People have been saying for years that video games are worthless and ruin kids' brains but this isn't true. Many recent studies have proven that there are good reasons to play video games and that they can even have health benefits for the people who play them. Whether you play first-person shooters like "Call Of Duty", platform games like "Super Mario Bros", or MMORPG's (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) like "World Of Warcraft", there are benefits in all of them and good reasons for you to continue playing.
Video games are thought to be unsocial things where you sit in your basement all alone and don't see the light of day for weeks at a time, but due to technology video games have become more and more social. In "World Of Warcraft", you can join a guild with people from around the world, or just use the chat screen to talk to anyone around you or are friends with. Though these online interactions don't substitute for real face to face socialization, LAN parties are a fun way to play games with other people in your area and have face-to-face interactions, as everyone comes together to play a game together. If the LAN is bigger, then you get to meet people you've never met before and never would have met had you not been playing video games.
Having problem-solving skills is extremely important in video games. You have to develop strategies to defeat a huge boss or figure out how to solve a puzzle. Video games allow people to really use their problem-solving skills and even building on them as you get further and further into a game and really have to work out problems or monsters to defeat.
Playing video games can reduce anxiety and relieve stress. Have a bad day at work or school? Go kill some monsters in a video game and you can almost immediately feel less stressed and more relaxed. Video games are a great way for people with hectic or stressful lives to just chill out and relax, even if they can only squeeze in an hour or two on the computer or gaming system.
Faster reaction time is a big bonus to playing video games. While playing almost any game, things will just pop out of nowhere and you need a fast reaction time to deal with whatever has now crossed your path. Even a simple game like Tetris requires you to make fast decisions but at the same time, it improves your timing and makes you think faster and faster.
Video games can improve reading skills as well. Many games have a background story that is told through people talking in the game and you read the screen to see what's going on or some games have quests that you must complete and without reading them you wouldn't know how to do them. Video games train the brain to pay attention using visual and audio cues such as words on the screen which improves reading and attention issues in children and in adults.
So now you know that video games aren't all that bad and can actually benefit you. Not to mention that they can be really fun to play and can challenge you more than you thought they ever would. So...are you ready to start your gaming adventures?
