The Benefits of Video Games

In addition to understanding the many real concerns that today’s parents have with video games, it’s also worth considering the benefits and positive aspects that contemporary interactive entertainment choices provide.

Certainly, many popular titles today are M-rated and intended for discerning adults, given the average age of today’s gaming audience. But the vast majority of games can be played by a broad range of ages and still manage to be fun and engaging without resorting to foul language or violence.

“Games can definitely be good for the family,” says the ESRB’s Patricia Vance. “There’s plenty of selection. Oftentimes I think parents feel that they’re not because video games in the media are portrayed as violent, and hardcore games tend to get the lion’s share of publicity. But parents also need to be comforted knowing that E for Everyone is by far largest category [of software]. Nearly 60 percent of the almost 1,700 ratings we assigned last year were E for Everyone, which means there’s a huge selection of games available that are appropriate for all ages.”

Gaming both video and computer has become more than a fad, it is a part of life. First generation video game players have now become adult and carry their passion to adulthood. Parents and teachers worry about games having negative effects on children and a great deal has been written about games leading to violent behavior and addiction. However, all is not negative about gaming, studies by leading researchers have shown that video and computer games have many benefits:

1. Games help children who are ill or have injuries. Absorption in a game distracts the mind from pain and discomfort. Many hospitals are encouraging children and others undergoing painful treatments to play games.

2. Griffiths a professor at Nottingham University wrote in a medical journal that playing games could help children with attention deficit disorders. Research indicates that the children could gain social skills.

3. Many medical departments are using computer games as a form of physiotherapy. Games help people who are recovery from physical injuries gain motor skills and coordination too.

4. Video games and computer games are known to improve hand-eye co-ordination and help players gain many skills.

5. Games induce decision making and tech players to think on their feet.

6. Games create team players and hone social skills too.

7. Games are known to enhance creativity and inculcate a taste for graphics, design and technology.

8. Many games improve language and math skills as players have to move at a great speed along with the heroes of the game.