The Benefits of Online Gaming

For years, there has been a stigma attached to the community of online gaming and controversy often surrounds online gaming in general. Many people associate online gaming with antisocial behavior and unhealthy lifestyles, pegging online gamers as “lonely” and “prone to violent tendencies”, but many fail to recognize the benefits associated with online gaming from multiplayer strategy games to First Person Shooter (FPS) video games to playing in an online casino.

Boosting Moods

Online gaming affects everyone differently and while some players may be more likely to get hooked, feel depressed, or even exhibit signs of aggression, these behaviors may or may not be directly (and solely) related to online gaming. Think about the last time you were feeling anxious while waiting for some news or in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Chances are, you may have played one of your favorite games, such as Candy Crush, and your worries seemed to melt away.

People are drawn towards online gaming because it makes them feel good, it can reduce stress, and can be a nice reprieve from a long day at work. Did you have a bad day at work or feel like nothing was going right? Doing a quick search of top 10 online casinos and playing a few hands of online poker may take the edge off of your long day and make you feel confident and lucky.

Curb Cravings

One stereotype about gamers is that they sit around, load up on junk food, and play games, non-stop, for hours. However, Plymouth University’s Cognition Institute, in the U.K., found that online gaming (particularly puzzle games like Tetris) can help individuals ignore and manage their cravings when it comes to certain addictions such as overeating or tobacco use. Since our brains can really only focus on one thing at a time, if we distract our cravings with something else, like a complex video game, we’re less likely to give into or think about acting on a craving.

Socializing

Another benefit of online gaming is the opportunity to socialize. Who says you need to meet face to face to have a social experience? Thanks to multi-player games, players around the world have the opportunity to get together online and work together to solve problems and compete against other teams of players.

Online gaming can also help people, who may struggle with socialization (such as those on the Autism spectrum), find a way to comfortably communicate and spend time with others.

Cognitive Skills & Problem Solving

While many people blame online gaming as being responsible for too much “screen time”, gaming benefits players much more than if they were to sit down in front of a television and watch hours of programming. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), playing online games, particularly FPS games, may strengthen certain cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory, and perception. Multi-player, role-playing, and even casino games can help players hone their problem solving skills. Additionally, particularly younger players can benefit from playing online games because they become responsible for following directions, focusing on a task, and making a decision based upon the information they have received or uncovered.