We all regard video games as a way to spend free time. But our parents have different views such as, “Games are making you ignore studies,” and “Games are making you dumb and anti-social.”
The negative points of playing video games are known by everyone everywhere, but did you think that there are positive points to video games? In fact, video games can actually make you smarter!
Before we continue it is important to note that too much of anything is bad. Even water. Seriously, water toxication actually exists. The things said in the rest of the article are only true if used in moderation. I’m not talking about video game addiction.
With that being said, let’s continue.
There have been many studies that have proven that video games actually do make you smarter. One study held in the Max Planck Institute had people play Super Mario ’64 for 30 minutes a day for two months. After these two months, the studies showed an increase in grey matter in areas associated with memory, strategic planning, and fine motor skills of the hands. They are actually using video games as therapy for disorders affecting these areas.
Surprisingly, action games can increase attention to detail in individuals. This is better explained in the YouTube video “Can Video Games Make You Smarter?” by AsapSCIENCE. This article is based on this video.
There are also many educational video games. They help in the education of both young and old. Examples include Mojang‘s most recent Minecraft: Education Edition which is the most loved among students.
There are even video games that may help children with dyslexia read more effectively. In one study by J.D Gabrieli, dyslexic children who played regular video games were shown to read faster and more accurately than the ones who did not.
Other studies show improvements in eyesight. Not only can gamers read smaller fonts, but they also have an easier time differentiating levels of grey. Better practised action gamers were 58% better at seeing fine differences in contrast than the people who do not play video games.
Video games have improved memory in the elderly with special brain teasing video games. These specially designed video games have slowed the aging process of the brain by 7 years.
Video games can help you focus more. This is also better explained in AsapSCIENCE’s video mentioned earlier.
As advancement in medicine occurs, surgeries are being completed remotely. This has many parallels with video games because it has a screen and a remote control. Studies have also shown that surgeons with previous exposure to video games showed less errors and faster completion of surgeries than those without.
There you go: playing video games will make you a better surgeon! Tell that to your parents.
Of course these skills are only useful if you use them, which you can’t if all you do is play video games. So enjoy your video games, but in a controlled time and go outside occasionally and explore diversity, because that’s how you’ll win at the game of life.
V The video mentioned in the article V
