Does Video Games Make You Smarter?

Playing video games is a very interesting and interactive activity that can be done together with friends and family regardless of where you are. There are many platforms to choose from whether you are a console player, a PC gamer or even a mobile gamer.

However, have you ever thought to yourself whether you spent hours playing those games just for the sake of fun alone? Do video games only have a negative impact on your life? Do you also know that playing video games, can make you smarter?

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Science Has Proven It

One study has been done by the National Academy of Sciences proves that people that play video games, especially the genre of first-person shooters (FPS) like Call of Duty and Counter-Strike are more prone to show their desire and easiness to learn something new.

Those who play video games will show significant improvement in the tasks that were given to them. One professor who researches brains and cognitive science from the University of Rochester, Daphne Bavelier said that people who played video games in a proper manner are considered genius.

They can easily learn something new as their brain has been used to instant reactions while they were playing video games. Due to that, they will not simply get tired while working or even studying.

The Human Brain Is Constantly Predicting Something

According to Daphne, the human brain is constantly expecting or predicting something that will happen in the future. For instance when someone is interacting with another person, someone who is currently driving, or even a surgeon while performing surgery.

Their brain is telling them what the expected outcome will be after the event. The better the prediction, the greater their work will be since they are constantly ready for any possible occurrence that might happen.

In an attempt to enhance the brain's prediction, the human brain will always build a prediction model or template in our daily lives. The better the template of the brain, the more successful our performance will be.

This has been proven that video games especially the FPS type will construct a better template of life in our brains.

Professor Brad J. Bushman has conducted one study on individuals that played simulation games like The Sims 2 and another group of people that played Call of Duty. After 9 weeks of time, the capability of the individuals was tested when they need to differentiate between black and white lines in one set that was displayed randomly.

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The test showed that individuals that played Call of Duty had better results compared to those playing simulation games and not playing anything at all.

As of now, their teams are actively doing more research on video games that made individuals smarter in their studies. Due to this, they admitted that there will be other types of video games that will give similar impacts on the human brain.

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