Over the years, video games have been getting a lot of bad rep especially with how it affects the mental health of people playing them. What they don’t know is that there are always upsides and downsides to everything. In short, it can be both.
Playing video games can be shunned by parents and people who generally see that staring for many hours at a screen can damage the brain. There’s also the issue of violent video games being blamed for anti-social behavior even though there are studies that say otherwise. While these things can be subjective, there’s no doubt that it also has positive effects. Here are some of them:
1 Better Problem Solving Skills
Face it, games are all about using a set of rules to overcome a challenge or to complete an objective. When players are faced with this in-game, they are challenged to think. Not all games are created equal and that is why there are some that need creative thinking to pull off.
Although the missions or conflicts in video games are artificial, players nonetheless learn from these. In fact, there are games specifically created to improve logic and problem-solving skills. In real life, they learn how to apply this valuable skill overcoming the many challenges in life.
2 Improved Hand-Eye Coordination
There are numerous studies that found that video game players have better hand-eye coordination than non-players. In one particular study (Action video games bolster sensorimotor skills), gamers are better at tracking a dynamic white square and following it with the cursor. They concluded that video games, particularly of the action genre, can help bolster hand-eye coordination.
3 Develop Critical Thinking Skills
This is in the same vein as developing good problem-solving skills and making effective decisions. When you are faced with a video game that involves a lot of moves to do all at the same time with a time limit, you learn how to figure out which ones to prioritize first. It’s about anticipating which problems to go first in a complex artificial environment. Games that involve puzzles, action and adventures, strategy, role-playing, and even life simulation are great for developing critical thinking skills (Video game genres for learning).
4 Finer Reading & Comprehension Skills
Some games have complex stories in them and in order to get through it or complete, you need to get familiar with the lore weaved within to make good decisions in-game. It is intended for players to follow storylines (Video Games can help improve reading comprehension) to make the game experience more immersive. It may also prove beneficial for players to read about the biography of the protagonist and other characters in order to know of their capabilities in the game and their history.
Depending on what kind of game it is, it may be useful for players to know as much as they can from pieces of texts in the game in order to progress in the story and the ending may ride on the decisions made.
5 Learning To Take Risks
One reason why games are so fun to play is that you’ll know what the outcome is for some quests if you don’t take risks. It takes courage and perseverance to make those kinds of decision and to stick with it in-game. If you don’t like the outcome, you can always go back to a previous save to take another route.
6 Penchant for Exploration
A motivating factor in most games is reward and one of the ways to get it is to look at loot boxes, pulling levers or going to certain places to unlock special events. Rewards come in the form of special items, in-game currency, powers, and more. Exploration is encourage because of these rewards.
Join the Fun
If you’re looking into reaping the benefits of playing video games while having fun, consider getting yourself a gaming console, laptop or a gaming computer. They are specially designed to handle all the things that a normal desktop can do with the added power for gaming. These gaming devices are also capable of doing other graphically-demanding tasks such as streaming or video editing.
Do you think the rewards for playing video games are worth it or just a waste of time? Share your perspective as a gamer or non-gamer in the comments down below.
Author bio: Madeline Yeoh is a writer, a cosplayer and game enthusiast. She loves anything related to technology and is addicted to cats.
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