Video gaming is hailed by all knowing adults to be an anti-social activity contributing to obesity and even mental illness. As for the benefits, what benefits?

The American Heart Association (AHA) granted approval for Nintendo Wii and similar gaming consoles as contributors to general fitness and weight loss after a study carried out in 2009. The study suggested that certain video games involving physical activity require physical expenditure equal to that necessary for moderate intensity exercise.

The benefits of video gaming have been flowing endlessly since the findings and continue to stream through. 

 

 

 

Pain Relief

Video games are used in surgical procedures and rehabilitation activities as a complimentary for anesthetics due to their proven pain relieving effects. The reason for this effect is suspected to be the distraction provided by these games which requires high levels of attention.

In non-surgical settings video gaming has also been proven to be effective in fighting psychopathologies such as Depression and PTSD by providing a relaxing getaway or a stimulated re-enactment respectively and as necessary.

Virtual reality games are specifically favoured for this purpose; however all gaming consoles operate on a common end result; escapism, a fairly sustained characteristic of gaming across the board.

 

---

Improved Social Skills

Bear with me here. Skepticism was my first reaction to this benefit too but research findings rarely lies. A Swedish researcher performed a social experiment in 2008 to investigate the matter using World of Warcraft (WOW) a popular RPG.

The participants of the study comprised of 15-year olds who were considered “under motivated” and had the recorded poorest performances in that year.

WOW was used by the researchers to demonstrate important principles of politics, mathematics and economics through game generated scenarios. The researchers noted that these youngsters who originally were isolated or belonged to little social groups found themselves getting to know each other very well.

In addition to an improvement in their academic performance they also displayed increased communication skills.

These findings have shown a possibility for kids who don’t belong to improve their social skills in preparation for the real world. And with one of five relationships starting through the internet who are we to say online communication isn’t a significant skill to acquire.

---

Improved Dexterity

 

And then there are surgeons whose performance is expected to be increased with exposure to particular surgery based games. A study involving laparoscopic surgeons uncovered evidence to suggest that surgeons who spent time on video games were 27% quicker and made 37% less errors in the operation theater.

As surprising as these findings are, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering that video gaming has been considered a positive activity for improved muscle co-ordination and dexterity based skills such as driving.

 

 

---

Stress Relief

 

This one’s a no brainer. Anyone who’s picked up a controller in his/her time has already discovered the relaxation and freedom of mind offered by these virtual realities.

Escapism is a vacation of choice for the stressed mind, a reason why day dreaming and watching TV offers a relaxing experience and is mostly satisfying. Video gaming offers the same benefit and is seen as a positive catalyst to reduce anxiety and alleviate low mood.

 

---

Faster Response Time

 

Reflexes are mostly expected to be a result of performing high speed sports such as table tennis or squash, but an article in the journal “Current directions in psychological sciences” states that gamers have better reaction time than non-gamers even when faced with real life situations.

The list of benefits keep piling on and in time video gaming will be introduced as a skill developing experience. Perhaps in some areas it already has. As for the developments that may occur only time will have clear answers but one thing is for sure, gaming is here to stay.

 

 

 

 

By Dilshan Senaratne