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'Benefits of Gaming'

Technical Report · September 2021

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‘Benefits of Gaming’

Whereas video games are contradicted by some people because of eye strain, video games are good for
mental health given that video games provide learning, health and social benefits.

The world has always kept changing and innovating. From primitive steam engines trains to lightning
bolt high-speed rails, from the cord telephones that sit in the old museums as show-pieces to the
wireless android & the iOS smart phones, from the computer’s hard drive taking up an entire room to
shrinking to the size of little nano-meter chip still containing enough storage to fit the universe’s entire
data, the technology kept booming and it grew and grew. In this fast-moving world another field grew
parallel: The world of gaming.

To begin, the very first gaming consoles were invented back in the 1960s to play OXO or the tic-tac-toe
on a large analogue computer and later the home-based consoles The Atari 2600 to play Mario-Kart,
PAC-MAN, Space Invaders and so on. (History, 2017). And now we stand here today to the most advance
from of gaming on the Play station Pro 4, the Wii U and the Xbox One X paving way towards a new era:
VR-virtual reality gaming (History, 2017).

Video gaming has always been an important part of children’s lives from childhood to adolescence (APA
PsycNet). In the United States, around 97% of children play video games for at least 1-hour of every day
of their entire lives (APA PsycNet). When taken into consideration there are both negative and positive
effects of gaming on children, but generally only negative effects are considered when it comes to
gaming, whether its relevant to violence, abusive language, depression, OCD-obsessive compulsive
disorders and so on (Lafrenière, 2009). However, for argument’s sake and optimism let us ponder over
the benefits of Constructionist gaming approaches that associate with the positive effects of playing
video games, by integrating some factors that promote development, positivity and physiology focusing
on four main domains: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social (APA PsycNet).

Taking into account the vital benefit of gaming can be associated with education and promotion of
learning through MUVEs – multi-user virtual environments such as Second Life which focuses on
emotional and social learning (Whitton, 2016). Whereas, strategic gaming that reconcile with massive
multi-player online role-playing games (MMPORG) such as War-craft, DOTA,, League of Lengends, Age of
Empire help build cognitive approaches and intellectual understanding (Whitton, 2016). Another
perspective takes into account the fact that games could become a potential tool for children because
they motivate the gamers to look into the areas that they lack through empirical learning particular
examples can include military, health, corporate and simulations of historic past, current and future
events (Whitton, 2016). This not only helps the child learn but also gives a sense of awareness which is
far better taught virtually through a game rather than in a classroom. The concept of incorporating
factuality into gaming has a much better approach for learning than anything (Whitton, 2016).

While learning may be one way to go with it, another important factor that should not be disregarded is
that gaming helps in psychological functioning; it has been recorded that Video gaming has always been
an extremely popular leisure time activity with more than two billion users worldwide (Heiden, 2019). In
general, gamers have reported that playing video games had a positive impact on their lives; around
80% of all American adult gamers reported that the games they played provided them with mental
stimulation, relaxation, and stress relief such as online-line games on miniclip, Kongregate, Armor
games, etc. (Pontes, 2019)
Whilst learning and psychological points contribute well to the benefits of gaming, more so another
activity highlights the positive side of gaming namely: Exergaming (a technology-driven physical activity
which requires participants to exercise and make physical movements in order to play the game), which
will contribute to the physical inactivity of young people and children encouraging them to utilize the
new-generation active computer and video-console fames to enhance their energy during leisure time
(Daley, 2009). The introduction of Exergames dates back to the launch of the early Arcade-gaming to the
current use of sensory consoles such as WII for the purpose of physical game-play (Bogost, 2005). The
basis of DDR - Dance Dance Revolution created by the Konami Corporation’s, the Nintendo Power Pad
and many other contributed to the virtue of Exergaming (Bogost, 2005).

As physical activeness and well-being contribute as pragmatic factors that favor exergaming, some
studies are underway to help in the rehabilitation process of people with Parkinson’s disease; keeping
view the safety, effectiveness and feasibility of the studies the games that were used were Kinect, Wii,
Sony EyeToy, IREX & DDR which promoted clinical balance on the patients (leg movements and control)
and also motor functions (walking, sitting, standing, timed tapping) paving way towards improvement
(Barry, 2014).

While gaming has some disadvantages, some common benefit of video gaming has been observed as:
improvement in focus, multitasking and working memory (Heiden, 2019). It was analyzed in a study in
Australia that gamers reported gaming helped them improve their thinking skills (majority: 84%),
dexterity (majority: 78%), and manage pain (majority: 59%) (Halley M. Pontes, 2020). Improvement in
thinking and skills associate gaming with the fact that it helps produce grey matter in the brain and
encourages better brain connectivity; not only does playing action video games increase the amount of
grey matter in a person’s brain but it also promotes connectivity in the subregions of the brain which
associates with sensory preceptors such as seeing, hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making
and etc. (CREW, 2015).

In conclusion, I am of the view that video gaming can have a lot of positive affects mostly to do with
mental health, sensory functions, learning, physical, physiological impacts, and agility.

As excess of gaming can also become harmful so it would be suitable to manage screen-time with leisure
and study timings.

I think it is time that parents changed their mind-set on gaming and stop prohibiting their children in
playing video games as it plays key role in brain growth of a child.
 References
APA PsycNet. (n.d.). Retrieved from The benefits of playing video games.:
[Link]

Barry, G. (2014). The role of exergaming in Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation: a systematic review of the
evidence. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.

Bogost, I. (2005). The Rhetoric of Exergaming . Proceedings of the Digital Arts and Cultures (DAC) .

CREW, B. (2015). Gamers Have More Grey Matter And Better Brain Connectivity, Study Suggests. Science
Alert.

Daley, A. J. (2009). Can Exergaming Contribute to Improving Physical Activity Levels and Health
Outcomes in Children? Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Halley M. Pontes. (2020). Emerging insights on internet gaming disorder: Conceptual and measurement
issues. NCBI.

Heiden, J. M. (2019). The Association Between Video Gaming and Psychological Functioning. Frontiers in
Psychology; Volume 10 | Article 1731, frontiers in Psychology.

History. (2017). Retrieved from Video Game History:

[Link]

Lafrenière, M.-A. K. (2009). Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. CyberPsychology & BehaviorVol. 12, No. 3.
Retrieved from On The Costs and Benefits of Gaming: The Role of Passion:
[Link]

Pontes, H. M. (2019). Emerging insights on internet gaming disorder:Conceptual and measurement

issues. Ncbi.

Whitton, N. (2016). Collaborative virtual gaming worlds in higher education. Research in Learning
Technology, Volume 16, 2008 - Issue 3.

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