Busting myth about addiction: How playing video games leads to development of character and cognitive skills

A huge gap exists between the public perception of video games and what research indicates. With unbelievable advancements in cognitive research and AR/VR gaming technology, researchers from leading global institutes have been able to merge the two technologies. They have proven that playing video games boosts your cognitive abilities and brings many other benefits.

For instance, several researchers point out that playing shooters can improve a person’s ability in 3D perception. Furthermore, The Columbia School of Public Health found that gaming helps stimulate social interactions. These are only two of many such research studies that suggest that playing video games in moderation brings many surprising benefits to the overall physical development of your brain.

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Play video games to improve cognitive abilities and personal growth

The general perception of the public is that gaming is addictive, it ruins one's eyesight and breeds aggression. Gamers, on the other hand, argue that playing video games improves hand-eye coordination.

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Enhances spatial perception and cognitive abilities

Playing shooter games like Counter-Strike and Fortnite drastically improves your hand-eye-coordination and spatial perception abilities (Image via Epic Games)

Playing video games makes you sharper and better at quick decision-making. Playing certain FPS shooters such as Counter-Strike and fast-paced fighting games forces you to take swift action within seconds. This ultimately has a tremendous positive impact on your decision-making and analytical ability, something that has been backed by 15 years of studies.

Playing action games like battle-royale titles, which force you to pay attention to a wider screen for subtle movements, has been shown to improve mental perception skills and 3D motion detection abilities.

The fact is that every human being is born with certain baseline genetics and then gets to mold themselves according to the environment they are brought up in. So, if playing video games helps sharpen your cognitive system, then it’s a great hobby to have under your belt.

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Improves top-down attention

Playing racing games surprisingly improves attention (Image via Playground Games)

Simply eating food won’t make you healthy, it’s the content of the food that matters. Similarly, video games come in many different genres. So, it all boils down to what kind of gaming content you are feeding into your brain.

Playing racing games will help you to focus your attention on a certain object for a prolonged period of time. This has been shown to improve attention a great deal.

Attention forms the baseline for all other higher-functioning mental states. If a person suffers from an attention disorder, achieving higher cognitive abilities such as memory, wisdom, and critical thinking is not impossible.

One would be surprised to learn that researchers are now working on custom-designed games to help people with attention disorders. This is a revolutionary form of digital therapy, which will enable sufferers of ADHD to improve their mental functions experientially via playing games rather than taking prescribed pills.

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Helps breed empathy and social interaction

The Last of Us Part 2 has one of the most heart-touching storylines in video game history (Image via Naughty Dog)

Video games have often come under scrutiny for promoting violence and anti-social behavior. However, here’s a radically bold suggestion: maybe we should stop blaming games and instead look at social upbringing, parenting, and overall societal structure as the root cause of such violent behavior. When it comes to depicting scenes of violence and gore in games, it can be fair to say that most of them are inspired by real life itself.

While there have been instances where teenagers have spent their parents’ entire life savings buying character skins and emotes, it can be equally observed that some of the kindest, most level-headed people tend to be gamers.

A video game with an intense storyline can put you in the shoes of a refugee fleeing a conflict or, in other instances, of a soldier on the frontlines of a war. Video games are a great way to re-live some of the historic past events from a first-person perspective and understand the socio-political dynamics of a bygone era. In this regard, one need not look any further than the FPS series Medal of Honor.

Yet, there are some video games, such as The Last of Us series, with compelling storylines that can give any Oscar-winning movie a run for its money.

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Where do we draw the line?

It is fair to say that gaming is a double-edged sword. Prolonged gaming can make you a couch potato, which has a lot of negative impacts on your physical fitness. Playing too many games also strains your eyes and, in the long run, can result in loss of eyesight.

However, with so many neuro-cognitive and therapeutic benefits on the table, playing certain types of games is an ideal mental hobby to cultivate in modern times. Not to mention, they are great stress-busters and sources of fun and entertainment.

Playing video games for a couple of hours is not an unhealthy habit. However, devoting too much time to gaming can not only be detrimental to your physical health but also isolate you from your loved ones.

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Final thoughts

The stakes have never been so high in the gaming industry. Esports events and video game streaming are booming like never before, proving that gaming is here to stay. While spending prolonged hours in front of the screen can cause physical harm, moderation is key.

When it comes to improving mental focus, analytical skills, and perceptual cognition, a lot of research still needs to be done regarding the extent of the positive impact video games have. At the moment, however, we can say that playing video games doesn’t impair brain function and, in fact, appears to do the exact opposite.