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Some parents may worry that too much computer or video game time could affect their child's brain. In some ways, those parents may be right.
A psychologist from UCLA recently said daily exposure to technology can alter how your brain works. Other psychologists say it's true that every time you play a video game or search online or use your BlackBerry, you are wiring your brain to a certain capacity.
Utah clinical psychologist Dr. Matt Woolley said, "Any time you see, hear, feel, smell and touch anything, your brain has a reaction to that, and so learning takes place. If that happens repeatedly, then you make what they call pathways or neuroconnections."
But the report also says the parts of the brain that work during face-to-face situations can become weaker. Dr. Woolley says the theory is plausible.
"You definitely have a lack of physical interaction the more technology you use to interact with other people. So, people can become truly more distant but even emotionally more distant," he said.
Woolley says this is probably more likely in people who are prone to anxiety and not so much among the normal person. Still, if your child seems to be fixated with video games or surfing the Internet, he says you should arrange some play dates.
"With kids that are growing up with a lot of instant messaging [and] texting, it's important for them to learn to socialize face to face," he said.
But Woolley says the theory might not take into account the fact that people have a tendency to want to be around others.
"Every person would not be at risk for this," he said.
Avid gamers don't like the assertion that video games make people anti-social. They say gamers are more social than people think.
Gamerz Funk owner Michael Winger said, "Research that I've read actually says most gamers are actually more active than your average person. You know, more likely to go out on a date and more likely to go to a social environment like a night club."
Winger says even when gamers are fixated on what they're playing, they still get plenty of interaction with other people.
"I see some of the people that come in here and play, and I've heard them make comments like, ‘This place is so much more fun than playing at my house,'" he said.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
