This is a free essay sample available for all students. If you are looking where to buy pre written essays on the topic “Positive Effects of Video Games”, browse our private essay samples.
The gaming industry has grown drastically over the past few decades. From exciting first person shooter games to strategic thinking games that require logical reasoning, computer games have become an integral part of young adults in our society. There has been a lot of debate on how violent games influence the social skills and social interactions of our children. One side blames shooting games for the tendency of violence in children. The others talk about how many games improve your cognitive skills.
As technology improves and companies continue to develop new games, we must ponder over the positive and negative effects of playing video games. There has been extensive psychological research has been done to determine the effects of video games on children’s lives and how they affect the human body. The main question is whether the negative effects outweigh the positive ones.
Most of us bash the video game industry for the negative outcomes of video games like affecting school performance, lack of physical activity, social isolation, and inducing violence in children. However, we must also look at the beneficial effects of video games. If we look at it without any bias, there are many positive effects of video games. The benefits of video games are numerous, better working memory, quick thinking, resource management, developing cognitive ability and problem-solving skills, etc. Most importantly, they have fun while doing so.
Let’s look at some of the positive impacts of video games.
Are you feeling overburdened by loads of writing assignments and never-ending homework? Consult Essay Zoo to hire our essay writing experts and we will take care of all your essay work while you relax and enjoy.
Improved Cognitive Abilities
Video games can improve your cognitive abilities in a few areas, particularly your visuospatial skills and your ability to concentrate. Visuospatial capability is the ability to remember and recognize objects and relationships. This ability can be crucial in everyday activities like driving, navigating to a place, or figuring out the meaning of the map or other objects around you.
Spatial abilities are also crucial in various disciplines of study, like math and engineering, natural sciences, meteorology, and architecture. That is among the most significant positive effects of video games. They can be beneficial to students and professionals but be helpful to gamers in their daily lives.
Games Can Help (Not Hurt!) Your Eyesight
All young gamers grew up hearing their parents say, “you’re going to go blind watching that screen all day.” That idea comes from the fact that you blink less while playing video games which could cause serious issues such as dry eye and eyestrain syndrome.
Another group comprised of scientists from The University of Rochester sought to determine if games hurt our eyesight. This 2009 study included an experienced group of people who played first-person shooter playing Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament 2004, while players who were not so skilled played games such as The Sims 2.
After testing, players who played first-person shooters showed more observance than the other players. Daphne Bavelier, the study leader, has discovered that playing action games enhances an ability known as the contrast sensitivity function. This ability allows us to distinguish between the shades of gray in an achromatic backdrop. It can be beneficial while traveling at night. (Source)
Enhanced Problem Solving and Logic
A new study conducted in 2015 by Australian and Chinese research teams found that gaming can improve problem-solving abilities and logical thinking. Researchers carried out fMRI scans on 27 professional gamers. And discovered they had higher levels of gray matter and “heightened connectivity between certain subregions in the insular cortex.” That leads to improved cognitive abilities, including better reasoning skills and problem-solving in the real world.
Many gamers engage in-game that require a lot of planning, rational thinking, and utilizing logic to accomplish goals within the game. It is only natural that they are more developed in the areas of the brain that focus on thinking through problems and reasoning.
Increased Hand-to-Eye Coordination
Another benefit of playing video games is improved hand-eye coordination. A study conducted at the University of Toronto in 2014 revealed that those who play regularly have superior sensorimotor abilities. Over those who don’t engage in video games.
These abilities are essential to faster learning and the acceptance of tasks. That requires hand-eye coordination like biking or typing tasks, which need you to manage the movements of your hands in conjunction with the activities of your eyes.
The study involved 18 gamers and non-gamers. Both groups were required to complete an easy exercise on screens which included following the green dots using the mouse. Initially, there appeared to be little or no difference in the groups.
As the test progressed and became more repetitive, the tests proved that gamers performed at a higher speed and precision than non-gamers. Games help you build the ability to master the patterns of sensorimotor movement faster and more efficiently. It could help you perform tasks that require physical effort.
Perception and Vision
In the event of a complicated environment that has multiple stimuli, your brain develops an image-based model that helps to determine what is significant and what’s not. This perceptual framework allows you to analyze and respond to an event, according to a study in 2014 published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Action video games can enhance a person’s capacity to build perceptual templates. This kind of enhancement in perception is particularly advantageous since it is not specific to a particular task but can be applied to any circumstance.
High-action video games also increase your ability to see different patterns and different hues of grey. Researchers used to think that the ability to discern the distinction between different shades of gray could be improved. Still, research conducted by the University of Rochester revealed that gamers who played 5.5 hours of action-based games over nine weeks experienced an improvement of 43 percent in their sensitivity to contrast. The participants’ brains could process images more effectively, and this improved perception was sustained for months after the test was over.
Decision Making
Like Need for Speed or Call of Duty, Fast-paced games will require you to be on your alert and make quick decisions. These action-packed games are energized and help you make quick decisions in real-life situations. A study in 2010 conducted by the University of Rochester showed gamers who enjoy action games can make more accurate decisions faster than non-gamers and those who play games at a slow pace. Their research tested participants on both audio and visual decision-making tasks. At the same time, all groups could perform at approximately the same level of accuracy. The action gamers group could complete tasks as much as 25 percent faster.
A quicker decision-making process is advantageous in everyday life since you’ll be more productive by making small-scale decisions swiftly. Instead of thinking about what shirt you should wear, you can focus on getting the job accomplished. Making quick decisions can result in more severe consequences. Like when facing an ambush in a shooter game, swift decisions are essential when faced with a risky situation when you’re, like an accident involving a vehicle that could hit you on the road.
The games teach your brain to anticipate possible consequences and the implications of your decisions to make the most effective choices for your desired outcome. If you practice these abilities in a virtual environment, you’ll be able to implement these skills in real life.
Problem Solving
Strategic video games and role-playing also challenge players to tackle complicated issues. The virtual game of problem-solving is an excellent way to practice real-world obstacles. The American Psychological Association discovered in a study in 2013 that kids who played strategy games were more adept at problem-solving and had higher grades at school. The study found a link between the frequency with which participants were playing the games and the improvements they observed, and the more matches they played, the better their problem-solving abilities and school grades improved.
Promoting friendship
Multiplayer gaming is often highly competitive with adults, and sometimes it can be. The normally quiet and uninterested teenagers we have come across transform into fierce and intense players determined to destroy their rivals. Adults can also think that gaming, even if it’s interacted with by others on the internet, is a sole game. However, the competitive aspect of gaming can also bring some of the most significant advantages.
Researchers have proven what we may have assumed: teamwork to defeat an adversary, either real or imagined, may create stronger bonds between groups of players. But research has also shown that gamers who compete can leave a better impression of each other. According to one research study, regardless of whether the players had a personal relationship with their opponents, this is the case. This helped them see Americans in general).
The only caveats are that this is generally more beneficial for children who don’t have the same need for meaningful conversation or interactions. Particular teenagers (and adults) use games to avoid or escape different forms of social interaction.
Gaming has its negatives and it can be very frustrating for parents. Understanding more about the possibilities for positive results can reduce anxiety and offer information to direct gaming interest to efficient investment.
Last Words
There are many benefits of video games. There are a lot of studies to be conducted before we can discover what the virtual characters, stories, and worlds we love influence us on both a physical and mental level.
But don’t hesitate to share this list with your loved ones if they’re the type of people who believe that games cause school shootings, obesity, and antisocial behavior. They will be able to see that instead of creating issues, games could have been beneficial to our lives somehow.