The Positive Effects of Online Video Games on Children

Online video games are always believed to provide negative influences on growing children. This is mainly because most video games are addictive and typically about violent battles and fighting. Majority of parents and the media think and believe that these games rot the children’s brains and promote violence among them. Also, these games are blamed for the anti-social, weird, rude and drastic behaviors of some children.

However, many psychologists, child experts, and scientists believe that these games are actually beneficial to growing children. They are essential and quite responsible in making a child smarter and teach him high-level thinking skills that he may need in the future.

Online video games provide good exercise for a child’s brain. A huge number of them require abstract and high-level thinking skills to win. These skills include problem solving and logic, following instructions, hand-eye coordination, math skills, and spatial abilities. They also teach a child resource management and logistics, multitasking, and quick thinking.

A huge percentage of the quests and battles in these online video games involve characters that do multiple movements all at the same time. And in order for a child to control his character, his senses must be well-coordinated and he must be able to make fast analysis and quick decisions. They also help a child develop better reading and math skills; as well as, perseverance, better memory, logistics, and strategy-making.

Teamwork, camaraderie, and cooperation are also values that a child learns by playing online video games with other children. Furthermore, in a game such as flight simulation, the child becomes familiar with the airplane’s parts and controls; so if ever he decides to become a pilot when he grows up, he already has an informal training and background on flying. This is because the parts in the said flight simulation game are modeled according to the actual parts of an airplane. Plus, it is set in real-time.

These games are also instruments that introduce a child to computer technology and the Internet. Being familiar with these high-tech gadgets is necessary to keep up with the fast development of the world. These games, when played together, allow a child to bond with his parents, siblings, or cousins. They also make learning fun for children who are very much fond of colors and animation. And lastly, these video games may be the way for a child to release his stress. Just like other games, online video games can also provide a positive aggression outlet.