While there is, of course, like with anything in life, the exception to the rule, on the whole, there is nothing infinitely wrong with playing games at any age.
In actual fact, there are so many benefits from playing games, whether as an adult or child, that can benefit you in real life and help you build valuable skills.
Honestly, gaming isn’t a waste of time – many people perceive it to be far from being a great hobby or a way to waste time gaming in any iteration, be it playing sudoku on your phone or becoming the GOAT of GTA or Minecraft guru, it can be extremely valuable for anyone.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the many benefits of gaming you can use in real life!
Before we look at any other points, playing games can be incredibly fun if you enjoy that kind of thing.
Sure, it’s not for everyone, but if it’s for you, then it can be really fun and a great way to add joy to your life.
And as an adult, especially (or any age), having more fun in your life is incredibly important.
Life is for enjoyment, and however you find that enjoyment should be treasured, for some, it is sitting in front of a screen playing games and indulging in a world of make-believe; for others, it is something entirely different.
There is no shame in admitting you find enjoyment in gaming, and for this reason, alone should be enough to keep it in your life.
This point is aimed more at those multiplayer games in which you engage with other people.
For instance, games like ‘Overwatch’ or ‘Fortnite’ offer a way to socialise that some people might not get in real life or are preferable to face-to-face interactions.
Social skills can be lacking in the real world, and digitising social encounters can offer a more comfortable way for people to get to know others and connect with those who have preferences similar to theirs.
While it’s true that you should always be cautious about who you interact with online, and you need to be wary about who contacts you in spaces like online game forums or gameplay, there’s no denying that online multiplayer and community gaming has sprouted some really inclusive and supportive communities that many people rely on.
And this can only be a good thing, as long as you’re mindful of your safety and privacy.
Not everyone is skilled with critical thinking, and gaming is designed to challenge players and make them think and solve problems before them.
These games are often designed to be seemingly endless, with different actions and speaking outcomes that aren’t always favourable, meaning you need to go back to the drawing board or think on the post on how to change things around.
The beauty of complex games is that you are always on your toes, always having to think in the moment and be ready to come up with a solution fast to be able to progress.
In the real world, these critical thinking skills, making a decision based on the situation in front of you and the information you have in a time-sensitive environment, can assist people in approaching complex scenarios differently and thinking outside the box to get the desired result.
As an employee, these are valuable skills and ones that employers look for when hiring or promoting staff.
The problem-solving and critical thinking skills you develop through gaming can be directly applicable to your work, meaning you can put your gaming skills to good use to build a great career for you.
As games become more realistic and more and more people enhance their joy playing against others, many life skills can be learned during gameplay either directly via the game or through those they are playing with or against.
Life skills you can learn while gaming include linguistics, problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking, empathy, and how to lose properly (because no one likes to listen to a sore answer, and this is a surefire way to find yourself excluded from any group of people).
There is a lot to be said that learning societal norms and gameplay can be a good place to pick up on cues and habits and learn how to be a viable member of society.
A 2014 study by the University of Toronto found that gamers have better sensorimotor skills than nongamers.
This means that they have better hand-eye coordination, which is valuable for a wide range of things.
Good hand-to-eye coordination is needed for tasks like riding a bike, typing, and developing good reflexes.
The test that was carried out for the study, found that gamers were able to perform for longer with greater accuracy over a prolonged period than nongamers.
This ability could be extremely advantageous for tasks that require these skills for example a surgeon, or working with chemicals or explosives in the armed forces for example.
One of the more significant benefits of gaming is the multitasking aspect of gameplay.
Players are required to be alert and on point at all times for enhanced results and to progress through the game.
This means they need to perform several tasks at the same time and fast to keep up.
This might be keeping an eye on your enemy, either supporting other game players or your team while tracing ammo, health, stats, etc., and locating hidden dangerous traps.
This is a lot to think about at the same time and to keep track of too, meaning multitasking becomes standard and easy.
In fast-paced and high-adrenaline games, you are able to multitask, take in your surroundings, and make snap decisions.
The anthem moment is always going to offer benefits for those who play.
These days, gameplay isn’t simple, and there are a lot of decisions players need to make to play the game and play it well.
This means they need to improve their decision-making skills to allow them to make the right decision when they need to.
Because being too slow or making one wrong choice can ruin an entire game, and this isn’t a good look.
These skills, being able to make faster, more accurate decisions, can spill over into real life, making people who frequently game able to have an advantage over nongamers.
One study by the University of Rochester found that acting game players were up to 25% faster at making decisions, and these decisions were more accurate than slow-paced gamers or nongamers.
This is a skill that can come in handy in a multitude of scenarios, from medical care settings to the battlefield and in emergency situations.
Aside from being fun – because it should be – why else are you playing?
It can offer a host of benefits and skills that people might otherwise struggle to develop in the real world.
Plus, these skills are highly transferable, meaning they can be used in real life, not just gameplay, making players highly valuable members of society when they put these skills to good use.
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