Study Claims Playing Video Games Is Great For Your Brain, But There's A Caveat
The amount of gamers in the world seems to increase drastically year-over-year. There are now a myriad of ways you can game, from consoles, PCs, to mobile devices like smartphones. It is only fitting that attention is drawn to the mental health and practical aspects of such a heavily practiced genre.
There is some good news, according a study shared by Nature.com. Gaming can boost overall mental health, and provide a general feeling of well-being. This is great news, as gaming matures and becomes an accepted part of daily life. It was not long ago that games were criticized and looked at with scorn by parents and educators. Titles such a Doom helped to form arguments that gaming created aggressive humans, which later turned out to not be the case.
Large open world games such a World of Warcraft helped usher In a new epoch in immersive gaming worldwide. The study notes that after about 3 hours of playing time, the benefits seem to plateau, so moderation likely is still an important part of healthy gaming.
This study was done in Japan and went from 2020 to 2022, some turbulent years for mental health worldwide. It found that owning a console helped to reduce "Psychological distress and improved life satisfaction by 0.1-0.6 standard deviation."
There is some good news, according a study shared by Nature.com. Gaming can boost overall mental health, and provide a general feeling of well-being. This is great news, as gaming matures and becomes an accepted part of daily life. It was not long ago that games were criticized and looked at with scorn by parents and educators. Titles such a Doom helped to form arguments that gaming created aggressive humans, which later turned out to not be the case.
Large open world games such a World of Warcraft helped usher In a new epoch in immersive gaming worldwide. The study notes that after about 3 hours of playing time, the benefits seem to plateau, so moderation likely is still an important part of healthy gaming.
This study was done in Japan and went from 2020 to 2022, some turbulent years for mental health worldwide. It found that owning a console helped to reduce "Psychological distress and improved life satisfaction by 0.1-0.6 standard deviation."
There are always some caveats to be aware of, and this improvement in mental health is not a blanket statement for every situation. For example, the World Health Organization has listed "Gaming Disorder" to its international classification of known diseases.
Gaming addiction and unhealthy approaches to the genre have long been documented, and remain a serious issue that can decrease satisfaction and overall mental health. This will typically fall on a smaller subset of gamers, who may already have other outstanding issues that are made worse by introducing gaming.
Games are often designed to be as addictive as possible, especially with the inclusion of extra DLC packs and extra add-ons that players can get over time to keep the experience long lasting.
Still, this study revealed a lot of interesting data. Done as a console lottery to offset the shortages during 2020-2022, younger players seem to benefit most from the Nintendo Switch. This is apt, considering the family-friendly approach that Nintendo takes with its finely tuned games.
Using machine learning data, they also found that Playstation 5 owners seemed to benefit individuals who did not have kids, as opposed to the Nintendo Switch. This makes sense, as the Playstation 5 game library typically will be more focused on adults while the Nintendo Switch has a broader appeal potential.
There is a lot of nuance in analyzing the way video games interact with individuals, and can vary greatly depending on other mitigating factors at hand. The good news is that positive mental health outcomes do seem common, which is great for such a widely beloved hobby for many.
Gaming addiction and unhealthy approaches to the genre have long been documented, and remain a serious issue that can decrease satisfaction and overall mental health. This will typically fall on a smaller subset of gamers, who may already have other outstanding issues that are made worse by introducing gaming.
Games are often designed to be as addictive as possible, especially with the inclusion of extra DLC packs and extra add-ons that players can get over time to keep the experience long lasting.
Still, this study revealed a lot of interesting data. Done as a console lottery to offset the shortages during 2020-2022, younger players seem to benefit most from the Nintendo Switch. This is apt, considering the family-friendly approach that Nintendo takes with its finely tuned games.
Using machine learning data, they also found that Playstation 5 owners seemed to benefit individuals who did not have kids, as opposed to the Nintendo Switch. This makes sense, as the Playstation 5 game library typically will be more focused on adults while the Nintendo Switch has a broader appeal potential.
There is a lot of nuance in analyzing the way video games interact with individuals, and can vary greatly depending on other mitigating factors at hand. The good news is that positive mental health outcomes do seem common, which is great for such a widely beloved hobby for many.
