After hearing the words “video games,” some of you first think of them as entertainment and the most common way to spend time online. Sometimes you think that it’s a waste of precious time and that there are much better ways to use the internet. There is truth in that as well, but you should not forget that this hobby also brings many benefits, from full-time high-paid work to gaining some incredible skills.
Yes, you heard right, playing video games can have a lot of benefits for both youngsters and the older community in terms of general well-being, growth, and development.
Safety first!
First of all, let’s pay attention to the most important things regarding activities on the internet, which are security and privacy. The gaming community is most often under attack regarding fraud, misuse of personal data, and identity theft. Before joining any online game, make sure you follow these few tips:
- Purchase games from reliable sources. You should never go for pirated software as perpetrators frequently disguise malware as exclusive content. If you wish to stay safe, install apps from official sources only.
- Create a strong password. Many games now offer two-factor authentication, which you should apply. While you think your gaming account is not a piece of confidential information, think again. It is also possible that you have linked your payment details to buy some in-game currency.
- Have a VPN. A Virtual Private Network is essential if you want to limit the information that could be obtained about you online. Atlas VPN is great at hiding your activity details and IP address. It can also prevent ISP throttling, an action your provider could take if they see you engaging in bandwidth-heavy activities. And, as we all know, online gaming can be highly demanding in this aspect.
- Don’t share valuable personal data with other players. You might join online games and find new friends. However, since you do not know who exactly is communicating with you, we recommend being cautious. Do not reveal your personal details, like your location or real name.
Keep calm and play
The modern age brings a lot of relief for everyday functioning, but also a lot of stress. You get stressed about work, family, children, traffic, and almost everything can cause stress and anxiety these days. To save nerves, resorting to online entertainment as a great stress reducer is pretty common. All the tensions accumulated during the day can easily be released by playing a favorite video game alone or with loved ones.
Depending on what kind of game you like, spending some time in the virtual world makes you forget about everyday worries and relax. So feel free to ride on endless roads in search of treasures, fight dangerous opponents, save the world or arrange your virtual real estate. What relaxes you in video games is the moment of being cut off from reality and being in a dimension where everything is possible.
Improving motor skills
Although parents often don’t allow children to spend time playing games, perhaps they should rethink this. According to several studies, playing video games improves children’s motor and cognitive abilities. Managing a joystick during playing leads to exercising the fingers, developing muscles, as well as improving vision. While playing games, children have to follow several elements and coordinate the movement through the game with the control buttons.
Better concentration and multi-tasking skills
Each game, whether active or passive, offers the practice of different skills. Individual driving, car racing, fighting, moving in teams, and sports games make the player progress. To overcome all the challenges in the game, the player must think, stay maximally concentrated, and follow all the details that are important for the game. In this way, focus, memory, and reasoning get better. If they want to be successful, players must be able to manage several things simultaneously, which is an excellent indicator of whether they are doing well in multi-tasking and solving problems.
Building the strategy skills and leadership
Team games carry unique challenges because players must learn to move together to achieve results. Through teamwork in the game, someone might discover that they can be a leader and manage a team of players. In order to move towards the goal, team leaders must be able to create the best possible strategy.
Players learn to be more persistent and not give up when they make a mistake but learn from mistakes and figure out better game plans. This is also important for growing up, mental health, emotional intelligence, socializing, and when you get a job later in life. By playing games, we can see what kind of tasks are good for us and how much responsibility we are willing to take up later in life.
Earning more knowledge
One part of video game fans perceives this only as entertainment, while the other part sees this as a space for learning. Players have the opportunity to communicate with others and thus learn a foreign language, or to talk about different cultures and countries. Some games are built like quizzes, while others require general culture knowledge to cross levels. Many games are created based on historical data and characters, which often leads players to further research to learn about various topics.
More creativity and imagination
As a unique window into other dimensions and virtual worlds, video games are built to spark our imagination and all our senses. The more complex the game, the more you want to play. It often happens that in a rush of inspiration or in a desire to improve a particular game, the player begins to design their own unique game.
Bottom line
Whether you are a senior or just a beginner, enjoy the games in a way that suits you, and remember to stay safe. Online games have a lot of pros and cons, but they can indeed be a source of both fun and knowledge.
