Science & Environment - Why video games may be good for you Games have long been accused of making players violent, but evidence has been building over the years that they can have positive effects. Scientists say they are not only understanding why, but they also trying to put these observations to the test. The spreadsheet was seven feet long. Printed in nine-point font were the names of the perpetrators of mass killings, the models of weapons each had used, and the number of victims. It took only a few hours for the authorities to link the massacre to Lanza’s playing of violent video games. Lanza's shooting spree was just the latest of a long list of violent crimes that have blamed on video games. A growing body of research is showing the flip side, though – video games can help people see better, learn more quickly, develop greater mental focus, become more spatially aware, estimate more accurately, and multitask more effectively. Douglas Gentile at Iowa State University, US, agrees. Multi-level field Was this cause or effect, though?
Hours of playing video games can change brain for the better, research finds Video games can change a person's brain and, as researchers are finding, often that change is for the better. A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability. People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25 percent faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second -- four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers. Electronic gameplay has its downside. "Video games change your brain," said University of Wisconsin psychologist C.
Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills hide captionIn this video game image from Call of Duty: Black Ops, special forces agents pilot a gunship up the Mekong River. Scientists say immersion games like this one may develop certain parts of kids' brains. Activision via AP Parents, the next time you fret that your child is wasting too much time playing video games, consider new research suggesting that video gaming may have real-world benefits for your child's developing brain. Daphne Bavelier is professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester. Her studies show that video gamers show improved skills in vision, attention and certain aspects of cognition. Seeing Shades Of Gray Vision, for example, is improved in gamers. hide captionA test subject in cognitive scientist Daphne Bavelier's study tries to follow the direction of moving dots on a computer screen. J. A test subject in cognitive scientist Daphne Bavelier's study tries to follow the direction of moving dots on a computer screen. Laser Focus
Video games and health Playing video games to raise millions for charity This year, video gamers doing the Extra Life marathon will play for 25 hours as clocks roll back for fall. Gamers can raise money by playing for more than 24 hours on November 2Extra Life has raised more than $4 million since its start in 2008The charity Child's Play marks 10 years of gamers giving back.Humble Bundle gives gamers the choice to pay more to help charities (CNN) -- On November 2 you can help raise millions of dollars for sick children by sitting on the sofa and playing video games. Just like the weekend athletes who collect donations from family and friends for every mile they race in a charity run, thousands of gamers will be enlisting their networks to support them in a marathon of a completely different sort. This novel fund raising idea is sponsored by Extra Life, which is now a part of the nonprofit Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Would anyone really support gamers spending an entire day just playing? "We are some of the most connected people on the planet.
Top 5 Health Benefits from Playing Video Games By: Fidan Mustafayeva Many people have prejudiced notions that video games make us violent, anti-social, and fat (since most games don’t require a lot of physical movement). While gaming is not necessarily considered the healthiest hobby but there are actually many health benefits that come from video games. 1. In a study conducted by the 2009 Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine, it was found that gamers who suffered from mental stress or depression were able to use video games to vent out their frustrations. 2. As crazy as it sounds, video games can also help relieve physical pain. 3. A study in the journal of Current Directions in Psychological Science, showed that people who played video games had faster reflexes than people who did not. 4. The University of Rochester conducted a study by checking the vision of a group of people who played action video games for a few hours a day for a month. 5. Sources: Don’t Just Be Fit, Be Gamer Fit
Video Game Industry Statistics | Entertainment Software Rating Board Since 1994, the ESRB rating system has established itself as a familiar, reliable means for parents to gauge the suitability of video games for their children. Although consumers may be more familiar with ESRB ratings on physical (boxed) games, increasingly ESRB ratings can be found for apps, VR, and online games. The ESRB is one of the founding rating authorities of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), which administers a streamlined process for assigning age and content ratings to digitally delivered games and mobile apps. The Microsoft Store for Windows and Xbox, the Nintendo eShop, the PlayStation Store, the Google Play Store, Google Stadia, and the Oculus Store are among the digital storefronts that have deployed the IARC rating system, which facilitates the display of ESRB ratings on devices in North America.
Video games improve decision-making skills - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience Video games really could make your mind sharper by improving your decision-making skills, a new study finds. Past research showed that people who play action video games have faster reaction times than those who don't play the games. Action video games typically refer to "shooter games, where you go through a maze and you don't know when a villain will appear," said researcher Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Rochester in New York. Still, one could argue that action games just make gamers trigger-happy, apt to react quickly but not accurately. After all, action games are "not exactly what you'd think of as mind-enhancing," Bavelier said. Now scientists find action gamers apparently are better at making quick and accurate decisions, ones based on details they extract from their surroundings. "It is quite unusual to find a training regimen that seems to benefit so many different aspects of behavior," Bavelier told LiveScience. © 2012 LiveScience.com.