Everybody has heard of these next two words. Video games. They’re fun to enjoy and they help unify different people. But some suggest that video games are bad for us, especially for the children. They question whether video games are beneficial or not. But don’t question even for one second, video games are beneficial and they improve the skills of the player.

Video games have lots of benefits. As students in elementary, middle school, high school, and even college after a long day of stressful activities, video games help remove that stress. Studies shown that they help with relaxation and they ward off anxiety. Being able to play with friends and have fun times together improves attitude positively and has emotional benefits. Not only do they improve attitudes, but also they boost children’s learning, health, and social skills. “Video games can provide elements of interactivity that may stimulate learning.” Not only stimulating fun and excitement, they allow participants to experience novelty, curiosity, and challenge. It’s easier to socialize with others because of the same interest and passion for certain video games. Yay! Playing video games help you socialize and make new friends (in case you didn’t have any already).

Video games can bring together people of different ages, races, and genders. “…playing an action video game can virtually eliminate this gender difference in spatial attention and simultaneously decrease the gender disparity…”   People with the same passion for a game can come together even though they come from different races or are of different age. Video games also help in real life. They help children develop problem-solving skills, learn resilience in the face of failure, and children are able to apply these skills to the outside world. Video games have been proven to improve vision; gamers who have 10 weeks of play are able to distinguish different shades of gray better than those who don’t play. As a gamer myself, I’m forced (in real-time gaming) to adapt quickly to an environment and I need to be able to observe and absorb information as fast as I can or the worse happens (in-game death). Players react faster and are able to make decisions faster than people who don’t play video games. As a result, people who play are able to adapt, observe, obtain information from a picture, and make a course of action more quickly than people who don’t play.

After reading all these benefits, why wouldn’t you think video games are beneficial? The facts are there, plain as the sky. They help, improve, and even refine the skills lacking in a person, play to better yourself, right?
But there are other studies that show players who do play video games have more aggression, more likely to fall in depression, and become addicted to playing. Sometimes players get too involved within the gaming community, that’s their choice to make. Video games can be easily stopped and suspended for a certain amount of time. There’s no need to keep immersing yourself into something that will cause aggression, depression, and addiction.
In conclusion, video games are beneficial and they improve the skill set of the gamer. They improve vision, increase social interaction, instill many skills, help you make friends, trains you to be observant and decisive, and helps relieve stress. Personally, video games have helped me become less shy and more interactive with others since they too play the same games I play. You don’t have to take my word for it, go try it out yourself. Feel the difference between the life of a gamer versus the life of a non-gamer.

Citation

"Video Game Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds." American Psychological Association. N.p., Feb. 2014. Web. 05 May 2016.

Griffiths, Mark. "The Morality of Videogames." The Art of Videogames (n.d.): 150-71. 2002. Web. 5 May 2016.

Spence, Ian. "Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition." Psychological Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2016.

"15 Surprising Benefits of Playing Video Games." Mental Floss. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.