Don’t Worry: Your Child’s Favorite Video Game Can Be Beneficial

With the push to go outside and exercise, many parents view video games as an evil intruder in their homes. Time spent playing video games could be spent reading, studying, interacting with the rest of the family, or playing outside. The benefits of playing video games seem to be nonexistent – what value could they have? Recent research has found amazing links between video game usage and many areas of brain development. The Diocese of Orlando presents the following information so parents of students enrolled in schools in Orlando, Florida can make an informed decision pertaining to video game usage.

• Many studies find a direct correlation between video game usage and hand/eye coordination. One study, in particular, involved recent Air Force recruits who had scored amazingly well on their pre-flight tests. Instructors were so impressed they decided to find the common thread that may have caused this sudden bump in test scores. To their astonishment, the recruits were all very adept at video games.
• The University of California-Irvine found a link between memory improvement and playing 3D video games. Their study focused on the development of the hippocampus in the brain, where complex learning and memory function is located. With a 12% increase of memory retention in individuals playing video games, researchers believe the hippocampus was altered for the better.
• Because today’s video games are immersive and interactive, users become hyper-aware of their surroundings, which transfers to life outside of the video games. With a higher level of focus, perception, a longer attention span, and sharper critical thinking skills, gamers are better at making rapid-fire decisions.
• The ability to relax and leave the world behind acts as a salve on moods. Playing video games – with an emphasis on playing – reduces stress and may even help with depression. Many games also offer online multi-player functions so interaction with others can occur even when only one person is playing the game at home.

Most of the snap decisions and quick judgment calls practiced during video game play are possible because of the connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, the corpus callosum. Especially in young children – those under age six – the ability to “multi-task” by incorporating most of the senses will strengthen and broaden the corpus callosum, allowing more messages to be sent from one hemisphere to the other in a more fluid manner.For children attending schools in Orlando, Florida, this can also alter their thinking at school: critical thinking is increased because they practice reasoning out various options as they play online; hand/eye coordination improves along with both gross and fine motor skills, which could improve handwriting and working with small items; and teambuilding skills escalate while working with others to complete a task defines one player’s role as it relates to the whole.While it is certainly not healthy to devote several hours every day to video games, it is good to know the hours glued to a new game are not wasted, but fruitful, hours. Contact the Diocese of Orlando at 407-246-4903 to hear about our technology philosophy in the classroom, and read our latest blogs for an abundance of information pertaining to our schools, education, and extracurricular activities.