| Benefits? It all depends on the type of "gamer" a person is.
Those are in three groups:
- the completionist
- the competitor
- the creator/tester The first one is all about completing. It could be getting a game to 100%, hunting trophies or achievements, you name it. They aren't usually invested in the competition, unless they have to in order to complete something. The second one is all about going toe to toe with other players. Think CS:GO competitive gaming. Those are folks who just want to be the best (better than all the rest). For them, it's the first spot on the leaderboard that counts. They are often, but not always, good with communication due to having to communicate quickly and efficiently with other players and/or teammates. The third one is more of an experimenter. A sort of "gaming scientist", if you will. They don't usually care about completion or the competition. They want to push the boundaries of the game to its limits and sometimes even break the game altogether. Minecraft players are a very good example but even this needs a caveat, since all minecrafters aren't into creating/testing the world of the game. Some complete. Some compete. Creators are those who try to understand the mechanics of a game and build something new on top of it. The best example here would be a Minecraft player who built a functioning computer inside the game. Look it up, it's nuts. Each of those gives certain benefits that others don't (for instance, the competitors are usually better at making split second decisions and/or thoughtful decisions, depending on the game genre). Another benefit of gaming, aside from the obvious escapism, is that the players get a better hand-eye coordination. A study I read a few years back said that surgeons who played video games were better with their hand movements than those who did not play regularly. Yet another benefit could be language learning.
I can attest myself that games in a foreign language will slowly but steadily teach the player words.
For instance: I was born in Poland and didn't know a lick of English. I've been playing games for over 23 years. I learned to write, speak, read, and understand English to the point I speak it better than my native language.
Granted, I game a lot and some people play casually, which changes the efficiency of this claim of mine. My point is this: games, as much as they are a tool to distract ourselves from the grey life we live, have proven benefits, be it logical thinking, language learning, better hand-eye coordination, you name it.
It's only a question of moderation, because addiction is always a very real possibility. |