Monday, November 1, 2010

Video Games can be Good For You

Video Games are Good for You

Children who play videogames are not obese compared to those that watch the same amounts of TV. Videogames keep the hands occupied, and muscle movement doesn’t leave time for snacking, like TV does. Videogames require more activity than television.

US scientists have found that regular players have much better visual skills than most of the population.

The researchers have shown that gamers were particularly good at spotting details in busy, confusing scenes and could cope with more distractions than average.

Completing levels in a videogame builds self confidence and makes kids less intimidated of other kids that know their way around

Completing puzzles and figuring out solutions in a videogame helps build logic skills.

Videogames are well known to increase reaction time, and they also help children make decisions faster and recognize and react to situations in the real world.

Children become exposed to facts about the real world from video games that would otherwise take months, or years to learn about directly. Learning about World War II, about saltwater vs. freshwater fish, is one example.

Our children are going to have to grow up in a technology based society, and are going to have to compete with other children that know technology inside and out. Since in 2010 90% of children play videogames, and those children are going to be the leaders, creators, Being exposed to technology is good for kids, not bad.

The Boy Scouts even recognize the importance of Video Games, and now have created an award for Video Gaming.

Playing video games exposes children to zero advertisements compared to a typical hour of television programming.

Good-quality video games offer lots of benefits to kids. They can:
• provide a fun and social form of entertainment
• encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others
• make kids feel comfortable with technology—particularly important for girls, who don't use technology as much as boys
• increase children's self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games
• provide points of common interest and opportunities for socialization
• develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem-solving
• encourage participation in related offline activities, such as reading or sports
• encourage civic participation
• improve hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills

Video games also can teach important skills or address serious issues. Organizations such as Games For Change promote the use of games for education and social action, and often involve kids in the creation of games they can use to express themselves on important issues and current events.

Some medical professionals, such as Doctor Kourosh Dini, also feel that "age appropriate multi-player video games can allow children to learn how other people think - a key aspect of empathy. Games can also help a child become more comfortable with new and ever progressing technology."
Recent studies have shown that video games can have a positive or negative effect on how players behave, depending on the content. Pro-social games can increase empathy, co-operation, helping and emotional awareness, while violent games can diminish these traits.

Video games “good for you”: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2943280.stm The study was commissioned by the US Government's National Institute of Health.

"By forcing players to simultaneously juggle a number of varied tasks, action video game playing pushes the limits of three rather different aspects of visual attention," wrote the researchers.
"Although video game playing may seem to be rather mindless, it is capable of radically altering visual attentional processing."

59% of mothers with iphones give them to their kids to play with: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_moms_shopping_entertaining_kids.php
iPhones for Toddlers: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/fashion/17TODDLERS.html

Posted by Orange County DUI Attorney Robert Miller, who has a son who is not only very good at video games, but has loved them for years himself.

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