What Do Video Games Teach Us - by Cory Fisher

Most parents would lead you to believe that video games are a mind-rotting waste of time and money and don’t teach players any real life skills. While it’s true that some video games don’t teach players anything, there are a lot of video games that can help players improve their skills without even knowing it. Skills like space management, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving are useful in most everyday situations and can be strengthened by playing video games.

Since the inception of Tetris, players have been learning how to effectively manage space. Players learn to fit the 4-block pieces together in a limited space faster and faster until it is almost purely reflexive. Space management is a useful skill to have in life. More than once I have easily organized all the items on my work desk to make it look tidier (and not have to clean it) or effortlessly fit all of the suitcases into the trunk of the car before a road trip. I doubt whether I could have accomplished these space management tasks so easily if I hadn’t previously developed my skills in-game.

The game of catch is very simple as well: throw the ball, catch the ball, and throw the ball again. However, catch teaches us one of the most important physical skills in life: hand-eye coordination. Without hand-eye coordination, more people would be put in hospitals each year from head-to-object collisions. Video games can also teach hand-eye coordination; the best example of this is the Nintendo Wii. Most Wii games require the use of hand, arm, and even full-body movements in reaction to something on the screen, which builds hand-eye coordination in the brain.

 

Another skill strengthened by playing video games is problem solving. Problem solving is the amalgamation of logical thinking and imagination. Any video game that has players solving puzzles or completing tasks is bolstering their problem solving skills. Some of these tasks are the same as the real life tasks that we do every day, which is especially true in simulation games like SimTractor.

No matter what anyone says about video games, they are most definitely not a waste of time. If you can have fun and learn valuable life skills without having to leave the comfort of your own home, that is an invaluable option to have.