Robert James
With the societal stigmas and taboos surrounding video games, there is also a positive outlook to the notion, which is usually swept under a rug. While there are conflicting opinions about the impact of video games on the lives of students, research and expert opinion say otherwise.
Gaming has now turned into something more than a mere entertainment medium. Studies have even suggested playing video games plays a key role in relieving stress and unwinding their tension levels. That’s just one beneficial quality of gaming. Soon you will understand how it is even elevating academic success for students of all ages and belonging to varying demographics.
Here is what has been accumulated and proven so far.
Community-driven
The gaming realm comprises of both single and multiplayer games. Playing games along with your friends or people you meet online, allows players to collaborate with individuals possessing different mindsets. They lead themselves to a platform where they work together focusing on a single problem, which is to win the game. Each player will likely have a different outlook on the in-game problem. With better collaboration, better decisions shall surface and the better players can adjust in the gaming community.
Control over their decisions
When playing a video game, you are in complete control of every decision and move you make. External surroundings are not to be held accountable. That’s what students and young learners are able to learn. You are solely responsible for your decisions; no one else is. Video games subliminally enforce the same message. Every move and decision counts in determining the game’s aftermath. Now imagine if academic lessons were gamified, students will be learning the same notion as seen in every game.
Ability to solve problems
Video games also help in developing problem-solving abilities. Relying on an adult figure in your lives seems far-off and that would surely change at some point in your life. Most video games tend to fixate on clearing obstacles. After every obstacle is cleared, the player is rewarded with new in-game characters, gold or more experience. However, to achieve so, players have to exert their mental power to overcome obstacles by planning and collaborating with other players. Even if the game they’re playing is single-player, the need to make quick decisions to problems remains intact.
Handling multiple tasks
According to a credible study, it has been proven that video games allow players to multi-task in real life. This study was accumulated by the university itself along with the small experiment they conducted. As a result, the in-game multitasking abilities of adult participants were higher as compared to those younger than them. Surprisingly enough, the adults were the ones who don’t play video games often. Children in today’s age are more prone to playing games so you can just imagine the impact it could bring in allowing children or young adults to learn how to handle multiple tasks at once.
Relieving stress levels
The world of digitalization certainly has brought us ease but there has also been an increment in stress levels for significant and subjective reasons. Pressure on students to constantly secure good grades can be critical for their mental wellbeing. At times, when they feel pressured and stress out, there needs to be an outlet where they can easily relieve the stress they’re facing. Burdening themselves with assignments, tests and meeting deadlines can be taxing.
It takes a toll on their minds. One such effective way to distract themselves from the worldly expectations is to resort to playing video games. In turn, they can relieve their stress levels and elevate their moods to face the tasks at hand with more focus and determination.
Are you vouching for the correlation between academics and gaming?
Those who agree and vouch for the positive effects gaming has brought in academics can surely let their children play video games but with utmost supervision. The gaming experience needs to be seamless and uninterrupted especially for online or multiplayer games. So, connect to a high speed internet connection and allow them to game away.
The aforementioned examples are just a few new inclusions. The correlation between the two is yet to be fully explored. When it is, let’s present the verdicts we have once again.
