Do video games have any benefits for
things like on-the-fly thinking?
Before I attempt to answer this
question, let me say that this is an area of inquiry that is
interesting to many different people for varying reasons, so there
are studies updating and refining our understanding of the effect of
video games coming out all the time. What I write here is
provisionally based on the research I have done so far.
Moderate video game playing has
numerous important benefits. The most well-researched of these
benefits is an improvement in hand-eye coordination. It is most
noticeable in tasks that are similar to video-game activities, such
as firing a weapon and operating vehicles. Young adults who play
video games are more likely to score high on military sharp-shooter
tests, for example.
Another important benefit is that
children who play video games learn new schools more quickly. The
practice of adapting to changing situations makes the brain more
flexible. This article
describes neuroimaging results that show that the brains of children
who play video games are better developed in areas related to
learning than in children who play no video games. This has a
noticeable effect on academic performance, as moderate video-game
players typically do better in school.
There are also some bad effects of
video games, particularly among children who play excessively. The
best known of these effects is that video gamers typically are more
aggressive, defiant, and report more conflicts with their peers.
Excessive video game playing can also lead to social isolation.
The take-away is that video games are
good, but you should limit your exposure to them. All of the
positive benefits of video games seem to be available to people who
play as little as an hour a week. The bad effects are seen most
dramatically in children who play more than nine hours per week. So,
if you can keep your gaming to a little over an hour a day, you are
likely to avoid serious problems. If you do notice that you are
getting short of temper, you may want to cut back a little to see if
the problem stops.
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