As a result, portal 2’s gameplay, which uses more brain processes to perform tasks in the game, creates neural pathways that allow for more complex tasks to be performed. Most video games require quick reactions and split-second decisions that can mean the difference between virtual life and virtual death. Cognitive neuroscientists at the University of Rochester in New York have discovered that these games give players’ brains a lot of practice for making decisions in the real world. The researchers suggest that action-oriented games act as a simulator for the decision-making process by giving players different opportunities to pull information from their environment and force them to react accordingly. While video games themselves aren’t bad for your mental health, getting addicted to them can be. When you start to feel like you’re using video games as an escape, you may have to slow down.
There are even studies with adults that show that experience with video games is linked to better surgical skills. One of the reasons given by experts to explain why today’s fighter pilots are more qualified is that pilots of this generation are weaned from video games. Instead of seeing stories about the benefits of playing video games, if you spend time watching the news or researching online the effects of video games on children, you will undoubtedly find terrifying claims.
However, it’s not clear whether children with above-average motor skills tend to gravitate towards video games in the first place. They found that all video games, both action games and action-free games, improved cognitive function in participants – measured by tests such as short-term memory tasks. For example, research suggests that in children and teens, playing video games can potentially lead to an increase in impulsivity problems. In addition, playing video games can lead to a variety of other problems, especially in players who play them excessively or problematically, and especially in gamers with a video game addiction. The improved cognitive abilities you get from playing video games won’t always translate into external tasks in a meaningful way, which means it may not have practical implications when it comes to the tasks you need to perform in the real world. In the following article, you will first learn more about the benefits of playing video games and the long-term consequences of these benefits.
In one experiment, novice surgeons who gained experience with video games improved their performance in laparoscopic surgery compared to a control group of surgeons who did not have this experience (Schlickum et al., 2009). People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25 percent faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study from the University of Rochester. Other studies suggest that most experienced gamers can make choices and act up to six times per second — four times faster than most people, and pay attention to more than six things at once without being confused, compared to only four by the average person.
The games also allow students to learn and then apply what they have learned in a real-life situation. Both the medical and military training programs use simulation games to learn tools and strategy. That can have a range of negative effects on our physical and mental health, including increased stress and depression. In Gaming Reviews fact, research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are twice as harmful to a person’s physical and mental health as obesity. Shared experiences can mitigate these effects and are also linked to increased self-esteem, decreased feelings of depression, anxiety and isolation, and an increased sense of belonging.
Other forms of screen time such as watching videos or social videos have no positive or negative effect on a child’s intelligence. The most recent issue of the American Journal of Play features an article by researchers Adam Eichenbaum, Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green that summarizes recent research that finds evidence of lasting positive effects of video games on basic mental processes, such as perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. Most research covers the effects of action video games, that is, games that force players to move quickly, follow many elements at once, contain a lot of information in their heads at once, and make split-second decisions.