By Will Seaver, Clarion Staff
When people say that video games are bad for you, they are very, very wrong. Games are important because they provide a fun and social form of entertainment, encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others. They make people under the age of 10 or 15 comfortable with technology. They also increase children’s self-confidence and self esteem as they master games, provide points of common interest and opportunities for socialization. Certain games like puzzle or math related games can develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem solving, and encourage participation in related offline activities, such as reading video game related books, “etc”, or doing certain sports. they also encourage and improve civic participation, and hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
They can also teach important skills or address serious issues. It even turns out that games do provide a valuable service to each and every player. They provide a quick and easy way to light up the pleasure centers in our brains. Games mirror the way the human mind learns and uses it in certain situations like a sword fight or where to go in quick thinking situations. They motivate players to take risks and actions, persevere through failures, set and achieve increasingly difficult goals, and devote attention, time, and effort to acquiring new skills. Video games speed up reaction time for situations where you have to use your brain like a speed run. Playing action video games trains people to make the right decisions faster, according to Alan Blank-Rochester’s article on Futurity.org (September 13th, 2010).