ABSTRACT

There has been much discussion and misinformation about the side effects of playing video games. It has been suggested that video games melt brains or cause real world violence. Linbarger’s (2015) suggestion that video games can cause hyperactivity in preschool children has been a focal point on the topic for years. Studies have shown the positive effects of video games, such as improved hand-eye coordination, problem solving skills, and positive social behavior. As several studies found, one positive effect is an improvement in multitasking skills (Abbot, 2013; Eichenbaum, 2014; and Cardoso-Leite, 2015). This claim is not to be confused with the idea that media consumption in general increases multitasking ability, as this was shown not to be the case in Cardoso-Liete’s study. In fact, it has been shown that other forms of media have the opposite effect. Video games are considered a unique type of media and have entirely different effects on the human brain. There is, however, little that shows whether or not these positive effects are significant enough to have any practical effect. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the assumed multitasking skill gained from playing video games has any significant effect on real world situations. Participants were asked to fill out a survey on their video game habits, study a short article while distracted by various stimuli to which they were expected to respond, and then take a quiz on the short article. Hypothetically, the participants with better multitasking skills should have performed better on the quiz. The results showed that those who played more than five hours of video games a week did perform significantly better than those who played five hours or less. This study shows how video games can affect real life in positive and practical ways.