There is something rooted deep within the human psyche that demands we game. I’m not just saying that for all those young folks out there who might be looking for valid arguments to present to parents who want them to spend less time at the console or PC playing games, and more time doing chores or homework. It’s a fact that gaming actually derived from our own instincts to track, hunt, follow, and yes, to destroy enemies who threaten our existence be they animals, machines, or bacterium; it is the hunter-gatherer mentality that enables us to survive, or to hold out against teeming hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies who may or may not be infected with a virus that arrived to the Earth on a piece of wandering space junk that entered the planet’s orbit but wasn’t burned up upon entry into the atmosphere.
You could also look at it the most logical way. Instead of it being a case of humans wired for gaming, how about gaming designed to provide us with safe and nonessential means for exercising the instincts we were born with but no longer need to use on a daily basis in today’s world. We certainly don’t have to play games for our survival, but the survival instincts that lie dormant within us all scream to be let out. Many scientists and doctors realize that the body under tremendous pent up stress produces more of the stress hormone cortisol, which can increase risk factors for a wide swath of deadly chronic diseases such as severe anxiety, stroke, and the entire cardivascular disease spectrum. By playing video games, we are able to exercise that part of ourselves that was once always ready to enable the fight or flight reaction, even though we seldom need that extra burst of adrenaline and energy in the modern world.
Games that involve aliens landing in Rhode Island or South Beach can trigger an artificial fight or flight response that can help relieve the build up of cortisol hormone in the blood, thereby helping to reduce the negative impact it might have on the body and cardiovascular system. Not only that, but gaming can be great for the imagination. It’s also just plain fun, so the next time someone tells you that game of Minecraft is just a complete waste of time, tell them you’re releasing the pent up stresses of 21st Century life in a way that is fun, harmless, and rejuvenating.
