Nowadays, looking good has become almost a necessity for human beings, and there are several ways to achieve it, but can a videogame help in this pursue?A study conducted by a team of scientists from University of Missouri suggested that the more a person feels indentified with a virtual alter-ego, the more it could influence his or her personal image. For instance, people who want to lose weight could create a slim online avatar in order to envisage themselves as thinner.
279 users of the
virtual game Second Life (similar to The Sims), were asked to respond a survey
regarding their engagement with their virtual alter-ego and relationships they
developed online, in addition to their offline health, appearance and emotional
well-being.
The results
showed that “A strong sense of
self-presence in the social virtual world positively promoted health and
well-being of study participants. People with high degrees of self-presence in
the cyber world reported that their experience with their avatar improved how
they felt about themselves offline. Self-presence also correlated to greater
satisfaction with online relationships.” (Retrieved from http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2012/1105-virtual-reality-could-help-people-lose-weight-fight-prejudice-says-mu-researcher/)
However, it is
well known that spending several hours in front of the computer can be harmful
for health. Sedentariness is associated with obesity, heart diseases, high blood
pressure, diabetes, etc.
Exercise and good alimentation are the basis for a healthy life, according to the American College of Nutrition and most of doctors around the world.
To read the abstract of the study, click here.
Is it possible
that a computer game such as Second Life can promote a healthy life?
Good point there, Katherine, concerning the hours spent in front of the computer. There is a huge possibility for our bodies to get weight due to the hours spent in a so sedentary activity such as typing and net surfing; however, there is something about pointing out that self-esteem raises as long as we have an online avatar to represent us in the network.
ReplyDeleteJane Kroger and James Marcia,in a study about ego and self-esteem called "The Identity Statuses: Origins, Meanings and Interpretations," say that "Choosing an occupation involves the individual's consideration and integration of at least the following Eriksonian criteria for identity formation." So, I would say that assuming an identity, an occupation as the quote says, creates an identity, but Is it something yongsters would do in order to play life as it is supposed to come, like when you play mom or cab driver with your toys?
I honestly think it is not possible. I understand Javiera's point about playing life as it is supposed to come, but online situations are completely different from the ones in real life one can experience. Moreover, how can it be healthy for someone who spends most of his/her day - if not the entire day- in front of a computer? Life is more than pretending to do things you will most probably do during adulthood: it is also about experiencing them. I think it can also be confusing for teenagers since we have seen kids so involved in videogames that they think real life is exactly the same and end up doing very bad things which have led them even to fatal consequences.
ReplyDeleteDo not misunderstand me, I think computers have given us lots of benefits, but time spend in front of a computer needs to be balanced with real life.
I agree with Paola, nothing can compare to the thriving experience of human contact, not only for mental health, but also for physical health, chemestry is a tremendously important factor in our everyday life, one which we don't often consider, yet its relevance is evident every time we have a meaningful encounter with another human being: happiness or sadness are physical responses triggered by chemistry and affect directly to our bodies.
ReplyDeletePersonally, i don't consider a virtual relation capable of producing anything but a poor imitation of a feeling.
There's people that need to have something to look at to feel that drive to start doing exercise. For me, it makes sense what Katherine argued, in fact, being in front of the computer is a task that we assign a lot of time, so we get a lot of input from this machine, and it is reasonable to think that our drives can be determined by the computer.
ReplyDeleteAnother benefit of the computer, is gaming. There's research that proves that playing certain games, enhances our logical thinking, and problem-solving skills. THe thing is that, as Paola said, we have to know how to balance the time spent in from of the pc.