11 Positive Effects of Video Games

Playing video games can have positive effects and benefits, when played in moderation.

The most notable positive effects of gaming include:

• Improved cognitive abilities. 
• Improved problem-solving skills and logic. 
• Increased hand-to-eye coordination. 
• Greater multitasking ability. 
• Faster and more accurate decision-making. 
• Enhanced prosocial behaviors. 
• Better eyesight (attention to detail). 
• More physical activity with games that promote physical activity (VR, mobile games). 
• And other benefits. 

The Top Positive Effects of Video Games

These are the main benefits of playing video games that you should know about. 

Improved Cognitive Abilities

Video games improve some of your cognitive abilities – especially your visuospatial skills and concentration.

Visuospatial ability is your ability to recognize and remember objects and the relations between those objects. This skill can be essential for everyday tasks such as driving, finding your way in a city, or making sense of a map or objects around you.

Spatial ability is also important in several fields of study, including mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, meteorology, and architecture.

This is one of the key positive effects of video games that might be beneficial for students and professionals, but will also serve gamers well in everyday life.

Enhanced Problem-Solving and Logic

A recent study from 2015 from Australian and Chinese research teams showed that gaming improves problem-solving skills and logic.

Researchers performed fMRI scans on 27 professional gamers and found they had more gray matter and “heightened connectivity between certain subregions in the insular cortex”. In practice, this translates to enhanced cognitive abilities, which include improved problem-solving skills and logic.

Many gamers play games that require a great deal of planning, strategic thinking and using logic to achieve goals within the game, so it makes sense that they will have enhanced development in areas of the brain dedicated to problem-solving and logic. 

Increased Hand-to-Eye Coordination

Another positive effect of gaming is increased hand-to-eye coordination.

A study from the University of Toronto in 2014 found that people who play games regularly have better sensorimotor skills than those who don’t play video games.

These skills are key for faster learning and adoption of tasks that require hand-to-eye coordination, such as bike riding, typing, or other tasks that require you to coordinate the movement of your hands with the movement of your eyes.

The study included 18 gamers and 18 non-gamers; both groups had to perform a simple task on their screens that involved following green dots with the mouse. At first, there seemed to be no major differences between the two groups.

However, as the test carried on, and it got repetitive, the tests showed that gamers performed with more speed and more accuracy than non-gamers.

Games allow you to develop an ability to learn sensorimotor patterns and movements faster and more efficiently, which may help you with tasks in the physical world. 

Greater MultiTasking Ability

Games have shown to improve your multitasking ability.

This is one of the most notable benefits of gaming because it provides you with the ability to perform your daily tasks better and more efficiently, and also complete many tasks at the same time.

Many games force players to perform several tasks at the same time – especially action games. For example, you have to look at the enemy on the screen, keep track of your health, ammo, and other stats, as well as move your character. You might also be speaking on a microphone with your teammates and friends.

With all the fast-paced action and hyper-stimulation that modern games provide, gamer’s may improve their multitasking ability.