We see so many social media posts, news articles, movies, and shows about the harmful impacts that screentime is having on us and our children. Video games are often focused on as the prime culprit of course, alongside social media. Now, we must remember that the shows are streamed on digital streaming services and the posts were written and submitted by someone from their own smartphone/PC, which puts a dent in the credibility of such posts to begin with.
Next up, is the question of video games and their assumed negative impacts on both adults and children. In that case, we should remember that nobody complained about any of it during the pandemic and there is no verified proof that connects video games to health concerns. On the contrary, there is sufficient proof to suggest that video games can have several positive impacts on human wellbeing. Whether you like that statement or not, here’s a small list of facts to support it.
Improved Perception
Perception and vision are not exactly same thing, but they are interconnected. Vision is the eye’s physical ability to see, while perception is the brain’s interpretation of all that eye sees. Video games have the ability to improve human perception of details in small things. In real time strategy and grand strategy games, the player must micromanage multiple notifications, updates, developments, problems, etc., and find solutions on a constant basis. They must also do so with the bigger picture of winning the game in mind.
It’s not hard to see how picking up all that from a 15” screen can benefit someone’s vision and detail perception. This generally translates to better problem solving skills in school and office environments. The best part is that we don’t even need to buy an expensive gaming PC to play cognition boosting games anymore these days. Any of the Lenovo Intel® Arc™ laptops are more than capable of running games, although they are designed for working professionals.
Treating Lazy Eye in Children
There are games that are specifically designed to help children correct their amblyopia, but some regular games can also have the same effect. In fact, there is no reason to believe that video games won’t help adults with amblyopia either, although they do work better for children. However, video games can only help with the treatment, which means that they are not alternatives to actual, corrective treatment, as would be suggested by the ophthalmologist.
Keeping Cognitive Age at Bay
Several studies conducted over the years have concluded that there is a clear connection between prevention of cognitive decline and playing video games. In fact, some games can even help ion delaying the onset and progress of Alzheimer’s Disease.
What we can conclude from all this is the importance of moderation. Just like everything else, too much of anything is never good and video games are not exceptions to that rule either. Then there is the question of who is playing what, especially children.
Parents should keep an eye on the ESRB ratings before buying any game for their young children as all video games are not meant for kids. Other than that, there is no reason why the whole family cannot enjoy video games together and reap some joy and bonding time from their sessions together.