Video Games May Improve Your Life

Posted by Boswell Pontoppidan on February 19th, 2021

If you're anything like me when you hear the words "video games," you get the "big deal" response. You're probably right; everyone knows what a video game is. But do you really know what a video game system is? Are you familiar with the names of some of the major systems available today?

The video games of today are so much more advanced than the ones of even a decade ago. In fact, the newest video games (which is beginning to apply to console gaming too) offer players an almost unlimited amount of interactive fun. Video games have come a long way from the "Space Invaders" of six or seven years ago. Today's gaming systems offer players an endless amount of options in terms of entertainment, from adventure and first-person combat to racing and first-person shoot'em ups, everything can be played, and more can be taken part in at any time.

One of the most profound results of the explosive growth of video games in recent years has been the increased amount of research being done on their positive effects on human beings. It's not just the researchers in the gaming industry that's been investigating the effects of playing video games. Academic researchers have been studying the positive effects for quite some time. They've found out that playing video games can help enhance hand-eye coordination.

The same results can be found among people with developmental disabilities. These individuals who were playing video games such as the popular Wii were reported by their doctors to have improved hand-eye coordination. There was also a correlation found between those who play more frequently and those who were able to remember longer. Another study involving preschoolers who had been playing video games for longer periods of time found that they have better hand-eye coordination than other preschoolers. This is the same group of children who were then given a memory test.

It is not known what the long term effects of playing video games like the Wii or Nintendo are going to be. Video game companies continue to develop them day in and day out in an effort to make them more interactive and fun. They have also begun to make them more competitive. Perhaps one of the best positive effects so far discovered about playing video games is that there seems to be an improvement to hand-eye coordination, and memory.

It is unknown if the long-term effects of playing video games will be found in future research. However, the long-term effects that have been noted so far are very promising. These video games may not only improve hand-eye coordination but also help people with developmental disabilities. And it is also being suggested that playing these video games for longer periods of time may help reduce the number of car accidents in children.