Video games tend to get a pretty bad rap from people who don’t play. They think that gaming is a waste of money, that it rots your brain, and that it’s just a waste of time. No matter what their station is in life, whether from a politician or a teacher, the criticism remains the same.
And after decades of these types of arguments, it’s no wonder they have seeped into our psyche. Fortunately, however, many of these types of criticisms just don’t hold water. In fact, far from it being one of the worst pastimes, playing video games actually does provide some benefits for the gamer. Here are 5 of the most important ones.
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Community
The truth is that similar to other hobbies, video games manage to bring people together. Gamers love playing jointly and whether it’s in person or online, playing a video game provides an opportunity for the community. This is the reason behind the success of services like XBox Live, Playstation Network and discord.
Learning Persistence
Any video game worth its salt won’t be so easy to beat. Games present a series of challenges that players must overcome. Challenges can range from very easy to incredibly difficult. To overcome these challenges, players must rely on their intelligence, pattern-recognition abilities, problem-solving skills and their creativity. Of course, players will find themselves failing repeatedly. However, through persistence, gamers will learn more about persevering.
Stress relief
Everyone needs some downtime. When the pressures of work, school or just everyday life get to you, you need something that will help you relax. Some people garden, some people exercise, others shop. However, everyone gravitates towards different activities.
For those who play video games, they know how relaxing it can be to forget about the pressures of life for a while. Playing video games helps you relax by helping your brain release dopamine through the brain’s pleasure and reward system.
Increased dexterity
Apart from hand-eye coordination, gaming involves a lot of work with your hands and fingers. There are lots of buttons to press, a mouse to slide and joysticks to turn and twist. All of this control manipulation carries over into the rest of our lives as well. Gaming helps greatly improve our dexterity and the ability to manipulate objects with greater ease.
Studies have even shown that for people who rely on their dexterity for their jobs such as surgeons, video games can help improve their speed and accuracy.
Brain Gains
Yes, contrary to popular belief, playing video games doesn’t rot your brain. In fact, it helps it. Gaming draws on a number of skills such as problem solving, tracking images on a screen and memorization. Gamers are sharpening their visual perception and ability to process information during every second of gameplay.
Also being improved is gamers’ ability to multitask. On the surface, gaming just looks like a good time but it’s simultaneously a way to exercise your brain.
