“Can spending hours gaming really make you a better problem-solver in real life? Spoiler: It can!” Video games can be a training environment for critical thinking, multitasking skills, teamwork, and emotional strength.
It doesn’t matter if your game of choice is on your phone, Playstation 5 or Xbox One. All of those platforms and more provide chances for peers to socialize. Multiplayer games and online platforms allow players to enhance teamwork skills and even start new friendships.
Research has shown that video games can enhance hand-eye coordination and memory. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 72% of teenagers play video games to socialize and have fun with others. While another 47% of teens make new friends online from gaming (Gottfried).
Games like Call of Duty and NBA 2K can increase hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. They are considered role-playing games. Role-playing requires the player to be strategic. To be strategic you must first understand the goals, think about the situation, and plan different actions for potential scenarios. Being strategic also requires being flexible and ready to adjust as new situations are presented. You must align with team players and collaborate in moves. You measure success based on the outcome and not just effort. Research has also shown that improving the problem-solving skills required by these games can also improve students’ academic performance (Bowen).
Depending on the game you choose it can improve different cognitive brain functions. Wordle challenges your memory and vocabulary skills. Games like that present new challenges to our brain and require us to think outside our normal use of words. For example, many athletes that I’ve asked tend to play sport-related games such as “NBA2K”, “Madden”, and “FIFA”.
Playing games can also help improve your emotional state. They can be a stress reliever and improve your mood, especially when playing with friends. It can be a way to escape and relax your mind.
Even with all the benefits with gaming, like most things in life, it should be done in moderation. Gaming too much can lead to dependency. You must all remember the basic things about protecting yourself online. Don’t share personal info with strangers. Don’t take abuse from anyone, report it and block them.
Gaming can be a way of life that turns into a career. The world demands that we adapt and gaming for teenagers gives us a playground where we can stimulate those skills. By embracing the positive side of gaming and having healthy boundaries in place, gamers can use gaming to develop personally and enhance learning skills needed for life.
Personally I was raised around the time that the development of games started to bloom. As a child I played on the original Wii and playstation 3 and learned from these games. Since then my friends and I have talked about hundreds of different games and when we could play them together. Though video games can be enjoyable for many ages, as there are millions of games to play, I do believe that playing games at an earlier age should be limited. Though they can be fun to some, games with higher levels of violence should be off limits for kids as this could be teaching them the wrong things while they are impressionable. This is why I believe that when starting to get into video games people should start with calmer games with more ease to them, such as roblox and minecraft.
When it comes to age there is no set limit on when to start or stop playing games. There have been countless YouTube videos of “70 year old grandfathers playing Fortnite” and most 10 year olds today are better at Fortnite than the majority of my friends and I. Although this may make it seem like we are bad at video games, it’s actually the opposite. Instead, video games are one of the world’s most popular pastimes, especially among younger children. I believe that this wave of popularity in the gaming industry came during quarantine. Throughout quarantine people didn’t have the choice to go out with their friends which led many to use gaming and social media to contact friends and family instead.
For me gaming took a big part in helping me get through quarantine. When boredom would take over I would always be able to play new and exciting games with my friends. Though quarantine was mostly rough for the majority of people, I’m glad to know that video games could be a fun break from reality that helped people get through these hard times and brought an enjoyable pastime to younger children.
Playing video games has helped me in many ways such as building friendships, bringing me joy, and helping me build upon strategic thinking. So, I encourage people to play video games because eventually you will find something that you enjoy to play. Regardless of if you win or lose, the point of gaming is to have fun!
References:
Gottfried, Jeffrey, and Olivia Sidoti. “Teens and Video Games Today.” Pew Research Center, 9 May 2024,www.pewresearch.org/
Bowen, Lisa. “Video Game Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds.” American Psychological Association, Feb. 2014, www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/
