As well as being fun and enjoyable to play, video games can also help you improve important life skills. When enjoyed in moderation, video games enable players to develop a range of skills, including communication and strategic thinking, which can prove extremely valuable in a variety everyday life situations. Here are five useful skills that you can learn by playing video games.
1. Persistence
One of the key aspects of gaming is that they require players to develop both patience as well as persistence. That’s what players need in order to win on wild life slot machines free. In many cases, players have to complete repetitive tasks if they are to succeed and progress in the game. As such, playing computer games can actually help you to become more focused, learn from mistakes and become more determined to work towards your goals in real life, as well as in video games.
2. Increased Social Skills
There is a persistent stereotype that video gamers are mostly shy individuals who play alone. With growing technological advancements, however, gaming is more sociable than ever. Players are able to communicate and interact with each other via text, chat and video.
“Although players may be individually playing in different and distanced locations, they are actually improving their social skills,” explains Robert Yates, a tech writer at Australia 2 write and Writemyx. “By interacting with others, players are learning important skills in how to deal with other people in real life too, as well as important communication skills. In this way, they are able to create a community who have shared interests and shared experiences.”
3. Improved Mental Dexterity
Playing video games has also been shown to help improve some of the brain’s functions. In particular, a 2013 study by German researchers found that the gray matter, associated with memory, fine motor skills, spatial navigation and strategy, was increased in gamers.
“Engaging in video games is a great way to help exercise your brain. As well as the variety of games available which are specifically designed to train the brain, such as Nintendo’s Brain Age or educational games, there are also a whole host of games available which help to develop logical deduction, pattern recognition and help to boost your brain’s overall connectivity,” says Rebecca Bryd, an editor at Brit student and Next coursework.
4. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills
Games also offer a fantastic opportunity to develop and enhance your problem-solving, strategic and critical thinking skills. Many of the multi-level and open-world style games are designed as complicated puzzles that require careful strategic thinking to solve them. In many cases, the actions and choices of the gamer directly affect the gameplay narrative.
As such, being able to strategize in fast-paced situations is a beneficial skill that is learnt through playing video games. Moreover, this has significant applications in real life. Whether you need to problem-solve at work or as part of your studies, or even in social contexts when you need to consider what to say or do next, enhancing these skills can be extremely beneficial.
5. Improved Hand-Eye Co-Ordination And Manual Dexterity
One of the biggest criticisms of video games is that it leads to a lack of physical exercise. However, games are increasingly becoming more physically active. There are a growing number of games which incorporate physical space and real-world locations into the gameplay. As such, they not only encourage, but often require gamers to go out into the real world in order to advance in the virtual one. VR gaming is pushing these boundaries even further.
In order to succeed in even the most basic of video games you also need to have good hand-eye coordination. By playing video games, you are also able to strengthen this skill, which is useful in a multitude of real-life tasks, including sports and music. Finally, video games can also help improve your manual dexterity and have in fact been used as part of physical therapy programs to support individuals who have suffered from strokes.
Conclusion
Incorporating gaming into a varied lifestyle can have many benefits and help you develop a range of important and highly useful life skills. As well as improving your brain’s functionality, developing critical thinking skills and increasing your patience and determination, playing video games can also help you meet new people and become part of a wider community.
Michael Dehoyos works as a professional editor and content marketer at Thesis writing service and Write my case study. Michael works closely with a range of companies, supporting them to develop and improve their marketing strategy concepts. Michael regularly writes articles for Origin Writings, as well as having contributed to numerous other websites and publications. In his spare time, he enjoys playing video games and is especially interested in the new developments in VR technology and gaming.