Benefits of Fighting Video Games Ethical Way of Releasing Emotions (Catharsis)

 
It is possible to suggest that almost all people are acquainted with the concept of catharsis: some may know about it from ancient Greek tragedy, and some can even themselves note at what moments they experience catharsis. Overall, this concept is about a bright deliverance and purification of emotions through experienced feelings caused not by real events but by any form of art. Consequently, video games can be considered a type of art and may also cause this emotional release. Indeed, as noticed by Kersten and Greitemeyer (2022), many violent game players believe in their cathartic effects. Children and teenagers report that their mood becomes significantly better after playing, and they generally experience positive emotions. Indeed, many young kids experience aggression in real life because of their school dramas, misunderstandings with parents, low classroom performance, and other factors. Generally, it is impossible to release their aggression in real life, and playing violent computer games, not for a long period of time, allows such teenagers to release their negative emotions without any consequences for other people.

Promotion of Social Skills
It is well-known that playing is one of the most effective teaching methods. Many children learn through playing from the first months of life, and being involved in various games allows them to gain necessary skills, especially social ones. The same may be said about computer games, including those that incorporate elements of violence. According to Bowen (2014), such games “actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory, and perception,” and “this is particularly true for shooter video games” (para. 4). Players gain an ability to think about objects in three dimensions, and this interesting and beneficial factor has not been identified in other types of computer games. Consequently, precisely fighting and shooting video games can significantly enhance players’ thinking skills. What is more, problem-solving skills can also be improved by the consumption of these games, and studies show that many children playing violent games manage to make their classroom performance better (Bowen, 2014). In addition, players learn to communicate, be more creative, make quick decisions, and engage in more challenging tasks.

Development of Moral Compasses
Another reason to find playing fighting and shooting video games beneficial is that they often emphasize the good and judge the bad. It is fair to notice that the majority of these games have plots that uniformly repeat the basic human ideas about right, wrong, bad, and good and concentrate on punishing or eliminating evil in any form. Ward (2020) notices that children follow the patterns in these computer games, fight evil, and see how good is often rewarded. Consequently, they can develop their inner compasses and learn to distinguish between moral and immoral.