Some Good Things About Video Games

A lot of people have been stuck at home more than usual during the last year. One way these people have been keeping themselves busy is by playing video games. Some might even say too much video game playing.

I would not say that. I would say that the last year has been especially challenging, and if video games helps us get through it, great!

In fact, video games can actually have positive effects.

A 2018 analysis of 35 previous studies showed that video games have positive cognitive (thinking) and emotional effects in adults, especially young adults. This even applies to popular commercial video games.

In another study, some people who played video games actually showed growth in their hippocampus, which is a part of the brain that affects learning and memory. It also showed some people had brain shrinkage. What made the difference? The navigation strategy the people used in the first-person shooter game! Those who used spatial strategies, like learning the relationships between different locations in the game and using landmarks to navigate, experienced brain growth. Those who memorized steps to get from one place to another experienced brain shrinkage.

A small randomized, controlled trial (like, with a control group and everything) showed that graduate students who played video games over an 8 week period showed better adaptability, resourcefulness, and communication skills. They could even choose when they played games, so it wasn’t in a particularly controlled environment. Many participants chose to play longer than they were asked to play. Plus, the games they played are games you have probably played, or at least heard of. They included Minecraft, Borderlands 2, Portal 2, and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (affiliate links).

As an added bonus, scientists have recently collected a lot of evidence showing that video games don’t make you violent.

It might be time to dust off the video games. If you’ve been playing them lately, keep at it. You can even feel good about it too.

Sources:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02127/full

https://www.nature.com/articles/mp2017155?fbclid=IwAR2oJW9ZVi5QStdEbH5fAc3OeeltmtLBpUuxXeku45cjNET8XFm16EWL6ug

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131517301215

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0031-7