Let’s face it: if you have ever used a gamepad, you might have heard that video games will mess up your brain. It could be a mom or dad, who is worried, saying it; a teacher, who doesn’t believe in games; or that one friend, who still thinks Pac-Man is the best game ever. But, here’s a twist – research is now confirming what gamers have been saying for a long time: games are not only about fun, but they can also be beneficial to you.
Do you remember when the news was telling us that games might be good for mental health? For the people who spent a rainy weekend building worlds in Animal Crossing or fighting through Zelda, this was nothing new. Games are great, they attract our attention, and they keep us happy with their fun and challenging tasks. It is very straightforward – doing what you like helps both your mood and your mind.
However, let’s talk about it more. What does science really say about games and our brains? A lot, actually. Experts have been observing gamers for a long time, and what they have discovered is quite impressive. The review of 116 studies indicated that playing games is just not a simple power change in the brain—it actually can reshape the brain as well. Those who play games become more skillful in focusing for longer and recognizing the important details. The parts of the brain that are in charge of these abilities work fluently. Yes, your brain gets better at recognizing the most important things, like avoiding that last-second blue shell in Mario Kart.
The story is not over yet. Long-term players, or those who follow video game training regimens, have shown an enlarged right hippocampus—the part of the brain that is responsible for recalling where you put your keys (or, more logically, where you kept the valuable loot). 3-D gaming, in particular, is considered to be memory creation-enhancing. One experiment even showed a 12 percent rise in memory test scores after only two weeks of gaming—that memory that usually gets half of the way, Chang, 10 to 15 years, is roughly that portion of memory that drops between the ages of 45 and 70. So, Grandma, those Fortnite skills might be the reason that your brain stays sharp after all.
However, it is not all bonus rounds and power-ups. For some people, playing can be an addiction, just like other addictive habits, and it has the potential to change the brain’s reward system. While the World Health Organization’s classification of “gaming disorder” is a subject of debate, it is, nevertheless, a real problem for some players, i.e., a very small minority. Nevertheless, as Marc Palaus, the primary author of a review in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, states, “Video games have both positive effects (on attention, visual, and motor skills) and negative aspects (risk of addiction), and it is important to understand this complexity.”
The brain-training games that promise to make you a genius—what about them? Don’t fall for it. Wally Boot, a psychology associate professor at Florida State University, claims that there is very little evidence that these games actually improve your life in some way. You might get very good at remembering numbers, but you will not be able to tell where you left your car.
The real magic of gaming has little to do with brains—it is more about well-being. When we were all in quarantine, games like Animal Crossing and Roblox became the places to have fun. They allowed kids and adults to laugh, explore, and hang out online when the real world was too much. Keza MacDonald said that games helped her to find herself again while going through the crazy times of being a new mom, giving her a break from the never-ending nappies and lack of sleep.
So, why do they get so much hate? Maybe because some people still think that games are only for fun, or maybe because the media mostly talks about the bad side of games, such as violence and addiction. But with almost 3 billion gamers worldwide, it is definitely time to let go of those old views. Just like movies, music, or books, games are now as rich and diverse—I mean, there are good games, bad games, and everything in between. They make us happy, teach us things, and sometimes even help keep our brains fit.