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Do Video Games Improve Your Hand-Eye Coordination?

BANG, BOOM, ZAP, WHAM, CRASH, and POW! Say hello to the sounds that are filling rooms and eardrums all across the planet.

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The video game industry has exploded to preposterous levels in recent years, all thanks to digital technology and our love for living vicariously through vivid imaginations and stories brought to life.

From 6 years old kids to Hamako Mori at 90 years of age, we all have fallen madly in love with playing video games, each to their own devices.

According to a recent study by WePC, by 2020, the Video Gaming Industry was worth $159.3 billion, and with the current forecast, it is projected to reach $200 billion worth by 2023. Asia Pacific Region and Latin America are the biggest growing markets, with China alone contributing $40.9 billion in consumer spending, while the US sits at a solid $36.9 billion share.

With more than 2.7 billion gamers in the world, Free to play games make more than 85% of total video game industry revenue, with the help of micro-transactions and in-game purchases.

In light of this information, let’s take a quick look at some of the ways gaming can impact and improve your everyday functions and ability to perform in real-life.

  • Hand-Eye Coordination

A recent study led by psychological researchers at the University of Toronto revealed that action video gamers learn and improve sensorimotor skills and better hand-eye coordination than non-gamers.

The major impact is on the left frontal eye field (FEF), which is located at the frontal cortex of the human brain. The FEF plays a vital role in controlling visual attention as well as eye movements.

The study found that action video gamers showed more brain cell connections and improved brain function in the said area. Thus allowing them to efficiently figure out the best reactions in a given situation towards a stimulus as well as being more aware of what is happening around them.

  • Driving Skills

Psychological Science is the flagship scientific journal published by SAGE Publications. A journal entry proclaims that games like NeuroRacer were found to improve multitasking skills in older adults significantly.

In another study, the claim was supported that racing games can improve a player’s visuomotor controls. However, it isn’t necessarily the only outcome.

Furthermore, in a later study using a driving simulator this time, it was found that action video gamers were more accurate in keeping the vehicle in the required lane than non-gamers, albeit crosswinds affecting the direction of their car.

  • Emotional and Motivational Benefits

Peter Gray PhD states in two of his articles on Psychology Today how Risky Play and Free Play can be essential for kids to develop better control over their emotions.

He relates this to the emotion regulation theory, where young kids deliberately putting themselves in fear-inducing and anger-inducing situations during play learn self-control.

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While parents can become alarmed at seeing these mood changes during a child’s experience of playing video games, Dr Gary confirms that this actually provides a major practice to deal with fear and anger in a relatively safer context.

  • Spatial Reasoning

Also known as visuospatial ability, the spatial ability is the capacity to reason, remember, and understand the relation of objects and their location in space with reference to another object.

On the other hand, spatial reasoning is the category of reasoning skills that entails a person’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions and draw conclusions from limited information.

Games like Medal of Honor and even puzzle games such as Tetris have been broadly studied to provide substantial evidence that video games can help develop a child’s spatial reasoning skills. Thus, it gives them the ability to carry out various tasks in real life with a better judgment and an improved efficiency rate.

  • Problem Solving Skills

The APA (American Psychological Association) supports the notion that video games can provide an alternate form of learning, including the development of problem-solving skills.

Furthermore, according to a long-term study published in 2013, playing video games such as role-playing games improved problem-solving skills in adolescents and their school grades the following year.

However, it was also noted that video games allowed players to learn using new tools with the help trial by failure method, allowing them to develop resilience towards facing disappointments.

By simply building emotional resilience towards facing their failure, they can learn to improve their performances not only within the game but can also carry such an attitude for their everyday lives as well.

  • Cognitive Skills

In a recent study by Benoit Bediou and his colleagues published by Psychological Bulletin, a total of 89 correlational studies were found to reveal strong and positive relationships for gamers.

It was found that the amount of time spent on gaming resulted in higher scores on cognitive tests focusing on attention (top-down), cognitive flexibility, multitasking, and spatial cognition, to name a few.

The data also suggested that just 10-30 hours of video gaming significantly improved performance. Pupils who are interested in acquiring dissertation proposal help can also play games like Civilization 6, Lumosity, and Overwatch, to improve their cognitive skills.

  • Increase IQ

According to studies conducted by Digital Creativity Labs (DC Labs) at York, action-strategy video games can interact with players at a level akin to taking an IQ test.

Today, you can find the research findings on PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed and open access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science. In fact, the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game League of Legends was studied as an action strategy game along with others as main subjects in the study.

It was found that similar to traditional strategy games such as chess, a positive relation between high IQ  and MOBA games such as DOTA2 (Defense of the Ancients) was found to hold true and stand its ground.

Young learners seeking the best dissertation writing services can also consider playing IQ-based games to improve their intelligence quotient.

  • Improve Creativity  

The Creative Research Journal asserts that video games, including the likes of Minecraft, were able to encourage players in developing and practicing some unique levels of creativity.

The ability to freely foster one’s own creativity in a controlled and safe environment proves to be a major benefit in exploring one’s creative side, the research proclaims. In another study, this time by lowa State University reveals that playing video games under certain conditions is widely linked to improving creativity and creative thinking skills within individuals.

  • Sociability  

Gone are the days when playing video games is considered self-isolation and facing the wall while you talk to ghosts and imaginary characters. Thanks to the internet’s penetration and usage amongst the masses, these days have resulted in a gigantic online gaming scene, the likes of no one has ever seen before.

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With billions of gamers actively playing video games online, people are socializing with like-minded folks nowadays more than ever. Popular social media platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Steam are buzzing with millions of players streaming and playing video games on a daily basis.

Conclusion 

Over the years, how people looked at video gaming has changed considerably. Many business and corporate establishments are going as far as to bring in gamification as well as game-design elements to educate and train their valued employees.

In fact, professional institutes are using similar means to motivate learners and make learning environments more exciting and engaging.

Therefore, the negative connotation of playing video games has drastically changed from loafing and wasting time exploring creativity and developing problem-solving skills. So who are you waiting for, plugin, and let’s start playing! The last one to the finish line pays for dinner!

Author Bio 

Melissa Calvert currently works as a devoted Game Developer at Crowd Writer and Dissertation Assistance. This is where higher education students can request to buy research papers UK to acquire professional assistance for their subjects and topics. The FGC is where her heart and soul thrive.

 

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