You just got done with your shift at Haines, and you can’t wait to play one of your favorite video games. Playing video games can sometimes get a bad reputation. People often associate gamers with people who are lazy or uninspired to make big moves in their life. This is a false belief, as there are plenty of healthy gamers who are growing as they play video games.
This is precisely why we’re here to highlight 5 positive benefits of online gaming. Let’s get into it!
1. Enhances Creative Thinking
Video games are an effective method to improve and enhance your creative thinking. Many video games require you to solve problems and find creative solutions that you otherwise may not have encountered without the game. So, before you harp on your kids or significant other about playing video games, keep in mind that they are tapping into their creativity, which has a positive effect on their mental well-being.
2. Helps with Cognitive Skills
Along with creativity, video games also help to improve cognitive skills. There are plenty of video games that require the player to make quick decisions, read, write, and use their critical thinking skills. Don’t just take our word for it. A study revealed that children who played video games for 3 hours a day did better on cognitive skills tests when compared to children who don’t play video games. There’s plenty more research out there that supports the correlation between cognitive skills and video games, yet there are gaps in research particularly when it comes to the role of underlying neurobiological functions and game playing.
3. Improves Reflexes
For any video game player, it should come as no surprise that playing online video games leads to faster reflexes and reaction time speed. Many online video games are bombarded with tasks and situations that require the player to respond quickly and effectively. There have been quite a few studies that support that video game playing has a “significant improvement in reaction time and reflexes.”
4. Increase Positive Emotions
Playing online video games also can make people feel happier and reduce feelings of sadness or stress. In fact,research has repeatedly shown that playing video games can help with emotional regulation, relaxation, reduced feelings of emotional disturbance, and elevated feelings of positive emotions. However, the study showed that the increase in positive emotions is typically associated with players who spend a moderate amount of time playing compared to those who play excessively.
5. Reduce Feelings of Loneliness & Isolation
One of the greatest benefits of online video games is that they can help people to feel more connected, make more friends, and reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. There’s a reason that when the Coronavirus pandemic was at its peak in 2020, more people started to participate in online gaming. Video games are a great resource for people who struggle to make friends or suffer from anxiety disorders that keep them in their homes.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
