Almost 70 percent of the Americans play games, whether it is on their computers, tablets or mobile phones. And these video games are known to have some effects on the brain of gamers which may be adverse or friendly.
Think about playing the best browser games on your PC. What do you look for in a good browser game? It’s surely how engaging it is, right?
How Are Video Games and the Brain Related?
Research shows that the brain shows signs of development in the cognitive regions when it is exposed to video games. The research by Marc Palaus and his team, which summarized results from 116 scientific studies to determine the influence of video games on the brain, tells us that playing video games not only affects the functioning of our brain but also the structure.
What’s the Final Verdict?
The research concluded that gamers demonstrated better concentration power than the people who didn’t engage in video games. Other than this, there were several other areas where the gamers took the cake. On the basis of this research, there are various skills, not just attention, that can be developed over time with the help of video games.
Other Skills that Video Games Enhance
The entire visuospatial region of the human brain is affected when an individual plays a video game. More than 150 Million Americans play video games for at least 3 hours a week, honestly, that’s a lot of time for video games. But if you look on the bright side, there are several skills which can be heightened simply by playing video games. This is a list of some of the abilities which are improved with every game that you play,
- Concentration
No doubt, video games require concentration, with no relevance to the genre, which is why gamers tend to be more attentive than non-gamers.
- Improves Problem-Solving Ability
With video games, there are certain rules. You must come up with a solution quickly and this is why video games develop your problem-solving skills.
- Better Memory
The players are given instructions at the beginning which they must remember throughout the game, this contributes to the development of memory, whether short-term or long-term.
- Faster Nerve impulses
The nervous system receives multiple inputs, visual and audial while gaming. Thus, video games help generate faster nerve impulses and be quick on your feet.
- Helps in Socializing
Online gaming allows a number of gamers to play in the same environment simultaneously. As a result, there is constant communication between the gamers, which improves their social skills.
These were most of the positive areas where video games are helpful, but these games don’t just change the brain for the better, people suggest sometimes there are adverse effects too.
Violent Tendencies
It is common for the parents to blame violent video games when their children get into brawls. They may be partially correct, but not completely.
According to various studies, scientists are yet to come up with a connection between video games and aggression among teens. However, there are statistics which show that the crime rates have gone up in the last decade but that’s not all to be blamed on video games.
Now that you know it, playing video games does change the brain (and mostly for the better), get playing and enhance your abilities to the maximum.
