7 benefits of playing video games

In Naija, video games are viewed by many parents and adults as time wasting things that get in the way of kids studying and will truncate their futures. In simple speak, they are considered to be of zero benefit but as it happens there are actually a lot of benefits of booting up your Wii, PlayStation or Xbox. Don’t believe us? Well we are Viva Naija and here are 7 benefits of playing video games.

1. Improved hand eye coordination:

Gaming improves the hand eye coordination of players and is in fact being used as training for surgeons (read more on that here). Improved hand-eye coordination leads to greater reaction time which makes for better driving, typing and athletic skills as well

2. Sharpens decision making:

Games these days involve more than just simple button mashing and are often filled with all sorts of choices and moral dilemmas. Gamers are tasked to make decisions that will likely have long term consequences on the game they are playing and characters they are interacting with. Critical thinking skills are encouraged and developed

3. Cultivates leadership skills:

Many games task the player with leading a party of human or computer controlled characters to complete tasks. Thus the leader has to  manage party resources and come up with strategies that will ensure that goals are achieved. These leadership skills will give a person an edge in the work environment as the the person is more likely to be on their feet when office crisis pops up

4. Eases stress, anxiety and depression:

Video games are a lot of fun and as gamers play, complete levels and overcome challenges all sorts of feel good hormones (endorphins) are secreted in the brain and this eases stress, depression and anxiety and leaves the player feeling awesome

5. Making friends:

Video games are no longer solely  played in seclusion. Now games include the option of playing and interacting with other gamers from all over the world. These connections can be the beginning of life long friendships and can help shy people to develop deep relationships with a diverse group of people

6. Boosts Memory:

Games (especially fighting games) require players to learn extensive button presses in order to pull off certain actions. These go a long way in improving the memory and in fact a study has shown that playing 3D games affects the brain region responsible for complex learning and lead to an improvement in memory (see here for more)

7. Make you a lot of money:

Game tournaments (commonly called esports) is BIG business both in Naija and overseas. The prize money of a number of tournaments actually exceeds a million dollars (see here  for a comprehensive list). A person participating in esports on the side can make a tremendous bundle

So that’s our list. Did we miss any out? What are the other benefits of playing video games? Tell us about it in the comments below, As always we are Viva Naija and we love you.

Happy gaming!