The Impact of Action and Adventure Video Games on Physiological Stress Among Teenagers

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the acute cardiovascular effects elicited by two genres of video games: action and adventure, upon adolescents. Participants engaged in 15-minute-long gameplay sessions of Fortnite, an exciting multiplayer battle royale game demanding quick decisions and sensory overload, versus Minecraft, a sandbox adventure game promoting creativity and exploration in a relaxed environment. Physiological phenomena including heart rate and blood pressure were recorded first at baseline, then during the gameplay, and finally post-gameplay to observe the dynamic changes in cardiovascular activity. The findings demonstrated a sudden pronounced elevation in heart rate and blood pressure during the gameplay of Fortnite, a phenomenon seen much more pronounced in female participants whose heart rates increased from 82 to 124 bpm. On the other hand, very few changes in physiological response were recorded during Minecraft gameplay, hence backing its characterization as a low-arousal activity.

Physiological responses are operationalized in terms of the General Aggression Model (GAM). Theoretical perspectives propose that violence or high-arousal media can generate aggression through intersecting cognitive, affective, and physiological pathways. From GAM's perspective, competitive pressure and sensory overload in an action game such as Fortnite constitute input variables that induce a higher state of physiological arousal, akin to the body's fight-or-flight reaction mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. The cardiovascular activation documented during this study therefore concur with the GAM view that these games induce instant physiological arousal, potentially conditioning adolescents to react more strongly toward stress.

A one-way ANOVA statistically confirmed that the biological responses observed between the two conditions of gaming significantly differed (p < 0.001), emphasizing the effect that game genre type on physiological stress-related responses in subjects. This assertion is in fine accord with theoretical MACHs, notably the General Aggression Model (GAM), which maintains that exposure to violent or high-stimulus media activates the sympathetic nervous system in a manner similar to an actual fight-flight appalse-response. The results support the contention that executive video games such as Fortnite constitute very powerful physiological stressors, albeit briefly perturbing the cardiovascular homeostasis of adolescents.