Most people have the mindset that video games are bad.  They have this image that video games create violent thoughts and actions. They may see children disappearing for hours at a time to play. On average, young people play video games for two hours per day, and many young men are playing four or more hours a day.  (Media and the Well-Being).  Video games are not all bad, and in fact are better than you might think.  Video games can provide many positive benefits, including improving mental health and helping the economy.  The popularity of video games has lead to an increase of research on the effects of these games.  The effects of violent video games on aggression have been long studied, but more recent studies include positive effects of prosocial games and the benefits of action games on visual-spatial skills. (Media and the Well-Being).

Video games may have started on computers and consoles. But, many really got their start from players who enjoyed board and card games. Players of Dungeons and Dragons were early adopters of the video game phenomena (Slate).  These players enjoyed role playing games (RPGs) for years, and eventually, technology allowed them to connect with other players, worldwide.  More and more time was spent playing video games.

More players are demanding more games. Video game players are spending increasing amounts of  money on games and downloadable content. Gamers spent $23.5 billion on the industry in 2015.  $16.5 billion was spent on gaming content alone (Polygon).

These factors and names have given video games a bad reputation from their beginning.  But video games are in fact not bad at all, just because a gamer can play from their bedroom, does not mean they cannot be healthy.  A player who purchases content creates more benefits to the economy than harm.  Video games are beneficial to our society and will only become more so in the coming years.  More and more people are playing every day.

One aspect of gaming that is beneficial is that of health.  Video games really do a lot for one’s mental and physical health.  One example of this is that video games have been shown to help your eye sight (National Geographic).  Video games do not strain your eyes, in fact they do the opposite.  The study performed by the University of Rochester showed how players who play fast paced video games actually have better eye sight then those who do not.  The study focused on contrast sensitivity function, which entails the ability to differentiate subtle changes in shades of gray against a uniform background. In order to perform in those games, players need to be able to see contrast between similar colors quickly, and they showed much better acuity then those who don’t play video games.  Having better vision with contrasting colors can be very helpful, for instance driving at night. Loss of contrast sensitivity is also common as we age, and playing high action video games was proven to be a good method of preserving visual power later in life. 

 Video games can also improve your decision making ability (WebMD).  A study published in Current Biology and performed by the University of Rochester used a pool of non gamers, and put half the pool through 50 hours of faced paced video games, and the other half through slower paced strategy based games. After their 50 hours of play time, the players were put through a variety of decision making tests. Those who were playing fast paced games made decisions with the same level of accuracy as those who played the slower paced strategy games, however the fast paced gamers were able to make those decisions much faster.  When players are put in a higher pressure environment such as a shooter game, they have more motivation and incentive to make a choice more quickly and process that information faster. One of the lead authors of the study, C. Shawn Green, PhD and postdoctoral associate at the Kersten Computational Vision Lab at the University of Minnesota, expects that this quick, accurate decision making ability will be beneficial for people in the military or police force, where making correct, snap decisions is a critical skill set.  

Remaining on the topic of brain function, in addition to improved decision making, video gaming has been proven to increase the speed of perceptual processing (PLOS).  The study, funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, found that people who play video games can learn, absorb, and understand material much more effectively.  The researchers created gaming conditions which required players to rapidly switch between multiple information sources and action sources simultaneously. This set of gaming conditions, common in today’s fast paced action games, was shown to fine-tune our ability to connect various networks within the brain, ultimately increasing cognitive brain function. Enhanced decision making and increased cognitive brain function as a result of video gaming may come as a surprise to some in the anti-gaming camp, but we are far from finished with the mental and physical attributes of video games. 

Another health benefit of video games, which has received wide spread support, is the ability of video gaming to improve hand-eye coordination.  A study that trained surgeons showed this (Popular Science).  Both surgeons and people who play at least 2 hours of video games a day were tested on a virtual surgery machine.  Even though the surgeons had medical training, the gamers still scored better as a whole.  Video games have been shown to increase hand-eye coordination because the games require quick reactions and nimble movement of the hands.  Improved hand-eye coordination can help with being a surgeon, as well as many other professions.  

There are plenty more ways video games help your mental health.  One for instance is they help your attention span and focus (ILFScience).  It is commonly thought that video games make your attention worse, but research shows otherwise.  A trial was done where people who play video games were compared to people who do not play video games, to try and detect patterns.  These experiments required participants to have focus and patience in order to pick out the patterns.  As you might expect, the gamers scored better on this.  That is because, in order to excel, a video game requires steady attention and focus.  In a game, you will often have to solve puzzles that take a great deal of time.  Frequently, a player is passing the same area in a game, or spending a great deal of time there.  Performing at long spans at similar levels takes intense focus and attention, improving gamers attention span and concentration.  Therefore, video games are helping students and employees who are being conditioned to be more focused and attentive.

Another way video games help is with depression and mental illness.  Contrary to the popular belief that video games cause depression, games can help treat these conditions (BMJ).  Video games provide an outlet for violent thoughts.  Researchers in New Zealand created a video game, SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts) that they believed would reduce depressive symptoms as much or more than usual treatment.  The game presents GNATs (Gloomy Negative Automatic Thoughts) and then continues to introduce hope, relaxation, interpersonal skills and problem solving through multiple levels. The study found that participants felt supported and learned new ways to deal with depression with this targeted therapy game. Many adolescents found the therapy to be helpful for depression and anxiety, either alone or combined with other therapy.  

Video games have also impacted physical health.  While sedentary participation in video games is not especially beneficial to physical health, a University of Oklahoma study found that playing active video games can be beneficial to children as a form of moderate exercise (Science Daily). While not a substitute for outdoor play time and exercise, the study found that compared to activities such as watching television, calories burned while walking or gaming increased 2-to 3- fold in children.  Currently, all major consoles provide fitness enhancements. According to the Oklahoma study, similar heart rates are found when playing Wii boxing, Dance Dance Revolution Level 2 or walking at a moderate pace. After Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Playstation has also added fitness enhancements to their consoles.  

Beyond the health aspects of video games, the games add more to the economy than most people probably realize. Video games are becoming a huge and important part of the economy.  As technology advances, so does video games impact in the economy (NBC News).  Every year video games add billions of dollars to the economy. The rate that the video game industry grows in the economy is faster than the United States economy as a whole.  A study by Robert W. Crandall and J. Gregory Sidak found that every dollar spent on entertainment software in the United States contributes directly to the gross domestic product (GDP) (Criterion Economics).  From 2005 through 2009, the entertainment software industry exceeded 10 percent, more than seven times the growth rate of economy as a whole (NBC News). In 2009 alone, the industry added $4.9 billion to the American economy.

One way that video games help the economy is they provide a many jobs.  The video game industry directly employees over 32,000 people and that number has been going up every year (NBC News). The increasing jobs in the video game industry are enhancing the education goals as a whole, through STEM majors and other auxiliary studies.  Video games also provide over 120,000 indirect jobs in the United States.  These are through video game stores, events, and others involved with the process of creating, selling, or enhancing the experience.  Jobs related to video games are one of the fastest growing.  The average employee in the industry makes almost $90,000 annually (NBC News).  This is far above the average household income for our country, nearly double.  Video games help provide high paying jobs that stimulate the economy.

California employs the largest amount of people in the video game industry, and because of that, adds over two billion dollars to the economy every year.  Beyond California, Texas and Washington employ numerous video game employees. Twenty one states and Puerto Rico extend digital media incentives (Huffington Post).  

In 1998, 38 percent of American households owned at least one entertainment software console. By 2004, this had gone up to 50 percent (Criterion).  Beyond the U.S. economy, American based entertainment companies made $2.1 billion in foreign exports.  Direct purchasing of video games and is not the only economic benefit provided by gaming. Criterion Economics categorized products into four categories that enable additional sales related to video games: Processors, Content, Devices and Bandwidth (Criterion Economics). 

Processors, which are critical to allowing video game speeds to match player expectations, have continued to be researched and advanced to keep pace with this ever expanding market. Companies such as IBM and Intel has been primary sources for these processors, where jobs, revenue, and GDP are expanded. 

Content relates to the actual visuals and sounds that are incorporated into a video game. As content in video games increases in complexity and becomes more dynamic to meet and exceed customer expectations, the programming and development needed to provide that content also increases. This creates more demand in the high tech fields of computer programming and graphic design, adding high income growth to the economy. 

As the processing speed and the content of video games continue to achieve new levels of speed and sophistication, gamers want to use devices which can maximize the gaming experience these new games can provide. These devices would include upgrading their flatscreen HD television, home theater equipment, and wireless handsets, not to mention the upgrade of the actual gaming platforms (Sony Play Station, Microsoft XBOX, personal laptops, etc.). All this purchasing activity again adding to economic growth. 

The fourth category which enables additional sales activity in the video game market is bandwidth. As games become more complex, they require greater internet connectivity and speed, or bandwidth. To meet the constantly increasing demand, companies providing internet and wireless connections continue to invest and develop new technology to expand the bandwidth provided to their customers. Again, this is promoting job growth in high tech industries, and advancing the economy. 

One thing that people always correlate with video games is violence.  It’s happened multiple times on the news, where there is some kind of shooter and it turns out he played video games.  But this does not mean video games automatically cause violence and should be discontinued (CNN).  Firstly, not all video games are violent, in fact most of them are not.  There are plenty of games out there that do not involve fighting or violence of any sort.  Peaceful video games get the bad rap by being lumped with the big name violent games.  The issue of video games causing violence is because parents are letting their kids play violent games at too young of an age.  The age restrictions on games block younger kids from buying them, but not from playing them.  This results in the parents being at fault.  At a younger age, children should not be exposed to violent games, and then they should have to wait until they are older to play more violent ones.  Young children are not given access to drugs and alcohol, other age gated things, so why should video games be any different.  The other misconception about violence and video games is that they are what causes violence in teens, but that is not always true.  Violent and aggressive people are more inclined to go out and buy a violent game, not the other way around.  The media and society mix this up, saying the video games cause violence, but in fact this is often the other way around.  Video games would not be given such a bad name if people were to make this realization.  As with anything, there are downsides.  But the downsides of video games come from misconceptions and misuse of the games, and none of that is the fault of the video games themselves, more so the parents who buy them.

As I have mentioned, there can be a negative perception of video games within our culture. Some of that perception is justified, due to overuse of video games which can result in behavioral (social) and health (sedentary) issues. There is also the responsibility of parents to set the right parameters for gaming activity for children of all ages. However as I have outlined in this essay, the benefit of gaming can far outweigh the potential down sides, provided users (and parents) use common sense guidelines to ensure moderation and create gaming/life balance. 

Gaming can help develop and enhance the brain in ways that would surprise most people. While improved hand-eye coordination is widely accepted as a gaming benefit, there is also speed of decision making, increased cognitive ability, perceptual processing, potential to reduce depression and improve social skill sets. Meanwhile the benefits to the economy are wide spread, with the creation and expansion of an industry which supports high paying STEM related jobs, just as our economy is in search of careers which can replace our old manufacturing based economy. I hope we can look at video gaming from a broader perspective, and consider all the positive outcomes that have been created by this ever changing, very dynamic aspect of American life.  
