Gaming as an industry has evolved exponentially over the years. Evolving from simple single-player games, today’s gaming comes in various multiplayer and online virtual player options. Modern games have much better visuals and storylines. Thus, it is not surprising that more and more people are showing an interest in gaming. Students at different learning levels, in particular, are often quite passionate about gaming.
For them, it is a means to entertain and express themselves. Gaming also acts as a stress buster for students. However, that does not mean that students cannot learn anything by pursuing this activity. There are many benefits of gaming for students and children. Some of these are discussed below.
Unexpected Perks of Gaming for Students
Helps improve concentration skills
Gamers have improved reflexes, which is a direct result of being able to concentrate more. Most video games created today are fast-paced and test the reflective abilities of students and children. The visual and auditory experience that video games create helps gamers engage all their senses and be present in the moment. This improves their concentration and ability to take in multiple stimuli and leverage different information channels simultaneously.
Improves logical reasoning and critical thinking
Video games today are no longer the simple races that they used to be. Today, video games come with complex storylines and require a gamer to think logically about the next steps. They also force gamers to think about risk assessment and risk mitigation in order to win the game. These skills can be very important for a student. For example, a student who games can think critically about their workload at college and prioritize accordingly.
They may decide to buy cheap essay and focus on their exam, as the exam has more weightage in the overall grade than the essay. This is just one example of how student-gamers can think on their feet and find a good solution where a non-gamer kid would stress and panic.
Allows a student to learn to multitask
In a video game, a gamer often has to be aware of multiple things such as their set of tools, the number of lives left, goals that their character is trying to achieve, and more. They can do this successfully only through multitasking. This is a very transferable skill that students often need to juggle their academics and extracurricular activities.
Career options for gamers
Today, there are many career options for gamers in the game development, visual design, and gaming business marketing areas. A student who has been gaming understands the gaming world very well and will be able to project requirements and solutions to existing problems. This way, gaming also helps students who wish to build a career in the gaming industry.
Students learn to interact with diverse communities
Gaming today has evolved to include people from different geographies and walks of life. This also means that they would belong to different communities and cultures. In multiplayer games, a gamer-student plays with people from all these different communities.
During this process, they have to learn to understand and be respectful to all of them. In the process, they will likely get some friends from across the globe, learn about their culture, and may even learn a foreign language.
Multiplayer games promote teamwork
In multiplayer games, not only does a student have to react quickly, but they must also be aware of their team members. Many times, they may be required to step up to help a team member out of a sticky situation. This promotes teamwork and thinking about others. This is a skill that can come in handy even a student works on group projects or other collaborations at a school or college level.
Inspires an interest in history and culture
As mentioned earlier in the article, video games today come with complex storylines. These storylines are often based on historical events and include many cultural and socio-economic elements. Visuals in a game also try to be historically and culturally accurate.
As a result, gamers and students are exposed to many cultures and historical timelines. Indirectly, while gaming, students learn about various cultures, time periods, historical figures, events and issues. They might even discover an interest in these subjects and pursue them further.
A Few Final Words
Gaming has many advantages for students. As long as students game in moderation, there is no harm that can come to them. In fact, through gaming students gain many skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives.
It also bodes well if parents and teachers encourage a student’s gaming interests and have open conversations with them about maintaining a balance between gaming and other activities and commitments.
About the Author – Carl Hill
Carl Hill is a game developer. He is also a writer, storyteller, and gamer himself. He works with gaming companies as a consultant during the build stage to storyboard the game. After that, he builds the backend. During his free time, he likes to test games to identify bugs and improve the gaming experience. He also enjoys writing gaming-related articles.
