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Abstract

more education, parents can take advantage of the benefits that gaming can supply to their children.</p><h2 id="8d13">Improve Mental Health</h2><p id="882d">Video games, with or without the addition of traditional therapeutic treatments, <a href="https://games.jmir.org/2021/2/e26575">have been shown</a> to lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety. They are an excellent way to uplift your mood and get your mind off of the problems that you may be facing in your real life. If you are having a particularly upsetting day, turning on a game that you can become fully immersed in is a good way to decompress and help lower your anxiety.</p><p id="1a24">Add to that the feeling of accomplishment that you get when you progress in a game and you have a recipe for success. Turning to one of your favorite games in your low moments is a pretty low-stakes way to improve your day and your emotional well-being.</p><h2 id="2e7f">Getting Better at Teamwork</h2><p id="1834">If you’ve ever played <i>It Takes Two, </i>a co-op game about a couple on the verge of divorce, who are forced to complete a number of tasks together in hopes of transforming back into humans because their daughter turned them into dolls (crazy, I know), then you’ve learned the importance of teamwork. No one can take the brunt of the work in this game. Both players have to do their part in order to make it to the next level.</p><p id="d24e">You’re both given the tools needed to make it through and you can’t trail behind and be wooshed to the front like you would in games like <i>Super</i> <i>Mario 3D World. </i>Teamwork is truly at the core of this game and it definitely spills over into real life with you and your partner having to be patient with each other and offer each other encouragement and support along the way.</p><h2 id="e913">Enhance Problem-Solving Skills</h2><p id="b505">Playing video games has also been shown to improve problem-solving skills. The puzzle-solving video game genre has found so many interesting ways to have the player solve a puzzle. It’s not tedious like jigsaw puzzles either. The kinds of puzzles in these games put you into situations where you have to try and figure out how to get to the next part.</p><p id="5a40">Let's take <i>Unravel </i>for instance, the player has to figure out how to use their yarn and the objects around them in order to get to the next section of the course. Games like this force someone to think critically and go through trial and

Options

error to fix the issue in front of them. This is a great exercise in problem-solving.</p><h2 id="a4ed">Improve Decision-Making Skills</h2><p id="180e">There are games like <i>The Quarry </i>and <i>Heavy Rain</i> that ask you to make decisions<i> </i>(in some instances, split decisions) which will impact the whole course of the game. In these decision-based games, the story can’t progress until you make a choice. Playing video games like this will help you build more confidence in making decisions in real life.</p><p id="b5e8">And according to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050920324698">this study</a>, doctors and nurses showed an increase in both decision-making and risk assessment when trained with certain video games. Who would’ve thought that video games could help medical professionals be better at their jobs?</p><h2 id="951b">Combat Feelings of Loneliness</h2><p id="5caf">The world can be a very lonely and isolating place. This is especially true when you don’t have a place where you feel like you belong. Well, there are spots within the gaming world where playing video games and community intersect.</p><p id="2622">You don’t have to feel lonely when there are different ways that you can enjoy bonding with others over your favorite pastime. Some of these avenues include:</p><ul><li>Video game streaming</li><li>Co-op/multiplayer games</li><li>Gaming discord servers</li></ul><p id="6a73">A lot of people have formed communities of their own as well as life-long friendships through the options listed above. They’ve also used them as a way to connect with family and friends who they’ve lost touch with. And the best part is they didn’t even have to leave their houses to do it.</p><h2 id="9a45">Times Are Changing</h2><p id="2ec0">Gone are the days of believing that nothing good can come from playing video games. That’s an antiquated belief. The fact of the matter is that the possibility to improve health and quality of life is multiplied when you play video games. But, the benefits go far beyond mental health and brain function. One of its greatest benefits is how fun it is.</p><p id="426d">Just like reading a book or watching your favorite series, playing video games in moderation is a good way to pass the time and enjoy yourself in this crazy world that we are living in. Hopefully, its reputation will improve more in the coming years and it can get the shine that it truly deserves.</p></article></body>

It Turns Out Gaming is Actually Good for You

Our moms were wrong this whole time…

If you’re a gamer, then you’re probably familiar with the stigma that comes along with being someone who enjoys playing video games. And you’ve probably heard at least one of the following statements:

“Video games will rot your brain!”

“Wouldn’t your time be better spent doing something more productive like reading?”

“You’ll never be successful if you’re always sitting in front of that game!”

And while most things are best enjoyed in moderation, the above statements are outdated, ignorant, and false. The truth is gaming, in addition to being a fun way to pass the time, comes with several health benefits.

Does this mean that you should spend all day every day hunkered down in your gaming room, fully immersed in the latest open-world game and forgetting about real life? Not quite.

But, it does mean that if you are a gamer, you are likely helping your health more than you might have thought. And if you aren’t someone who plays video games, then you could probably benefit from giving it a chance. Here are some of those benefits.

Better Cognitive Performance in Children

According to research, children who played video games regularly showed an increase in activity in the regions of the brain associated with memory and attention. Not only that, but video games have been shown to improve sensorimotor skills, locomotor skills, and impulse control. This is quite a different result than a lot of parents seem to think will come from their children's gaming.

These findings are especially staggering because the popular school of thought is that gaming causes lower IQs, lower test scores, and shorter attention spans in children. With more education, parents can take advantage of the benefits that gaming can supply to their children.

Improve Mental Health

Video games, with or without the addition of traditional therapeutic treatments, have been shown to lessen symptoms of depression and anxiety. They are an excellent way to uplift your mood and get your mind off of the problems that you may be facing in your real life. If you are having a particularly upsetting day, turning on a game that you can become fully immersed in is a good way to decompress and help lower your anxiety.

Add to that the feeling of accomplishment that you get when you progress in a game and you have a recipe for success. Turning to one of your favorite games in your low moments is a pretty low-stakes way to improve your day and your emotional well-being.

Getting Better at Teamwork

If you’ve ever played It Takes Two, a co-op game about a couple on the verge of divorce, who are forced to complete a number of tasks together in hopes of transforming back into humans because their daughter turned them into dolls (crazy, I know), then you’ve learned the importance of teamwork. No one can take the brunt of the work in this game. Both players have to do their part in order to make it to the next level.

You’re both given the tools needed to make it through and you can’t trail behind and be wooshed to the front like you would in games like Super Mario 3D World. Teamwork is truly at the core of this game and it definitely spills over into real life with you and your partner having to be patient with each other and offer each other encouragement and support along the way.

Enhance Problem-Solving Skills

Playing video games has also been shown to improve problem-solving skills. The puzzle-solving video game genre has found so many interesting ways to have the player solve a puzzle. It’s not tedious like jigsaw puzzles either. The kinds of puzzles in these games put you into situations where you have to try and figure out how to get to the next part.

Let's take Unravel for instance, the player has to figure out how to use their yarn and the objects around them in order to get to the next section of the course. Games like this force someone to think critically and go through trial and error to fix the issue in front of them. This is a great exercise in problem-solving.

Improve Decision-Making Skills

There are games like The Quarry and Heavy Rain that ask you to make decisions (in some instances, split decisions) which will impact the whole course of the game. In these decision-based games, the story can’t progress until you make a choice. Playing video games like this will help you build more confidence in making decisions in real life.

And according to this study, doctors and nurses showed an increase in both decision-making and risk assessment when trained with certain video games. Who would’ve thought that video games could help medical professionals be better at their jobs?

Combat Feelings of Loneliness

The world can be a very lonely and isolating place. This is especially true when you don’t have a place where you feel like you belong. Well, there are spots within the gaming world where playing video games and community intersect.

You don’t have to feel lonely when there are different ways that you can enjoy bonding with others over your favorite pastime. Some of these avenues include:

Video game streaming
Co-op/multiplayer games
Gaming discord servers

A lot of people have formed communities of their own as well as life-long friendships through the options listed above. They’ve also used them as a way to connect with family and friends who they’ve lost touch with. And the best part is they didn’t even have to leave their houses to do it.

Times Are Changing

Gone are the days of believing that nothing good can come from playing video games. That’s an antiquated belief. The fact of the matter is that the possibility to improve health and quality of life is multiplied when you play video games. But, the benefits go far beyond mental health and brain function. One of its greatest benefits is how fun it is.

Just like reading a book or watching your favorite series, playing video games in moderation is a good way to pass the time and enjoy yourself in this crazy world that we are living in. Hopefully, its reputation will improve more in the coming years and it can get the shine that it truly deserves.