by Remember all those times your mom and dad gave you flak over all those hours you spent playing video games claiming that you’d rot your brain or something of that sort? Well, while your parents may have had your best interests at heart, they may have been slightly misled in this situation.
From super-famous millionaire streamers to world beating e-athletes competing for millions of dollars during The International, it looks as if perhaps videos games are not all bad.
A recent study has shown that surgeons who played video games for more than 3 hours per week were able to complete surgical procedures faster and with greater precision when compared to their non-gaming counter-parts.
This could be due to the fact that video games often require excellent hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes and solid problem-solving abilities. For example, first-person shooters help individuals improve their visuomotor control i.e. coordinating your character’s movements to accurate land shots on your target.
Hence, in some situations surgeons develop their motor coordination skills by playing video games which in turn allows them to improve their ability to perform surgical procedures.
If you’re a fan of racing games of any sort i.e. Mario Kart, Need for Speed, Forza; we’ve got great news for you.
From a recent study conducted by the journal Psychological Science, it was determined that racing and driving games serve to significantly sharpen an individual’s visual motor skills. This is because, driving games serve to stimulate your mind in such a way that your response times and coordination between incoming visual cues and muscle responses is significantly improved.
While we don’t advocate driving like how you do in Mario Kart, improved visuomotor skills from playing video games serve to make you a better and safer driver as you will be able to respond quicker to events on the road i.e. avoiding a road hazard or responding in time to a vehicle that has slammed on its brakes.
So, if you love driving games maybe it’s time you consider running a few laps in Forza and you might just feel the difference for yourself. For more fun facts about gaming, why not get in touch with the team at TKO Hacks’ – they are experts and can give you a tip or two.
Traditionally, video games have always gotten a bad rep from teachers and parents who claimed that video games are a waste of time. However, you should take note of this; videos are actually able to improve one’s cognitive and learning abilities.
From a study conducted by Professor Daphne Bavelier of the University of Geneva, video games actually improve skills related to learning such as multi-tasking, perception, attention, task switching and decision making.
All of these skills which you notice are necessary if you wish to dominate your opponents in PUBG, Starcraft II and even Fortnite. As part of Bavelier’s test, participants were divided into two groups; one which regularly played video games and the other which did not.
Over a period of several months, both groups were required to complete tests which assessed their learning abilities and it was determined that the group that played video games regularly performed better. Along with this, another study noted that teens that regularly scanned Facebook and spent time chatting with friends tended to score 4% worse than average in Math.
Video games are massive fun and as it would appear they are a great way of helping individuals improve their cognitive and learning abilities as well as helping them improve their reflexes. So, maybe you don’t have to feel too bad about spending hours gaming just yet.
