10 Best Ways Video Games Can Improve Real Life
We love video games for their fun and entertaining nature, but even when we put controllers aside, video games, or at least thinking like gamers, can positively impact the rest of our lives. Here are ten ways video games benefit us.
10. Examine personal responsibility
The best video games aren’t easy. Solving these problems can teach us perseverance as well as personal responsibility – learning how to focus on our own actions and what we can control to improve the situation around us. This may not be an obvious lesson from video games, and it requires introspection from us, but such lessons carry over from games to real life.
9. Learn to communicate with people in real life.
Online games offer many opportunities for interacting with other players. Each of these experiences can teach a few things about how to communicate with others in real life – you can work well with just about anyone, perhaps if you have the same goal (be it finishing a dungeon or working on a presentation) and how much clear direct communication is important because others cannot read our minds.
8. Train your brain and improve your problem solving skills.
There is still no opinion on whether video games can make us smarter, but researchers have found that parts of the brain (related to memory, muscle control, strategic planning and spatial navigation) can become larger as a result of playing . Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean we get smarter as a result, but the results show that video games can be used to treat certain brain conditions. Even if video games don’t improve our IQ or cognitive ability, they can teach us new skills and help us practice them . Some games are designed with the challenges of problem solving, critical thinking, and reading comprehension in mind. And, of course, there are educational apps and games for kids of all ages.
7. Relax and relieve anxiety and stress.
For many, video games are a much-needed downtime. The psychological benefits of video games can be translated into real life when they relieve stress and anxiety. Some studies have shown that immersive play can even treat PTSD. Of course, it depends on whether we are not going to play in the game, causing a rage .
6. Meet new people
Some games take the social aspect of gaming to the next level. For example, Ingress is a real-world game that helped our Alan Henry explore new places and venture out into the real world to meet new people . Even if you don’t play any of these augmented reality games, you can find real-life friends through shared interest, whether you’re going to a gaming convention or just joining an online community of players. (Seriously, making friends is hard work , but video games can make it more fun.)
5. Get better at multitasking
Multitasking is generally not conducive to our productivity , but it may be possible to improve it even if you are not a natural overtasker. Cognitive researcher Daphne Bavalier found that adults who played video games like Call of Duty were better at dealing with visual and auditory distractions at the same time.
4. Learn how to start over and let go
Probably all gamers will learn how sad it is to end your favorite game or stop it on one that no longer gives you such joy. Whether it’s World of Warcraft or Flappy Bird , games make us feel frustrated about starting over or leaving. These are the same emotions we sometimes encounter in real life – and video games can be good practice to learn when to quit altogether.
3. Establish a good workflow
You can also use the principles of video games to customize your workflow : set timelines to create a sense of urgency, break work down into different “levels” or milestones, and reward yourself for every milestone in progress. Video game music can be the best music to listen to while working or studying and will immerse you in this immersive state of flux.
2. Tune your brain to happiness and positivity.
Do you know how after playing Tetris for a while, all you see are shapes in the real world that can match? The Tetris Effect teaches us that when we do something over and over again, less brain resources are required over time, and our brain tries to keep making those connections. We can learn to overcome our negative bias with the Positive Tetris effect : by practicing looking for positive patterns in our lives. The game of Tetris can even help erase bad memories and get rid of cravings for food !
1. Improve your standard of living
Regardless of whether you are an avid gamer, if you think of life as a video game, it will be easier for you to improve your fitness and achieve other goals. Think of yourself as a level 1 starting character, work on your abilities (yes, it can get tedious sometimes) and keep tracking your progress. You can gamify almost every aspect of your life and learn to use the best strategy to “win” the game .
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