With recent trends claiming video games are causing violence, a waste of time, and run by greedy money hungry power cats, we’ve gathered some POSITIVE data around the video games we love, with the help of Andrea Letamendi, Clinical Psychologist at The University of California Los Angeles.
Some of these may surprise you, some may simply be friendly reminders — but either way they’re backed by more evidence than any NEGATIVE symptoms naysayers claim video games perpetuate. Here are some positive side-effects from playing video games that nobody seems to be mentioning.
1) Gaming sessions can improve eye sight
Turns out numerous studies have proven that video games can strengthen the quality of your eye sight, the most recent study coming from McMaster University in Canada.
…10 hours of gaming for 4 weeks dramatically improved the vision of young men and women who as babies were almost blind.
After 40 hours of playing a violent video game, they were able to read 2 extra lines on an eye chart.
Yes, but is better vision a CAUSE of playing video games or a SKILL gamers are already bringing to the table?
If the above study isn’t enough to sway you, try this one from The University of Rochester:
…non-gamers (were recruited) and trained for a few weeks to play action video games….At the end of their training…they’re told, go back home. No more gaming. They’re not allowed to play any games…
…We looked at the effect of playing action games on this visual skill of contrast sensitivity, and we’ve seen effects that last up to 2 years.
In essence, gamers possessed better contrast in recognizing different shades of gray, something that would come in handy, say if driving through fog.
2) Helps Children Cope with ADHD
We’ve covered how controversial pervasive medications have become controlling the moods and behaviors of kids, in some cases kids as young as kids four years of age.
Turns out there’s a video game program, dubbed an “interactive metronome”, which helps children become more focused.
The program tries to improve brain timing and rhythm through a computer program. Patients hear a tone and have to clap their hands or tap their foot to match the beat. The screen gives instant feedback on how well they are keeping up. As their coordination improves, so does their concentration.
Sure, it’s not Minecraft or Bayonetta, but it may be more effective than prescription meds and certainly less damaging.
3) Increase Pain Threshold
“No pain, no gain” is often thrown around in the fitness world, but it turns out it may be applicable in the gaming world, as well.
New studies show games like COD can increase pain thresholds by 65%.
The research was conducted by Keele University. Researchers asked 40 participants to rotate between violent and non-violent games and then dump one of their hands in ice cold water to determine pain tolerance.
On average, patients who had played the violent game were able to keep their hands in the ice water 65% longer.
Whether or not they thought there was a beverage underneath wasn’t declared, but it does make sense that an engrossing shooter would make something like pain seem more forgettable.
The researchers conclusions were that the body’s fight or flight response was elevated because of playing the shooter, thus decreasing sensitivity to pain.
4) Increase Your Creativity
In what is believed to be the first study demonstrating the relationship between technology and creativity, researchers found:
Not only are (video games) not all bad, there’s some ‘intellectual’ good to be found in playing them…we are the first to look at creativity and technology use, finding that no other technologies except video games was positively related to creativity.
Five hundred 12 year old boys and girls were given creative thinking test and then asked about their technology use. Only in video games was there a correlation — not cell phone use, computers or the internet, but video games.
Violent, non-violent, it didn’t matter as the games ranged from Half-Life to Spider Solitaire.
All that being said, direct causality still needs more research as to why video games have such a strong connection, but gamers already know that answer.
5) Make You a more efficient Multi-Tasker
So apparently switching between your choice of weapon while cycling through your map during an intense fire fight as you communicate with 12 other team members will increase your ability to efficiently multi-task…
Not exactly anything new in the gaming world but many researchers believe those abilities translate to the real world as well:
…It’s that concentrated emotional intensity related to making quick decisions and weighing probabilities…Should I do this or should I do that? And if you do that over and over again, we do see some impact…
The above doctor, Dr. Kevin Everhart PhD, with the University of Colorado Denver also mentioned that there needs to be more evidence and that gamers shouldn’t play video games for more than a half an hour to an hour a day.
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So as is the case with anything, more research is needed to make the above OFFICIALLY mandated in the medical world, something that will be difficult based on how many biasses and harsh stigmas exist in the gaming world.
What is worth noting is that the above, while maybe not always being able to explain causality, indicates more unique positive side effects than negatives in relation to gaming.
Paul Nyhart – who has written 879 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Paul Nyhart has been the Head Editor and Writer of JaceHallShow.com since Season 3. He began his career as a sports announcer, segueing into the world of voice-over and film production. Send all tips to Paul@HDfilms.com

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