Benefits of Playing Video Games

“““A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we’re good at (or getting better at) and enjoy. In other words, gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.”””

— Jane McGonigal, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

Benefits of Video Gaming for Kids and Adults

For many of us, myself included, playing video games is how we relax, socialise and even find community. In the United Kingdom, 93 per cent of children play video games. In the United States, a study by NPD Group in 2011 found that 91 per cent of children are playing games. More and more gaming comprises mobile devices, such as cell phones, especially for the youngest of children but notably for adults too.

However, according to conventional understanding, playing videogames can lead to depression, aggression or even social isolation, especially in children and adolescents. To understand this mindset, you need to look no further than the most recent International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization (WHO), which now lists videogame addiction as a mental health disorder for the first time.

But addiction is not typical behaviour, so what about regular gaming habits? Is there evidence that playing videogames might be beneficial for you?

The answer, perhaps unexpectedly, is yes. A groundbreaking study from researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands has found that videogame playing might have several positive impacts on cognitive ability, mental health and well-being, problem-solving and social skills due to their immersive experiences. So what are the surprising benefits of video games?

Learning and cognitive ability

Perhaps most impressively, the researchers found that videogame playing had a significant impact on cognitive skills, such as the ability to think about and perceive objects in 3D space. This boost in cognitive ability was especially the case for people playing first-person shooter games—the same action games like Call of Duty that generally receive the most negative attention in the mainstream media. It turns out, though, that they might be useful for coordination and spatial navigation.

The paper cited a long-term study that started tracking users back in 2013. The study concluded that videogames were far superior to academic courses in teaching spatial skills such as resolution, navigation and 3D perception. Moreover, the cognitive benefits did not end there—gaming also resulted in improvement in reasoning and memory in test subjects.

The positive results suggest that videogames might one day be useful in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. The idea of including shooter video games in, say, a computer science class or a physics class, certainly challenges the conventional wisdom that gamers are lacklustre students and that videogames dull the mind. Quite the opposite – videogames might be sharpening the mind coordinating visual, audial and physical movement.

Health

And it's not just the mental and cognitive aspects of videogames that are so noteworthy. The Dutch researchers found that videogames could be useful when integrated into an overall health and wellness regime. Here, it is the simple games like Angry Birds that have the most benefit. Enhancing both visual and audial memory giving you something else to think about.

These games might be simple, but they are also the perfect antidotes to today's stressful world. Play a few rounds of Angry Birds, for example, and you might be able to improve your mood, lower your stress and anxiety levels, or induce a calm state of relaxation. Simple games like Candy Crush make people happy, but addictive too, hence its popularity!

Social skills

If you think that gamers are awkward, socially isolated individuals who immerse themselves in imaginary worlds, think again. The study notes that 70 per cent of videogames played today are played with a friend offline or online. Millions of people play videogames like World of Warcraft or Farmville, both of which tend to encourage the creation of virtual social communities. So, just because a teenager is playing a videogame on the couch doesn't mean that he or she is anti-social – it could be the case that he or she is hanging out in these virtual social communities.

There is constant communication between players which can result in new meaningful and casual friendships as well as strengthening ties with their old friends.

Critical skills such as cooperation, teamwork and leadership can be learned via videogames. And, as the researchers point out, video gaming promotes resilience in the face of failure. That is, videogames force you to soldier on, even when the whole game seems to be going against you. And that resilience carries over to the real world, where gamers might be better able to deal with change and adversity than non-gamers.

Creativity and problem-solving skills

When you start to think about videogames as presenting a problem that must be solved, that's when you can begin to appreciate the ability of videogames to foster skills like creativity and decision making. Notably, the Dutch scientists found, even violent video games are good at stimulating this type of activity.

And, when it comes to improved problem-solving skills, the researchers found that role-playing games (in which you must act out the role of a central character) were the most effective. The diagnostic and analytical skills learned from video games transferred directly to the real world, where students were more likely to bring home higher grades.

What are the key benefits of playing video games?

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The case against videogames

Of course, there are still those in the academic community who continue to publish papers and studies, purporting to show the adverse effects of videogames. Violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, they say, are teaching the next generation of kids to become violent and aggressive. Well that game certainly isn’t designed for children and is certainly framed around themes of an adult nature, so should kids be playing it anyway?

Other shooter games, they claim, are leading to other anti-social activities. In one study, for example, researchers found that video gamers were more likely to suffer from moral disengagement (the belief that certain moral norms do not apply to them), as well as to engage in activities such as cheating. One study even found that video gamers were more likely to give into inner cravings—such as the desire to gorge on a bowl of chocolate sweets—than non-gamers.

However, more recently, one of the most comprehensive studies on the subject to date suggests that there is no link between playing violent video games and aggression in adolescents and this is not the first study to show these kinds of results.

This research used not only questionnaires but also brain scans to see the impact on aggression and decreased empathy. Here's a quote from the study below:

"The psychological questionnaire revealed no differences in measures of aggression and empathy between gamers and non-gamers. This finding was backed up by the fMRI data, which demonstrated that both gamers and non-gamers had similar neural responses to the emotionally provocative images. These results surprised the researchers, as they were contrary to their initial hypothesis, and suggest that any negative effects of violent video games on perception or behaviour may be short-lived."

There are also benefits to adults dealing with severe mental health issues too. A recent study with Veterans trying to recover from mental health issues found that video games can help in overcoming PTSD and substance abuse disorders.

Gaming here was shown to help with adaptive coping (replacing risky behaviours including drug and alcohol abuse), managing moods and relieving stress, improvements in psychological well-being and socialising.

Re-thinking the modern videogame

So, as can be seen above, the case for or against videogames might not be as crystal clear as initially surmised. Most people, when they think about videogames, think about older 1980's-style arcade games or modern gaming systems like the Playstation or Xbox. But there is much more to video gaming—there are massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, games that you play on your mobile phone (like Candy Crush or Angry Birds), and new virtual reality games that physically immerse you in the gaming world.

Most likely, we are at the cusp of a new paradigm for video gaming. Consider the whole idea of gamification, which is the notion that introducing certain game-like elements (e.g. badges, levels, prizes) into everyday activities can result in profound changes in actions or behaviours.

Just imagine the potential for the healthcare field, which might integrate videogames into traditional therapeutic solutions. When game designers and physicians work together, certain videogames might be able to teach people about improved dietary choices or an individualised wellness regimen for their health profile.

These games might lead to re-imagined classrooms, new medical best practices and new ways of educating today's youth

Final thoughts

Like any activity, there always can be too much of a good thing. And it's no different with gaming – the right amount of gaming can have positive mental, health, creativity and social benefits. How much is too much? The benefits seem to peak at around a maximum of an hour a day, but behavioural issues can occur after 9-hours per week. It is obvious it can get in the way of other activities and of course, lead to even more screen and sitting time than is healthy. Games tend to be devised to encourage you to play more with regular dopamine hits.

Another common-sense caveat would be to ensure gaming content is age-appropriate for children and adolescents, abide by official games ratings for your locale, such as PEGI for Europe and ESRB for the USA. This allows parents and guardians to be better informed about the games that are right for their family. Having an interest in your child’s video gaming can help you decide if the games they are playing are suitable, check before purchasing.

As exciting as gaming can be, just don't forget to get out of the virtual world and experience the wonders of real-life and the actual world, moving in nature’s playground too.