Video games and physical exercise: what do they have in common?

billions

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

Billions of people around the world play video games. How nice it is to play a good video game. This satisfaction may be related to supporting psychological needs, not the physiological needs we have. Here, understand what they are and how they relate to physical exercise.

We basically have 3 psychological needs: autonomy, social connection and competence. When we do something because it is purely rewarding, like playing video games, these have a direct relationship with motivation and well-being, especially intrinsic motivation. Video games are fun and engaging in their own right.

People love video games because playing them is satisfying on a basic psychological level. Engaging in physical exercise may also be involved, and to understand this we will draw parallels between these behaviors..

Video games are developed to meet psychological needs. Gamers often experience a sense of agency, skill, and connection with other people when playing video games.

Contemporary games with realistic graphics, immersive and open worlds, endless progression and skill development opportunities, as well as competitive or cooperative online multiplayer modes seem sufficient to meet players’ needs in terms of autonomy, competence and social engagement.

Autonomy

Feeling freedom and independence and having self-choice options encourages autonomy. When we play video games, we feel like heroes who, with a sense of will, can choose how to do things and where to go, as in Baldur’s Gate III, where each player has a unique experience of creating their own character and developing a story. several possible outcomes.

In physical exercises, we can have autonomy regarding the modality we applyand within that, what exercises we do (such as free weights or weight training machines, at the intensity we feel best in), such as running faster or moderate on a road run.

competence

The feeling of progress in the game motivates you to continue. We like to feel competent and competent, which makes us deeply involved in the activity. The video game allows the player to feel competent as they progress.

In Hades, we start the game with a weak level and every time we lose we go back to the beginning, but what we collect until we lose is kept and used for a stronger restart. In the classic God of War Ragnarok, as we progress through the game, we become stronger and gain abilities that unlock new areas.

Physical exercise is also an opportunity to feel competent. Learning new moves and skills or improving some of them, such as your strength at the gym. One of the champion methods in this regard is CrossFit.

social bond

The most popular among online games are Apex Legends and Fortnite in the Battle Royale format, involving players simultaneously. We highlight the most collaborative overcooked (challenging restaurant cooking game) and It takes two (two players playing together to progress) is a game where players can cooperate by sharing resources or building villages, just like in Minecraft.

On the other hand, we have little cooperation in traditional exercise methods such as running and weight training. This aspect is more present in team sports where social bonds are encouraged.. Links contribute to people’s participation.

Through the game, people can achieve various psychological states that are also interesting to experience during physical training:

• Competition: The experience of beating others;
• Struggle: The experience of success after an effort;
• Entertainment: Being an escape from the experience of stress;
• Fantasy: Experiencing new or unrealistic stimuli;
• Social Interaction: Experiencing social connections;
• Excitement: Experiencing positive emotions.

In the recent research, which has attracted great attention, the results obtained from approximately 39 thousand players suggest that the amount of gaming does not harm health. But this motivational experience may affect you. Players felt worse when they felt like they had to play, but if they played because they enjoyed it, the data doesn’t show it affected their mental health.

Physical exercise is easy when we want to do it, but difficult when we have to do it.

What happens if we combine exercise with video games? These are exergames – active video games (or sports game), who presented themselves as a good alternative but did not actually win players So are those who exercise.

Playing video games is not only fun, but also provides well-being by meeting psychological needs. When people with unmet psychological needs rely solely on video games to satisfy themselves, a problem can arise that can lead to behavioral imbalances and negative outcomes in life.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/CEFID/UDESC). He is the author of the book Exercising Físico e Ciência – Fatos e Mitos and hosts the program Exercising Físico e Ciência on UDESC joinville radio (91.9 FM); in the program Available as a podcast on Spotify.