Typically over the years media and various other people have had a continued negative reaction to video games in general. “Video games or virtual reality are inherently bad and extremely detrimental to society.” Good or bad, people still played games to a huge extent, and more and more studies are turning up showing the long list of benefits that video gaming can have.
And people want to know!
In 2010, the University of Rochester conducted a study exploring action games and eyesight. Once thought bad for your eyes, these scientists show that gaming, especially fast paced action games, improve eyesight. "People that play these fast-paced games have better vision, better attention and better cognition," said Daphne Bavelier, an assistant professor in the department of brain and cognitive science.
Carrying that forward, video games can make you a better driver. Studies showed that those trained with action video-games were 25% faster at coming to a conclusion. The Rochester Scientists conclude that video gamers evolve a heightened sensitivity to things around them, which may benefit things such as driving, reading small print, keeping track of people in large groups of people and navigation. They talk about how the brain collects information until it can make an accurate decision. So when driving this can help with when to pull/not pull out of an intersection, when to brake, when not to drive off a cliff etc. Fast paced action games such as Call of Duty 2 help a person reach the needed decisions faster and more accurately. They train the brain.
The train the brain! Video games boost your brain power. Earlier this year scientists at the University of Toronto conducted a study which concluded that video games increase your focus. “A surprising aspect of our research shows that action games seem to be the most beneficial type of game when it comes to how well you see, pay attention, make decisions and switch tasks,” explains Daphne Bavelier.
I personally think that all 3 of these things are "good results," and as a gamer myself am glad that it has helped my superior driving skills ^_^
And the benefits of gaming keep on coming!
Just came across your blog when looking at the links for your video in one of your posts, really interesting points that all have sound scientific backing rather than just hearsay :)
ReplyDeleteThanks :D There's so much world wide interest in video games that I guess it makes sense there's been a lot of research and studies done. Glad you find it interesting :)
ReplyDeleteinteresting topic really. cuz most ppl will say the video games are bad. even i think that they can be bad. but after reading this, i kinda think that maybe it's not that bad... haha i used to be really quite addicted to these games so although i think your points are right, i still can't help to think that video games are bad for health...
ReplyDeletelook forward to see the whole piece so i can get back to those games!! XD
Hey Jamie :)
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly down sides to everything we do in life, including gaming.
I like the point that Nancy makes in this article - http://www.emotionalwellbeingblog.com/2007/10/gaming-can-be-good-for-you-my-husband.html
"I still believe that any activity that interferes with your normal life functioning is unhealthy, but it's also a matter of degree."
Obviously if we let gaming get to the stage of addiction, it's probably getting to the point of very unhealthy. But it's also the same for anything in life. An apple on it's own can be nutritious, but if you get addicted, the over-carbing can make you gain a lot of weight.
So I encourage you, if you like games, to play again :) But in moderation.
Hey Che, this is a very interesting topic. Personally, I agree that gaming is beneficial. My cousin is in the Army and told me that they sometimes use programmes similar to gaming to help enhance their reflexes and responses. And I have also heard of surgeons using games to help to them concentrate and focus. However, this is just by ear, so I can't confirm anything without sufficient proof. I'll get back to you if I find anything. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Spencer!
ReplyDeleteI've also heard this, so I went and had a look and found a few articles about studies conducted with surgeons, and healing their hand/eye coordination.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4685909/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/surgeons-may-err-less-playing-video-games/
Another article I read was about a study on the amount of CEO's that spend time each day gaming at work. They did it in moderation though. Just enough to break up their day a bit and keep them on the top of their game.
I found all these things pretty interesting haha x)
Thanks for telling me about them :)
Well done.
ReplyDeleteYou offer a good array of articles to back you up and I like how you address the negatives in your comments above as well as giving further links to articles.
Thanks for the link Che, good find and interesting read! I didn't know CEO's also indulge in gaming lol. It's good to see that even those that have a stressful job positions need to break away sometimes. And that their escape is video gaming.
ReplyDeleteFunny... I was reading something like this when I was researching for my blog. But yes, video games do help us out in many different ways, and not just physically.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I learnt a lot about japanese and chinese history through playing games (and maybe a bit about interior design from the Sims D: )
That's great to hear Oliver! Video games are so beneficial that ignorant people can't see past the pixelated images.
ReplyDeleteThere are many skills and knowledge obtainable by gaming. I've also been able to learn historical events and figures such as Alexander, World Wars, Post-colonial pop culture, oriental history and much more.
You could even say I've taken more knowledge from video gaming than in textbooks. Embarrassing but if you see it from my point of view, you would understand the impact and benefits gaming has, not only on me but surely others aswell haha.
This is a really interesting topic, and I must say I agree with you! Games are certainly becoming more and more educational and "boost your brain power" especially with the introduction of Wii video games
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for the comments guys. Thinking about it now I learned a lot of history and all sorts from video games. I used to play Carmen Sandiago (or however you spell her last name). It was fun x) And educational haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I was learning Japanese at Waikato, I used to play games in Japanese, and have to find my way through them with no translation. It was good fun, and helpful