Spending too much time playing video games is always considered bad. But is it as bad as it seems?

Parents always tell you that you should do your homework first and then play video games or make up old wives’ tales about playing for too long. It’s common as a student to be told that you should always focus on your studies and too much gaming is bad for us. It has actually been proven that gaming is not bad (evidence stated below), which is the opposite of what we are told to believe. Of course, you should complete your homework first, but then you should be fine to play.

Obviously, I don’t think that playing for hours upon hours in one single seating is appropriate, but in moderation, it is not bad. Parents should monitor the time that children spend on games to prevent any addictions from occurring. Many studies have found that particular games have been proven to be beneficial to improve academics and scores of school children. A 2016 study investigated by an associate professor from RMIT found that in a test of 12,000 Australian teens aged 15, video games could help students to apply and sharpen skills learned at school.

Gaming can also have many benefits on the individuals playing. An Australian child psychologist, Dr Justin Coulson has found that the benefits include decreasing the anxiety levels in children. It makes them generally feel happier and more satisfied with life rather than children who don’t play. Also, active video games can increase the physical activity of the people who play them. There has been talk of banning video games for children, but one look at the good things that it can do would surely change the minds of adults and parents out there. All sensible people would agree that video games should absolutely not be banned and that children playing games isn’t bad.

Another study by Deakin University in 2017 found that children who have a disability can benefit from active video games. They can improve their motor skills, which include balance, jumping and running. It can also encourage these children to become more physically active. Disabilities that were tested in this study include Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down syndrome. I interviewed Dr Lisa Barnett from Deakin University, who was the project supervisor of the study outlined above. She stated that the games used included Wii Fit and Wii Sports, and the consoles used were Nintendo Wii, as well as Xbox Kinect.

Dr Barnett also said that: There seemed to be some evidence for improvement for balance (as a gross motor skill.)” According to the results, she said that: “There seemed to be better evidence from the studies where the children were supervised.” Lastly, she said that she believes that active video games can be beneficial for children who have disabilities because it can help to improve their balance. It can also help them to feel more motivated to play team sports with other children.

Overall, I would agree that playing video games is good and beneficial for children, especially disabled children. To the reader’s in a disagreement with this article, believe it, because the truth is here. If you still disagree, try to change MY mind and make me believe YOUR point! Gaming shouldn’t be regarded as something bad, but rather as something fun and enjoyable that can help to improve the academics of children, help to improve the well-being of children and also to help disabled children become more active and to help them through their disabilities. Gaming is good, NOT bad!