Being a gamer in India is pretty hard. The lack of Indian servers in game, the abundance of toxic individuals playing video games, the high ping and long waiting times, the high prices and in-availability of gaming paraphernalia are all factors that make Indian gaming tiresome.
As if all this wasn’t enough already, most people in India view gaming as a waste of time, resources and energy and ignore the benefits of being a gamer. So, the next time your mother says “Beta kyu khelta rehta hai saara din video games, kuch nahi milega inse” (why are you spending so much time on video games, nothing good will come out of it.), just show this article to her and stand there with a smug on your face while she realizes how gaming actually helps a person.
Here are 8 amazing benefits of playing video games ;
#1
Marc Palaus, in his paper Neural Basis of Video Gaming: A Systematic Review, has compiled over 116 scientific studies on the neurological effect of video games and has concluded that playing video games can change how our brains perform, and even their structure. For example, playing video games affects our attention, and some studies found that gamers show improvements in several types of attention, such as sustained attention or selective attention. The brain regions involved in attention are also more efficient in gamers and require less activation to sustain attention on demanding tasks.
#2
There is evidence that video games can increase the size and efficiency of brain regions related to visuospatial skills. For example, the right hippocampus was enlarged in both long-term gamers and volunteers following a video game training program.
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#3
Scientists from the University of Rochester conducted tests on various non-gamers between the age of 18-25. They made these non-gamers play action games like Call of Duty and Halo. After comparing results, the scientists concluded that playing video games improves (lessens) the reaction times of an individual. This enables the individual to make decisions and implement them faster, possibly saving them in a life threatening situation like an accident. A study conducted by scientists also shows that reaction times of professional gamers is comparable to that of highly trained F1 drivers and fighter pilots.
#4
Scientists have also concluded that doctors who play video games have a 32% lesser chance of making a mistake during a surgery compared to doctors who do not play games. This indicates that video games help to increase concentration and precision in an individual.
#5
Contrary to popular belief, researchers have found out that gaming can lead to improvement of eyesight. In the study the gamers scored higher in all vision tests when compared to non- gamers. Even the peripheral vision of gamers was better than the non-gamers.
#6
Video games help the people be more social and also tend to make the players better leaders in everyday life. Making decisions in a game also helps people to increase the cognitive abilities and gamers are better at thinking of fast and reliable solutions for real world problems.
#8
Video games have been proven to be reliable stress busters and help people relax. Video games provide an outlet for people to vent their anger/stress thus inducing relaxation. Therefore playing video games after a hard day is highly recommended by certain therapists.
#9
Video games also help in increasing the interest of people in certain fields. For example the AC series helps people learn about history whereas racing games like NFS may help people learn to drive.
These are only some of the benefits of playing video games. There are various studies still in progress further expanding our knowledge of the effect of video games. Be it socializing/relieving stress, everyone has a different reason to play video games. Do let us know your reason in the comments.
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