Do Video Games Make You Smarter?

We have all heard the excuses and misinformed opinions created about video games. 

You hear people say things like:

• Games make kids more violent
• Games make you dumber
• Games cause anxiety

While I am not discrediting these opinions, I personally cannot agree with them.

To be honest, I am yet to see the research from somebody with these “ideals”.

Games are often portrayed as violent, addictive, and a mindless waste of hours that encourage laziness.

I have been a full-time gamer since I was old enough to hold a Gameboy in my hands. Now I am 24 years old, still playing games and I promise you my unhealthy gaming habit never got in the way of my quality of life.

In fact, I am a strong believer that games help more than they hurt.

And unlike the “other side”, I have research to back me up.

Games Help You Make Accurate Decisions, 25% Faster

Depending on the games you play, there are a lot of games today that force you to make quick decisions. 

You are forced into situations where thinking quick and on your feet will make the difference between winning and feeling good about your self, or losing and questioning if you even have thumbs in the first place.

In one study, by Daphne Bavelier, participants aged 18 to 25 were split into two groups. One group played 50 hours of Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament. The other group played 50 hours of The Sims 2.

After their respective sessions, the Call of Duty players made decisions 25% faster in a task unrelated to playing video games, without losing out on accuracy.

Games force you to have a clear picture of what is going on around you, and because of this, you are able to make decisions faster.

This translates perfectly into the real world in situations where you are forced to think fast.

Improve Motor-Skills

Because on games, you have to learn the controls (and you normally do relatively quickly) and how it relates to the character you control in the game, you naturally get better hand-eye coordination. 

You can throw better, catch, kick, and bounce better. You’re basically super-human.

Video Games Improve Memory, Focus, and Thinking Patterns

In a study published by Journal Plos One, playing Wii Tennis, Wii Table Tennis, and High Altitude Battle helped doctors perform better in simulated tests designed to test their hand-eye coordination.

Also, by playing slow-moving games – like strategy games – you can increase your intelligence. This also moves into the point that games help you make better decisions.

Gaming Improves Your Vision

Here’s one I know you weren’t expecting.

While some people correlate having eye problems with gaming and staring at a computer screen for a long time, research on the other hand proves that gaming can improve your vision.

How?

By making the gamer more sensitive to colors and different shades of light. Which are things you will find in pretty much every game.

Especially gamers that play fast-paced FPS games. Because in multiple scenarios in these games, you are forced to identify the enemy from a distance and from different angles.

Games Can Help Kids Dyslexia Improve Their Reading Abilities After Playing

A small study was conducted and it found that gaming can help out kids with dyslexia read faster by enhancing their concentration and attention span.

Money

Because of the internet now, gamers can make money from playing games.

So the excuse that games are a waste of time should really just be thrown out the window at this point.

Conclusion

As you can see, video games are not this terrible monster that a lot of people try to make it out to be. 

If anything, they do more to help keep kids occupied and out of trouble than anything else a parent might try.

Also, if you worry you are wasting your time playing games, then do something with it (start a stream or create content on youtube).

It is now a hobby you can make money from, so why not try to monetize it?

Video games DO make you smarter.