7 Reasons You Should Play Video Games

Many people, especially parents, have a negative view on video games. Most of them believe that the gamer just sits way too close to a screen and clicks the corresponding buttons while your brain essentially rots away. Being a gamer myself I can testify that this behavior, while that is what it looks like, there is a lot going on in the brain. Video games can be extremely entertaining and contain engaging stories you can't find anywhere else. They are an expression of many people's imagination and creativity especially in the developmental process. Video games are not to be feared or avoided but enjoyed.

1. They Are An Enjoyable Pastime

playing video games

Many people love to play sports or hang out with friends but that may not always be possible, for example, one of your friends is away for work or a bunch of your football buddies called in sick. However, you can always play video games as long as you have the time. Video games are made to be fun to play like any sport, that's probably why there are actual video game tournaments called Esports leagues just like for football. Due to many video games being online, it would also allow you to play with that friend on that business trip or with your sick football buddies.

2. They Help With Your Hand Eye Coordination

When one is playing video games, they seem to just push buttons in the win pattern. However, there is much more to it than that. You have to be very accurate and have very fast reflexes. Both of those skills are used in other ways like with woodworking. Due to the need for extraordinary hand eye coordination, video games help you have better hand eye coordination that is why they are used to help stroke patients recover hand and wrist movements, and because they are fun which also help them stay motivated to keep trying.

3. They Help You Make Friends

When most people think of a gamer they think of some fat sweaty forty year old guy sitting in his parent's basement, avoiding all social interaction. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. When you play video games, you are greatly rewarded for working with other people, and to play even better, you should coordinate with them. The random people you met in the game could be your new best friend outside of the game. I saw a guy playing a game I play all by himself at the cafeteria at the college I go to, and I went over and started talking to him. We became quick friends.

4. They Help Improve Your Vision

While most people believe that playing video games is bad for your vision because you just stare at a screen all day. However, there are many studies that show that playing video games will improve your vision, given that you blink every once in a while. This is due to the need for identifying very small details very quickly when playing games. This improves your vision and helps you see things many people would miss. This also applies to reading, as you must read very quickly and even more accurately. Both the eye for small details and fast accurate reading skill are how playing video games help improve your vision.

5. Video Games Help Improve Brain Functionality

The old wife’s tale that playing video games rots your brain or at least makes you less intelligent is just that, an old wife’s tale. Due to the mentally strenuous tasks that a gamer constantly facing while playing video games means that they are actually getting smarter. There are many mentally demanding tasks that gamers have to manage constantly, some of those include spatial awareness, mental mapping, and mental object manipulation. All of these things make you smarter and video games demand these skills constantly in a fun way of course making it enjoyable to train your brain.

6. Video Games Help Reduce Depression In Young Men

There are many parents worried that playing video games will make them depressed due to the lack of physical activity and perceived social isolation. However, the CDC has done a study that actually says the opposite. It shows that young men actually have decreased cases of depression when they play video games an hour a day when compared to young men who don’t. However, that benefit only applied to young men as the young women showed a slow increase. Video games help men cope with the stress of life, and I can testify, because I play video games to help me unwind after a long day.

7. Playing Video Games Reduces Your Chances Of Being Bullied

There are a few stereotypes of gamers. The first is the basement troll, while the other is a little nerdy kid who gets bullied all the time. That stereotype scares parents into thinking that video games make kids anti-social and get bullied. However, the CDC has conducted a study that puts those fears to rest. The study states that kids who play video games are far less likely to be bullied than kids who don’t play video games. It is probably due to them being more willing to stand up for themselves or even be able to become friends with their potential bully because they could share something in common.

Conclusion

While there are many negative things assumed about video games, they can or have been proven false. Video games are like sports but for the mind and tight restrictions on a kid's ability to play them could greatly impact their social life and their mental health. Let kids play with friends and meet new people online. This will only broaden their horizons, not diminish them. I love playing games with my friends even though we all go to different schools far from each other and the challenge that they present us with. Everyone should play video games because they have plenty of benefits, many not even listed here.

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