The Benefits of Gaming
Gaming is a popular hobby that can be a great way to relax, spend time with friends or learn new skills. It can be played on a video game console, a computer or mobile device and people can compete against each other or play in teams over the internet. Gaming has many benefits, including being entertaining and social, building resilience, developing quick decision making and fostering creativity. It also allows people to explore alternative identities through their characters and in-game worlds. Gaming can also provide a sense of accomplishment, pride and achievement. In addition, it can help with stress management and promotes teamwork.
The rise of mobile gaming has led to more people playing games outside of the home, either on their consoles or on their phones. It is estimated that by 2020 mobile gaming will have overtaken PC and console gaming in terms of revenue. People can play a wide range of games from different genres such as action, shooters, role playing and simulations. Some of these games can be very immersive, taking players into another world where they can interact with other players over the internet. Many of these games are free to play, but some require a monthly subscription fee in order to access all the features.
While gaming can be very addictive and lead to problems such as addiction, it can also be used as a tool for relaxation, as a way to connect with others and improve social skills. It is important for gamers to manage their gaming and balance it with other activities such as spending time with friends and family, going to school or work, exercising and sleeping. People who struggle with gaming addiction should seek treatment to reduce pull forces, like the gratification and enjoyment from the game, and increase push forces, such as the need to complete daily tasks or maintain relationships.
Studies on how gaming impacts the brain show that people who use response learning strategies tend to have a larger and more active striatum, which links simple stimulus-response-reward sequences together, but a smaller and less active hippocampus, which forms fuller episodic memories that relate to time, place or evoked emotions. This may indicate that gamers are at a higher risk of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Some studies suggest that gaming can improve attention span and visuospatial skills, which could benefit people who need to pay close attention to details in their jobs or study. The ability to switch attention quickly and ignore distractions may be helpful in reducing the effects of chronic stress, which can cause poor concentration and memory, as well as irritability, depression and jitteriness. A gamer’s ability to multitask is also likely to be beneficial, as some games can be very fast paced and involve several tasks at once – such as looking at an enemy on the screen, keeping track of health, ammo and stats, moving their character and speaking over a microphone with other gamers.