Moderate Video Game Play has been associated with a variety of favorable outcomes.
Some of gaming’s most notable benefits include:
- Enhanced mental performance
- A more developed capacity for logical thought and problem-solving
- Superior hand-eye coordination
- Possessing a greater capacity for performing multiple tasks simultaneously
- Improved speed and precision in making decisions
- Raised levels of helping behavior
- Sharper vision (attention to detail)
- Games that encourage movement can help get people moving more (VR, mobile games)
The Best Advantages of Playing Video Games
These are the most important advantages of playing video games.
-
Enhancement of Mental Capacity
Visual-spatial abilities and focus are two aspects of cognition that benefit from playing video games.
The capacity to see, understand, and recall spatial relationships among objects. This ability is helpful in many situations, including driving, navigating a new place, and making sense of the world around you.
Mathematical and scientific reasoning, engineering, meteorology, architecture, and other disciplines all benefit from spatial intelligence.
To a lesser extent than in the classroom and the workplace, this is one of the most important positive benefits of video games that will help players in their everyday lives.
-
Improvement In Reasoning and Problem-Solving Skills
The ability to think critically and solve problems was found to be enhanced by playing video games, according to a study conducted in 2015 by a group of Australian and Chinese researchers.
After scanning the brains of 27 expert video gamers with fMRI, scientists found that their grey matter was larger and that there was a “heightened connection between certain subregions in the insular cortex.” This has real-world implications for better problem-solving and reasoning capabilities.
It stands to reason that the parts of the brain responsible for problem-solving and logic would be more highly developed in gamers because many games require a great lot of planning, strategic thinking, and applying logic to attain goals inside the game.
-
Strengthening of the Connection between the Eyes and the Hands
Improving one’s hand-eye coordination is yet another perk of gaming.
Persons who play video games on a regular basis have higher sensorimotor abilities than people who don’t play video games, according to research published in 2014 by the University of Toronto.
Learning and adapting hand-to-eye coordinated tasks, such as riding a bike or typing, go more smoothly when one possesses these skills.
Eighteen gamers and the same number of non-gamers participated in the study, with both groups being asked to follow a series of green dots on their screens using a mouse. Initially, it appeared that there was little to differentiate the two groups.
But as the test wore on and the tasks became routine, results indicated that gamers consistently outperformed non-gamers in terms of both speed and accuracy.
Playing video games can help players improve their sensorimotor learning, which could aid them in the real world.
-
Improved Capacity to Juggle Multiple Tasks
There is evidence that playing video games can boost your capacity to juggle multiple tasks at once.
One of the most obvious upsides to gaming is that it improves your multitasking skills, letting you get more done in less time.
Action games, in particular, often require players to juggle a number of objectives at once. You have to watch the on-screen adversary, count your health and ammo, and plan your next move, just to name a few. It’s possible that you and your pals and teammates will be using a microphone to communicate.
Multitasking skills may be honed by the constant stimulus and fast speed of today’s video games.
-
Smarter, Swifter Choices
Playing video games has been shown to improve decision-making speed and accuracy, which can carry over into real life, according to research from the University of Rochester.
Faster and more accurate decision-making was also associated with action gaming compared to non-gamers and faster reaction times were seen in fast-paced gamers compared to those who played slower games.
Action gamers were up to 25 percent faster at solving problems and making more correct decisions than those who played slower games.
Gamers are predisposed to make quicker and more precise decisions, which might be useful in fields where these are essential, such as the battlefield or the medical field.
-
Increased Helping Attitudes
Excessive gaming might lead to a lack of social skills, but there are plenty of games that encourage teamwork and communication.
Working together with other players and communicating with them through text or voice chat is an integral part of several games, and it can help you become a better team player and socializer in real life as well as in virtual reality.
In addition to the expansion of prosocial games, the social side of gaming has also flourished. A common topic of discussion between students could be gaming. Additionally, there is a merging of gaming and social media platforms like Twitch and Discord, and there are scholastic esports teams and clubs springing up.
Even while video games are getting more and more social, it’s still necessary to make time for real-life friends and acquaintances.
-
Enhanced Vision
Those who regularly engage in video gaming have better peripheral vision, according to research from 2012 by Timothy J Wright and Daniel P Blakely.
First-person shooter players, in particular, need to be adept at retrieving information from their visual peripheral in order to survive.
Being able to see more clearly in the center and on the periphery of your field of vision improves your ability to carry out routine duties like driving.
However, prolonged screen time can create eye irritation and eye strain, so it’s crucial to give your eyes a break from screens, preferably for a few minutes per hour of use.
-
Increased Precision and Rapid Task Completion
Playing video games has been linked to increased speed and accuracy in task-specific situations.
In 2007, James C Rosser Jr. et al. studied laparoscopic (abdominal) surgeon training, and they included young surgeons who play video games to see if their gaming habits affected their ability to conduct surgery and other medical activities.
According to the results, surgeons who have played video games in the past or now made 37% fewer mistakes and 27% faster progress than non-gamers. Likewise, the longer they played, the better they got at hitting their targets. The results showed that gamers outperformed non-gamers even with only three hours of gaming each week.
This study, together with the others we’ve presented, demonstrates that gamers have an advantage in activities requiring quick reactions and precise movements of the hands and eyes.
-
The Cooperative Nature of Several Video Games
It’s common for players to work together to complete missions in video games. Games like Team Fortress 2, Roblox, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter Strike, Rocket League, and many more are among the most played titles.
According to research out of Brigham Young University, groups who played video games together for 45 minutes outperformed control groups who engaged in other forms of team-building exercises by as much as 20 percent.
Gaming as a team-building tool appears promising in light of these findings. The research also demonstrates that certain games may help players develop their social skills, making them better team players in the workplace.
-
Increasing Exercise Routines
There is some evidence that playing active video games has health benefits, especially when contrasted to playing more sedentary games.
Consider virtual reality games. It’s healthier for your health to play these games than to play games where you sit the whole time.
Virtual reality gaming is more engaging and satisfying for gamers than traditional gaming, thus it’s only a matter of time before VR games replace conventional games as the norm in the gaming industry.
-
Other Benefits
Many players also report the following benefits beyond the primary ones:
- For those who aren’t born with the language, video games can be a powerful tool for learning the language quickly.
- Video games strengthen your willpower since they demand that you keep at it until you reach the end objective.
- Individuals who regularly engage in the practice of playing video games have been shown to have enhanced focus and endurance compared to those who do not.
- The ability to recognize patterns, plan strategically, take calculated risks, and manage complex situations are additional advantages.
In Conclusiveness:
When practiced in moderation, gaming may be both enjoyable and beneficial. Learning why you play can help you get the benefits of gaming.
There are potential benefits to playing games on occasion for pleasure and fun. But if you play games excessively to avoid dealing with real-world issues, you may start to have issues as a result of your play, and in extreme circumstances, you may develop a gaming disorder.
Because gaming can have both positive and negative effects on one’s well-being, it’s crucial to be self-aware and strike a healthy balance in one’s gaming habits.