Why Games Can Be an Important Part of Anyone’s Life

In the early days of video games, advocacy groups and militant activists were in-demand guests on TV news shows and radio programs. They love telling everybody that video games have a detrimental effect on academic and professional performance and that if you enjoy them, you’re part of the problem. The caricature of the 90s and early 2000s gamer was born: jobless, unhealthy, and living under an ocean of Cheetos packets and Mountain Dew bottles in their basements.

Fast forward to the current day. Gaming is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, and programmers create NFT- and crypto-based platforms to help gamers earn money as they pour countless hours into PC and mobile applications. Executives, school teachers, and famous actors like Will Smith advertise games like Fortnite and Candy Crush and visit online casinos like SBOBET to let off steam.

You can find virtual blackjack and Texas hold ’em players raking in millions of views from promoters in online and traditional media. Gaming is now an integral part of everyday life. In this explainer, our gaming experts will detail why that is not such a bad thing.

Video Games Can Be a Learning Experience

According to research from NASDAQ, video games are now the leading virtual industry worldwide, surpassing the revenues of the music and movie industries combined. You can find a broad range of games on many platforms, and scientists are studying their long-term effects on children and adults.

The most immediately beneficial aspect of video games is their capability to teach children about science, history, and many other topics. Empire-building and city management games like Age of Empires, Civilization, and SimCity help children explore the economic, social, and political challenges of running governmental bodies. They can also improve information processing and negotiation skills by familiarizing kids with the basics of bartering, history, and strategizing.

Games like Animal Crossing can help children learn about time management, skill building, and materialistic values. Researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Rochester began looking into the helpfulness of video games for traditional education curriculums. Their findings conclude video games upgrade the motor function, decision-making skills, and visual acuity of children at the preschool level.

Games Improve Social Abilities and Other Soft Skills

Research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York reveals that European children between ages 6 and 11 demonstrate higher social intelligence and overall intellectual functioning by a factor of 1.88 over their non-gaming counterparts.

Despite the sometimes-hostile chat environments of games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Valorant, children develop better peer relationships and capabilities to work with a team when they learn to navigate through more social environments. Adult-oriented platforms like SBOBET can also do this for older gamers.

Video Games Can Make You More Physically Active

Before computers, the only activities kids could enjoy in their spare time were tag, hopscotch, card games, and other contests with a physical and mental challenge. Today, video games are bringing that trend back with virtual reality.

Games like Supernatural allow players to follow workouts led by professional trainers in rhythm-mapped courses like the Great Wall of China, Mars, and many more. You can also jam to a broad range of music, from Tchaikovsky to 80s hair metal. Holofit, FitXR, and Beat Saber are only three of the many innovative ways creators bring exercise and mental challenges back into gaming.