Why is computer games good

Video games can help children's brain development. When my son was a young adolescent, I watched him play Legend of Zelda games. He had to search, negotiate, plan, and try different approaches to advance. Many recent games, such as Bakugan: Defenders of the Core , involve planning and problem-solving.

Video games don't have to be labeled "educational" to help children learn to make decisions, use strategies, anticipate consequences and express their personalities. The content of certain video games can encourage kids to read and to research. Video games such as Age of Mythology , Civilization , and Age of Empires may spark a child's interest in world history, geography, ancient cultures and international relations, especially if parents are alert to opportunities.

To quote researchers David Shaffer and James Gee, "When children have parents who help turn Age of Mythology into an island of expertise, tying it to books, Internet sites, museums, and media about mythology, cultures and geography, the children pick up a wide range of complex language, content and connections that serve as preparation for future learning of a highly complex and deep sort. In contrast to their parents, most young kids see video games as a social activity, not an isolating one.

Video games create a common ground for young kids to make friends; allow kids to hang out; and provide structured time with friends. In our research, boys were more likely to play video games with a group of friends, either in the same room or online.

Plus, young boys said games were a frequent focus for conversation among their peers: One boy revealed that his peers at school mostly talked about "girls and games -- the two Gs. In my own research, players specifically boys talked about learning new moves from sports video games and then practicing them at the basketball court or on skateboards.

Some took up new sports after being introduced to them in video games. As one boy revealed in a research focus group, "In the games that are real, which are mostly the sports games, you see them do amazing plays. If you go outside and try them and keep practicing, you could get better. It's normal and healthy for kids, especially boys, to compete with their peers as they jockey for status and recognition.

In my surveys and focus group studies with young teens , "I like to compete with other people and win" was one of the most popular reasons for playing video games -- again, especially for boys. Video games are a safe place to express those competitive urges, and can give children who aren't good at sports a chance to excel. Good-quality video games offer lots of benefits to children and teens. Resources for Parents. Blog entry. My Connected Life. Talk Back!

How to Take Action on Media Issues. Choosing good video games. Tip Sheet. The second group did not play any video games at all. Scientists used magnetic resonance imaging MRI to measure the size of the brain of the groups before the start of the study, then again after the two-month period.

With their subjects, scientists saw increases in three major areas of the brain: the prefrontal cortex, the right hippocampus, and the cerebellum. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for decision making, social behavior, personality, and cognitive planning. It makes sense, then, that this area of the brain is affected by playing Super Mario 6 4, a game which requires gamers to plan ahead and contemplate how to use and interact with objects in a virtual world.

The right hippocampus plays an important role in how we process and consolidate information, including short-term and long-term memory. As you might imagine, the results were more pronounced in those gamers who truly invested themselves in the gaming, and had a strong desire to beat the game or figure out the difficulties of a certain level. Read more for a list of video game genres. So if an action game like Super Mario 64 signals positive benefits for players, games built specifically to train, test, and challenge the brain must be beneficial too, right?

For instance, such claims tout that, for just a few minutes a day, you can train your brain using video games—and in some cases, that these games will make you smarter.

Because really, anything that engages your brain and makes you think is good practice. There are a ton of brain games online and more available for your gaming platform of choice. Other brain game benefits include helping players get better with repeated tasks, and they also provide mental stimulation—something that doctors highly recommend, especially for older adults and the elderly. Games can also teach problem solving and strategy, making them valuable tools for kids and teens.

View our entire list of best video games for kids. In SimCity , players lay out and plan a city, and must think ahead to consider how something like the tax rate may help or hurt the growth of their city, or how street planning and certain zones may impact growth.

The game also teaches resource management and planning on a basic level, and it does a nice job of explaining these concepts to younger gamers. Learning and developing these types of strategies can be directly applicable to life as well. Last, an indirect benefit is the fact that several video games are based on real historical events, and can encourage kids to find out more about the world that came before them through research and reading.

How else are video games good for you? Exergames like the Wii Fit have experienced a huge resurgence in the last ten years thanks to companies like Nintendo and Konami.