Playing video games does not only have negative effects as believed by some parents. However, the important thing is just to choose the right video games for your child & don’t let them addicted to games. Playing video games has several positive effects too. When a child plays video games, it gives his/her brain a real workout. There are many video games in which the skills like abstract and high-level thinking are required to win. These skills are not even taught in most schools. There are lots of benefits of playing video games, and it encourages following skills in children:
1. It Enhances Problem-solving and logic.
The children who play video games such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds, or Cut The Rope, train their brains to come up with creative ways. It can help them to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts
2. Planning, resource management, and logistics.
The player of video games learns to manage resources that are limited and decides the best use of resources. They can learn & apply it in the real life too. This skill can be learned through strategy games such as SimCity, Railroad Tycoon, and Age of Empires. Moreover, the American Planning Association, Maxis, the game creator, and the trade association of urban planners, have claimed that a lot of SimCity player have been inspired to take a career in urban planning and architecture.
In such strategy games, sometimes while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might come suddenly. This encourages the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics, so they learn to make quick decisions.
3. Quick thinking, making fast analysis and decisions.
According to research by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, from the University of Rochester, games with stressful events such as those found in action games or battles can help a child to cope up with real-world situations. The study also suggests that playing action video games enhances the brain’s ability to make quick decisions. Such video games can be used to train soldiers and surgeons, according to the same study. Moreover, it is also believed that decisions made by players of action video games are no less accurate.
4. Accuracy
According to a study by the University of Rochester, action video games train the player’s brain to make quick decisions without losing accuracy. In today’s modernized world, it is really important to move quickly without sacrificing accuracy.
5. Situational awareness
According to reports of Defense News, the Army includes video games to train soldiers to improve their situational awareness in combat. Many strategy video games also require the player to become aware of sudden situational changes in the game and act accordingly.
6. Developing reading and math skills
Video game players read to get instructions, get information from the game texts, and follow storylines of games. So, it can enhance a child’s reading skills. Also, sometimes using math skills is essential for winning in many video games that involve quantitative analysis like managing resources.
7. Perseverance
In higher levels of a game, usually, the players fail when they play it the first time. But, they keep on trying until they succeed and move on to the next level. This encourages perseverance in them.
8. Pattern recognition
Every game has its internal logic in it, and the player figures it out by recognizing patterns. So, this helps the player to learn how to recognize patterns in anything.
9. Inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing
According to some educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, playing video games is similar to working on a science problem. The gamer must come up with a hypothesis just like a student in a science laboratory. For example, the gamer has to try out combinations of weapons and powers constantly to use to defeat an enemy.
10. Memory
Playing first-person shooter games such as the Battlefield series and Call Of Duty enables the player to effectively judge the information that should be stored in his/her working memory. Also, he/she decides what can be discarded considering the task at hand. It helps in sharpening the memory of the player, and it one of the most important benefits of playing video games.
Other than that, according to a study by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, children with the attention-deficit disorder have been able to improve their reading scores by playing Dance Dance Revolution as it helped them to concentrate. Moreover, The players who don’t speak english report learning English by playing games.
Also Read: Five Negative effects of playing video games
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