Can video games help me or harm me?
CrowdScience
BBC
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 August 2021
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, up to 3 billion people around the world play video games, from candy based mobile puzzles to virtual battlegrounds filled with weapons. Many people have turned to gaming during the pandemic as a way of staying connected – but what does science really say about the impact of gaming?
Does playing violent video games lead to violence in the real world? Do brain training apps really work? How much gaming is too much – can videogames really be addictive? And how can videogames help us to explore difficult issues like death, grief and loss?
Alex Lathbridge and Anand Jagatia look at the evidence and play some games along the way, speaking to psychologists, doctors and game designers about the power of video games to change us - for better or worse.
With Adrian Hon, Professor Andrew Przybylski, Professor Pete Etchells, Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones and Dr Sabine Harrer
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. Okay, Alex, I'm scared. Are they behind me? |
| 0:40.0 | This is Crowd Science from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Lathbridge and that's the sound of my fellow presenter |
| 0:47.5 | Anan Jacatilla, running from zombies. |
| 0:50.1 | You've come down in a horde of zombies. They've heard the noise. They're coming. |
| 0:54.5 | I don't think I can make it. Run! I'm so unfit. I'm going to throw up. |
| 0:59.4 | It might not sound like it, but Annan's actually playing a game. He's having fun. |
| 1:05.0 | Can I just say that yes, it was a game, but I'm not really sure that fun is the word I would use to describe it. |
| 1:11.0 | So the game is called zombies run. Here's one of the people |
| 1:15.3 | behind it, Adrian Hahn, to explain a bit more. |
| 1:18.3 | zombies run is a running game and so it's a little bit like a running app that keeps track of your |
| 1:24.2 | distance your time as you run outside but it's also a bit like an audio |
| 1:29.1 | adventure where we put you into a kind of post-apocalyptic audio landscape as you run and in order to collect supplies |
| 1:39.0 | and find survivors and escape zombies you need to run in the real world. |
| 1:45.0 | Otherwise the zombies might catch you. |
| 1:47.2 | When the zombies appear, the game tracks how fast you run |
| 1:50.2 | and you only escape them if you push yourself a little bit harder. |
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