Today, it’s not just youth who find playing video games useful. The pandemic forced many adults to seek escape from harsh realities, like movement restrictions and the ways we entertain ourselves. Games have become an essential distraction since Covid-19 hit us. Now many of us have become familiar with Super Mario, Candy Crush, and The Sims.
The big discovery is that these games are not just a way to pass the time. Playing them bring benefits we can all enjoy. The sense of achievement is chief among those. But there are other useful gains like reducing tension, increasing manual dexterity and even sharpening our problem-solving abilities.
Video games are a valuable form of stress release. Experts say dopamine, a neurotransmitter in our brain that is responsible for our feelings of pleasure, is often time released when we play. After a long day at work or school, game play may be just what we need to forget those unruly taxi drivers on the road.
We’ve long known that video game playing improves manual dexterity, our ability to manipulate our hands. Surgeons have used game playing to do that because it is so essential in their work. Certain video games are even designed to improve dexterity.
An especially useful gain from playing video games is that they help us with problem-solving abilities. Researchers say game playing encourages us to learn from our mistakes, they convince us to try new methods and means to achieve a goal. That serves to boosts our creativity.
Many modern games go a step further by creating an immersive experience. In those games players take on roles and are active participants. Many find this thoroughly satisfying because the decisions they make impact where the story leads. In this way, video games give us a chance to simulate lives we would not normally experience. They help us to explore the new and different.
Finally, the competitive nature of these games appeal to that element we all have as humans. They allow us to strive harder and improve in a safe setting that prepares us for life’s realities.
Perhaps you should give it a try. Pick up your phone, laptop, or controller and start playing a video game.