are beneficial or not depends on the game or the show and how it is used as a tool," she added.

For Abdullah Barqawi, a young gamer who can always be found playing Call of Duty at M.O.G, a gaming centre in Abdoun: “I've been playing video games ever since I can remember. For me it honestly had a great effect on my life at the time. It gave me a way to bond with my friends and even make some new ones."

People who watch anime are exposed to a new culture through a form of entertainment, which makes it educational for its viewers, he said, noting that they learn the culture's values, customs and ideologies. 

"The more they watch, the more they are able to grasp the Japanese language and what better way to learn a language than through entertainment?," he added.