Playing games is good for you

PALGN News | So there, mum and dad.

We’ve all heard the criticisms levelled at our favourite pastime: videogames make you violent, unresponsive, rot your brain and make you kick the dog. However, an article from ABC Science points to a growing field of brain research that suggests that action videogames — in particular first-person shooter games — may benefit our vision, our attention and our working memory. It can also develop our fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

According to the article, these skills can make you better at real-life situations like driving your car. Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester in the United States, is studying how action video games like Medal of Honor, Unreal Tournament and Call of Duty can help train people’s brains for use in rehabilitation programs, and to “slow or even reverse the visual and cognitive decline that comes with ageing”.

Bavelier and her team found that gamers are faster and better at filtering out irrelevant information and spotting targets in a cluttered area and that their field of vision and their ability to track different moving objects in it is greater.

"This also links into working memory, so how many objects you can keep in your mind and work on at the same time, and how fast your attention works," she said.

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22 Comments

Sambo110

7 months ago

I just had to forward this to my mum

grim-one

7 months ago

PALGN wrote

may benefit our vision

Benefit your vision until you end up permanently short sighted from staring at a screen for hundreds of hours. If you haven't guessed, I blame my gaming habit for my poor sight, since my focal length is fixed at about a monitor-length from my face =P

From the article, I find it interesting that only the more complex games involving managing multiple things at once improve your skills. Simple games (Tetris was the example) don't. I wonder if that changes with play time, as you uncover more advanced methods of managing the game. It takes a highly organised approach to do well at Tetris.

Jason Picker

7 months ago

Well I know that Tetris has helped my ability to pack the car, for example.

Gamesta

7 months ago

grim-one wrote

PALGN wrote

may benefit our vision

Hundreds of hours, I have spent 1000's of hours (hell over 700 hours just on Warhawk) staring at a screen and I have brilliant eyesight

pdaddy

7 months ago

I have bad eye sight from reading in bad lighting when I was a kid.. however in the last 5-10 years my eyesight has improved.. just as my obsession with games has..

coincidence?

Lord Haart

7 months ago

Again, games are just like many other hobbies. When focused on excessively, they tend to harm rather than help, but in moderation they're fine.

btw, I tried feeding this study to a doctor I know after I first saw it a few weeks back - the response:

"Interesting, but it did not look at negative effects of inactivity on bone, muscle, cardiac risk, BP etc."

In short, it seems rather clear to me that to use this as a health justification for games would be pure folly.

benspyda

7 months ago

Lord Haart wrote

In short, it seems rather clear to me that to use this as a health justification for games would be pure folly.

But if you maintain a healthy diet and exercise, plus you're a gamer, its a win win.

Apart from the kicking dog bit lol.

ArcherGrave

7 months ago

Driving for sure, got my L's ages ago and i drive like a pro

Jellyfish

7 months ago

ArcherGrave wrote

Driving for sure, got my L's ages ago and i drive like a pro

Well, good luck on your driving test as if you try any thing you've learnt from video games in that - Instant Fail.

Island_Wolf

7 months ago

Doesn't surprised me. Anything that stimulate the brain is good for you and gaming requires using the brain. Even doing jigsaw puzzles is good for people. Don't believe me? my bf's grandmother can do maths very quickly, more quickly that some noobs at uni and all she does is mega huge puzzles all day. She thinks so quickly its freaky.

Nic_231

7 months ago

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302437.html

Also good for desensitizing soldiers for combat situations.
Bad for making them keep their heads down and remembering that they can't respawn...

grim-one

7 months ago

Nic_231 wrote

Also good for desensitizing soldiers for combat situations.
Bad for making them keep their heads down and remembering that they can't respawn...

ROFL... American army grunts are pretty slow I guess

ArcherGrave

7 months ago

nikack wrote

ArcherGrave wrote

Driving for sure, got my L's ages ago and i drive like a pro

Well, good luck on your driving test as if you try any thing you've learnt from video games in that - Instant Fail.

Uhh , more like about the handling and feel of a car,

imma go be pilot tomoz too

Nic_231

7 months ago

grim-one wrote

ROFL... American army grunts are pretty slow I guess

Perhaps so, I have heard a rumor that you cannot get into the US Marine Corps if you exceed a certain IQ.
That being said, I have army mates who are great guys, but truth be told, being a good soldier requires a certain amount of conditioning. In some cases abundant free thought is not a good thing.

AlphaDark

7 months ago

Not quite true, it's if you don't reach a certain IQ going to Marines is your only option.

Also (grim-one), I have been gaming for many many years and I have perfect vision. I dare say there are other factors involved be it genetics or environment that have deteriorated yours.

Giggs

7 months ago

You know what? Someone old and wise used to say, "if you play with your willy, you'll go blind!"

So maybe that explains your problem Grim-one?

Itachi

7 months ago

Giggs wrote

You know what? Someone old and wise used to say, "if you play with your willy, you'll go blind!"

So maybe that explains your problem Grim-one?

I play with my tally waka all the time and i can see clearly figgs.

ZieDog

7 months ago

they also help you improve your headshot:not headshot ratio

grim-one

7 months ago

AlphaDark wrote

Also (grim-one), I have been gaming for many many years and I have perfect vision. I dare say there are other factors involved be it genetics or environment that have deteriorated yours.

I was only half serious, but I'd discount genetics. Aside from computer and game use I also spend a lot of time reading which probably doesn't help either. It doesn't really matter though, I'm just happy it hasn't further deteriorated over the past 10 years.

Ken_Gooner

7 months ago

I couldn't care less if it was bad or good for me. No-one ain't stopping me from playing games!

Sin Ogaris

7 months ago

Ken_Gooner wrote

I couldn't care less if it was bad or good for me. No-one ain't stopping me from playing games!

So someone is?

I'm pretty much over these "findings", one week someone grabs a test group and deems games are good for you, the next week a different someone grabs a completely different group of people and proves the opposite. The only thing that remains the same is that the tester will always procure the results that most benifit their initial thought process.

It's like a glorified fanboy argument.

Gamesta

7 months ago

Itachi wrote

Giggs wrote

You know what? Someone old and wise used to say, "if you play with your willy, you'll go blind!"

So maybe that explains your problem Grim-one?

I play with my tally waka all the time and i can see clearly figgs.

Mine has gotten play time every night for a few weeks and no problem with my eyesight lol.

Sin Ogaris wrote

Ken_Gooner wrote

I couldn't care less if it was bad or good for me. No-one ain't stopping me from playing games!

Just like food and hygiene etc producst that are good/bad for you, then one day the same thing is the opposite.

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