Scarica Essay about videogames e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! CAN VIDEO GAMES MAKE YOU SMARTER? Video games provide a funny escape from reality; though, they are often portrayed as violent, lazy and a waste of time by some. The debate has raged on for years. So are there any positive effects? Can video games actually make you smarter? Before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s important to know that too much of anything is bad, even broccoli. Seriously. Extremely high doses of broccoli can actually be toxic. Heck even water toxicity exists. So if you binge and do nothing but playing video games, the risk probably outweigh any benefits (in fact we have an entire video devoted to what would happen if you stop going outside and the negative effects of sitting). Having said that, many studies have actually shown increases in cognitive functions after playing videogames. One study in particular had participants play Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes a day over 2 months. Afterwards, the brain of these participants saw an increase of grey matter in area associated with memory, strategic planning and fine motor skills of the hands compared to those who had not played. These are particularly encouraging results for mental disorders, which cause these brain regions to shrink, using video games as a therapy. Surprisingly action games can also increase attention to details in individuals. TEST: Take a look at the following words on screen and yell out what colour the word is as fast as you can. As we continue it becomes more difficult because there is a conflict between the word itself and its colour. Changes are if you play more than 5-10 hours of action games a week: you’re able to solve these problems much more quickly. This is because your brain is actually more efficient in the region associated with attention. Of course, video games can also be incredibly educational! And while you may not be playing some of your favourite games for this purpose, there are certainly many games that are used as effective teaching tools for both young and old. They may even help kids who suffer from dyslexia read more effectively. In a small study, dyslexic children who played regular video games, ended up reading faster and more accurately. Once again, relating to improved attention skills. Meanwhile, other studies have found improvements in eyesight. Not only can they see smaller details more clearly, like tiny writings, but they have an easier time differentiating levels of grey. Very practiced action gamers were 58% better perceiving fine differences in contrast. Which is important, as this is one of the first things diminishing with age. Even in the elderly, improved memory and focus is seen. More importantly, specially designed brain teasing video games have been shown to slow the aging process by up to seven years. This is because they are cognitively complex and require mental energy! TEST: Think your able to keep track of what’s in front of your eyes? Keep an eye on the blue circle. It will turn yellow like all the others. I will then point to a circle and you will then tell me if it was originally blue. It turns out the average person can track about 3-4 objects, while a practiced action gamer can track around 6-7.
