A lot of negative articles and op-ed pieces surround the world of gaming. Rife with negativity it would seem apparent that video games are good for nothing.
That’s not true.
And I have research and facts to prove my point.
Research has found that most games, even if violent in nature can help relieve stress and is something people enjoy playing and engaging in as a social activity.
You need not presume that games are stressful and can cause mental harm. There’s very little evidence corroborating these claims.
A few studies show that stressful games also find an outlet in the real life of gamers. And so do violent games. Players playing violent games for 20 minutes or so were more likely to blast loud noises at another person if they had the chance.
It indicates aggressive reaction. But it’s possible that people preferring violence are given to playing violent games. You can get best gaming laptop under 500 to get started.
The half picture
The studies shown above conducted in labs only give half the picture. There’s a lot more ground to cover.
Self assessment provided by gamers don’t show a link between problems in their social life, work, or academic behavior or stress behavior as a response to gaming.
The negative effects are much more muted.
Both gamers and non gamers experienced different levels of stress but for both the groups, for gamers the difference was ever so slight.
In another study with over 1614 participants researchers wanted to see the use of computer games as a stress recovery tool. It was seen that games can be used as a coping tool.
Recovery experience associated with gaming is a significant part of gaming.
Work fatigue, hassles, social support and those who used games for stress relief found games to be particularly effective at killing the effects of stress and coming out of exhausting events in life.
Work related fatigue shows positive signs of recovery. Participants with emotion focused coping mechanism showed tendency to use games than people who analyzed their problems step by step to arrive at a solution.
The difference between people who were able to cope well and those who couldn’t cope well was linked with their ability to monitor and control and drive inner feelings and inner states.
With a healthy balance they felt empowered to make decisions for the better also often seeking social help to manage stress.
By playing games we also get an avenue to act out in similar life situations without having to actually face those situations. These false plays help us better deal with situations when they actually arise.
This practice help us correct social behavior and behave properly. Action based games improve cognition and reaction speeds. This helps you think on your feet, solve problems effectively and reduce stress.
