You're probably looking at the title of this article confused.
There are so many negative stigmas around video games that people rarely know about the positive effects. The most common of stereotypes heard are, "People who play video games are lazy."
But that actually isn't always the case.
As my boyfriend plays a lot of video games and as I have anxiety, he's always pushed to me to play with him. I never really thought about it before until recently, when I decided to play Elder Scrolls Online with him. I realized that it can actually be fun, social, and distressing.
That gave me the inspiration to write this article.
While playing video games 24/7 isn't the best idea, gaming when you have free time can help eliminate stress and help improve anxiety, and/or depression. Even if you have ADHD, video games can help improve your daily skills and help you control your attention as well as your excessive hyper-movement. RPG's (role-playing games) are the best ones to play because they can actually help you in your life skills, believe it or not. RPG's are games where you take the role of a character and work through the game as if you are them.
They often have skills that you can associate with the real world.
Studies have shown that playing video games can also help make you smarter. Games have strategies in which you need to work your mind to be able to succeed in the game. It's been proven that playing video games can actually help enhance brain function and improve problem-solving skills.
You can also learn about the accuracy of a historic event or time period. A perfect example of this would be in the upcoming game, Assassins Creed: Origins.
They actually teach you about ancient Egypt through the game. Cool, right? You're not just playing a game anymore, you're actually learning facts about a past time. While you're working on getting through the game, your mind is working too.
Another saying I always hear about those who play videos games is that they are 'anti-social' because of them. That's not the case at all. Many multiplayer games allow you to meet other people around the world who are also playing that game and you can communicate while playing.
This leads to bonding and even a development of friendship. If anything, it can help you gain social skills and help you take them offline into the real world. More than 70 percent of game players play with a friend that they made online. How's that for "anti-social"?
A few more skills that can be developed and improved by playing certain video games is multitasking, attention, and accuracy. Even Call of Duty can have a positive impact. Co-op games can improve communication skills and planning. Most games that have multiplayer, help the user to develop ways to work together and gain skills by working as a team to achieve a task.
I don't think people realize how much thinking you have to put into video games. Honestly, some of the research was new to me too. I didn't realize how good video games could be for you and how they could actually help you develop and sharpen skills to use in everyday life.
