Video games are seen by many to be a waste of time. Others claim that it encourages violence, or that it is a mindless activity that encourages people – particularly children – to be unsociable.
However, research shows that gaming actually offers several benefits to those who play them.
The 6 most notable positive effects of gaming are detailed below.
Improved problem-solving skills
A study conducted by Australian and Chinese research teams found that gamers displayed improved problem-solving abilities when compared to non-gamers.
fMRI scans were conducted on 27 professional gamers who have spent an extensive amount of time playing action video games and discovered they had heightened connectivity between certain subregions of the insular cortex.
This part of the brain is associated with ‘higher’ cognitive functions like the ability to focus attention on a task.
The experiment also showed that those who had played action games performed faster at completing various pattern tasks than non-gamers.
Enhanced hand-to-eye coordination
A study led by psychology researchers found that gamers who play FPS games such as CS:GO and Call of Duty can learn new sensorimotor skills faster than non-gamers.
A new sensorimotor skill, such as learning to ride a bike or typing, often requires a new pattern of coordination between vision and motor movement.
The study tasked 18 gamers and 18 non-gamers to perform a manual tracking test. Using a computer mouse, they were instructed to keep the cursor at the center of a moving target which moved in a very complicated pattern that repeated itself.
With time, all participants performed better as they learned the complex pattern of the target. However, the gamers were significantly more accurate than the non-gamers in following the repetitive motion.
Translated into the real world, these findings suggest that gamers who’ve played FPS games can potentially learn new sensorimotor skills – such as driving, ball sports, and playing an instrument – faster than non-gamers.
Greater multi-tasking ability
Studies conducted by brain researcher Jay Pratt showed that people who play action games can switch between tasks much faster than non-gamers.
This makes sense because action games often require that players perform multiple tasks simultaneously – such as tracking targets, communicating, and switching between items.
The multitasking tests run by Pratt revealed that the reaction times of non-gamers were slower than gamers – meaning those who played video games were more efficient at recognizing and communicating multiple tasks than those who didn’t.
Faster decision-making
A study published in the journal of Current Biology reported that action video games increased individuals’ reaction times and decision-making.
The researchers divided participants into two groups – one that played fast-paced action games for 50 hours and the other who played slow-moving strategy games.
All the subjects were then asked to make quick decisions in several tasks designed by the researchers, which included an analogous task that was purely auditory to ensure the effect wasn’t limited to just visual perception.
The action game players were up to 25% faster at coming to a conclusion, and answered just as many questions correctly as their strategy game-playing peers.
This advantage improves everyday activities like driving, reading small print, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town.
Promotes teamwork and prosocial behaviour
Some games involve cooperating with other players and talking with them through text or voice chat, which has been found to improve players’ general teamwork skills.
A study published by Brigham Young University provided evidence that individuals who played video games together for only 45 minutes performed up to 20% better in team-designed tasks than teams that were involved in other forms of team-building exercises.
Better Eyesight
A study published by Florida State University found that fast-paced action games can improve a variety of perceptual abilities.
Notably, one of these improvements was to the peripheral vision of gamers who play these types of games.
Video games such as Call of Duty train gamers’ peripheral vision by forcing them to identify dangers and enemies in-game.
This improved gamers’ abilities to perform everyday tasks such as driving by identifying dangers on the road much quicker than non-gamers.
Note: it is recommended that you give your eyes a break from the screen if you playing for a prolonged period, as excessive screen time can cause eye strain.
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