Video games are often criticized in the media or by parents and teachers alike. They’re said to make gamers more aggressive and violent. They’re also accused of contributing to other mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, and even addiction.
Of course, extreme cases do happen. But they don’t reflect the full picture. Plus, most studies that supposedly prove the negative effects of gaming have come under scrutiny for the lack of scientific reasoning.
The reality is, in moderation, gaming does more good than harm. That remains true whether your kid is a second-grader or a college student. In fact, they can learn many life skills while playing video games – such as these seven.
Problem-Solving & Out-of-the-Box Thinking
A video game is a complete disappointment if it’s not challenging enough. So, developers make their creations elaborate and intricate for the target audience.
But what does that have to do with problem-solving and creative thinking, you might be wondering?
Think of gaming as an exercise in these two skills – one that players continue doing for hours. They train their problem-solving and creative-thinking muscles while
- searching for trophies;
- solving riddles and puzzles;
- looking for the enemy’s weak spots, and so on.
How does it translate into the real world? Let’s imagine a college student who wants to launch their own small business. The problem is they don’t have enough free time on their hands to do it.
If they approach this issue creatively, like a true gamer, they’ll find multiple ways to fix it. For example, they could outsource their homework to services like EssayPro or their fellow students looking to make a quick buck. Or, they could try to cut the number of classes or even negotiate their absence with teachers.
Collaborating With Other Team Members
Single-player games can’t rival their multiplayer counterparts in popularity anymore. World of Warcraft, for example, can boast more than a million active players daily. Fortnite is played by over 350 million people every month. DOTA 2, in its turn, brings together over half a million users monthly.
All of the games above require one thing from their players: teamwork. In their worlds, just like in the real one, lone wolves can’t make it on their own.
There’s no need to tell you just how crucial teamwork as a skill is, both for climbing the career ladder and attaining life goals. For one, succeeding in college is impossible without collaborating on group projects, no matter the degree. Furthermore, any job posting has “good teamwork skills” on the list of requirements these days. Even starting a family is a team effort, too!
Being Persistent & Patient When Facing a Challenge
It’s rare to see someone beat the whole game without dying or losing at it in some other way at least once. So, if a player wants to reach the end of their journey and beat the game, they’ll have to try again and again. In other words, they have to keep failing until they succeed.
This isn’t unlike what adult life is like. Attaining any goal, academic or otherwise, requires two traits: patience and perseverance. Few people land their dream job on their first try or create a masterpiece without practicing hours upon hours.
That’s because no life comes without any challenge whatsoever. If anything, life is exactly that: overcoming one challenge after another, time after time. And gamers know this like no one else: you have to keep grinding until you succeed.
Accepting Failures & Learning From Them
While you can find plenty of videos where streamers go nuts over losing a party, most gamers learn to accept failure as a natural part of the process. And they don’t throw their keyboard at the wall when they have to return to the previous checkpoint.
In a nutshell, games teach them to stop treating failure like it’s the end of the world. So, players start seeing it as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes instead. And that sets them up for eventual success down the road.
Just think of all the entrepreneurs that have made it. Most of them had multiple ventures that failed before they started raking in millions: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Arianna Huffington, the list goes on. That’s because they used that experience to their advantage later on. Your kid is learning to do the same by playing.
Being Focused & Concentrating on the Goal
Have you ever seen how unfazed by everything around them a person is when they have their head in the game? Of course, if you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s probably no fun to you. No one likes to repeat themselves or get out of their way to get someone’s attention.
But let’s examine this from another standpoint. Gamers aren’t just immersed in the events unfolding on their screen; they’re sharp and focused on the task at hand. This level of concentration isn’t always a bad thing, especially if applied to studies or building skills.
For example, knowing how to get focused is key to how much a person can get out of any class, especially if they have to study from home at the moment. They’ll have to tune out the world around them, just like they do while playing, which makes it a great practice in concentration.
Weighing in on the Risks & Managing Them
You might be under the impression that games can teach only recklessness. But that’s not necessarily true. To complete the mission, players often have to assess their options, resources, and chances before making a move – and choose their tactics accordingly.
As far as life skills go, risk management is as irreplaceable as all the others on this list. That’s because taking risks is an inherent part of life. For example, when you have to choose between several job offers, you have to assess each of them to make a well-weighed decision.
Gaming is also great at teaching how important being adaptable is. If you play even for just a couple of hours, you’ll see how challenges that come your way are always a surprise party. That’s true in life, too: you might need to adapt if you get laid off, change careers, or simply move to another city.
Planning & Thinking Strategically
Strategic games are a wholly separate genre, and their name is well-deserved. Games like Sid Meier’s Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic require a level of strategic thinking as high as chess and backgammon.
What’s more, most games are mission-based, with the global tasks broken into smaller steps. Does it sound familiar? That’s because it’s exactly how you should plan out achieving any goal in real life!
Planning and strategic thinking can be valuable skills in certain occupations, too. For example, business analysts, entrepreneurs, and event organizers can’t succeed without it. And, it’s a valuable life skill: it’s crucial for managing personal finances and attaining such life goals as buying a house or moving abroad.
In Conclusion
As you can see, gaming isn’t just an escape from reality, nor is it a waste of time. Like any other hobby, it can be a subliminal, unconscious learning experience for those playing. And the life skills gamers acquire in the process aren’t at all useless, either; if anything, they can make all the difference in the future.
So, next time you see your kid playing Fortnite or Assassin’s Creed, don’t be too quick to tell them to go outside or read a book. Who knows: maybe, today, they’ll learn a life lesson that’ll come in handy in their studies, job search, or career.
