Gaming good for you??

is playing good for you? good for health? for mind? for body?

there was some debate recently in the news(my local news) that gaming is GOOD for ur mind! i think it was some japanese researchers who said so.. but i think there was some scientist in us or europe disagreed.. so wat ur opinion?

i think playin games is good. helps u to think and act fast.

[hellbred]

I posted something like this in another thread I believe, but I stated that I think gaming is good for reflexes, and tunes your hand and eye cordination.

Aside from the mind, I'm not sure. These kids who play games such as Grand Theft Auto, and then attempt to launch molitov cocktails across freeways and attempt to blame the game after they kill someone, obviously have other issues than the surface suggests. I think it would be a good time to check the homestead for lead paint.

[darkViVi]

Originally Posted by Hellbred

These kids who play games such as Grand Theft Auto, and then attempt to launch molitov cocktails across freeways and attempt to blame the game after they kill someone, obviously have other issues than the surface suggests. I think it would be a good time to check the homestead for lead paint.

HAHA I played lots and lots of GTA, infact I've played them all and I never killed
anyone...

But if gaming is good for anyone, depends what games you play.
if you play games like Formula 1 and Grand Turismo then you practice you reaction A LOT particularly in F! as the F1 cars fly along the track at 360KMH.

When playing RPG the only thing I can belive would give you anything positive other than a good time is that you use your mind and think.

I dont play because it's good or bad I play because its fun and when did somebody say that fun is bad?

[relm]

I think video gaming is good for our
finger-eye coordination lol. no really though,
it depends on the game.

I think games like tetris teach us to think fast.
Games like halo 2 teach how to kill better.
Overall games could be good, but not as good
as playing an instrument or a sport.

[hellbred]

Also to keep in mind is the United States military, as well as Pilots of the various airlines of the world use high-tech simulators and "Mission Rehearsal Exercise".

Although these are slightly move advanced than standard consoles as CNN states:

"To enhance the sense of reality, smells including burned charcoal can be pumped into the room. Participants can gesture and touch objects and elicit responses in the simulator. The machine also uses voice-recognition technology and different languages to allow participants to converse with the characters they encounter.

Seay says that by 2008, the military hopes to take the experience off the movie screen and compress it into a helmet, which users can wear to experience virtual reality anytime, anywhere."

Pilots in the Aviation industry have to have countless hours of realtime, and simulator training before they are allowed to fly.. however most have prior experience in the military as well.

These could never replace live scenarios, but I suppose they provide training for preperation of what could lie ahead.

Most things in this world is quite good for us.... What happens is that most people overdo stuff.... I believe that Gaming is good for us, but as long as some people play... Because Gaming alone can't be good, if you never move or do any sports... your gonna get fat and thats not good for you! Plus your whole body gets almost numb from sitting down! So for every hour of Gaming... at least go outside and walk around for 10 min.... I know I do

[Plastik Assassin]

I found this at BBC...

"GAMING GOOD FOR YOU
By Mark Ward
BBC News Online technology correspondent

Computer games are good for you, say researchers who studied the complex social interactions in the popular shoot-em-up Counter-Strike.

To people who do not play computer games shoot-em-ups such as Counter-Strike and Quake look very straightforward.
You log on, you shoot everything that moves with a frightening arsenal of weapons, you log off.

But studies of players and teams are showing that these games are much more complex than many people suspect.

They are revealing the deep community and complex culture surrounding the games, as well as some of the reasons why people find them appealing.


Since Counter-Strike was released in March 1999, the online modification, or mod, for the Half-Life computer game has been a huge hit.

Its simple premise pits terrorists against counter-terrorists and has become the most popular online multiplayer shoot-em-up.

But this uncomplicated premise masks a complex culture that social scientists are uncovering.

It's not just about guns
Professor Talmadge Wright and colleagues at Loyola University, Chicago, have spent hours studying Counter-Strike culture by taking part in games, interviewing players and reviewing text files of in-game banter.

Prof Wright said that the research shows that Counter-Strike is about much more than grim gunplay and racking up kills.

The strategy and tactics used by many regular players and teams, or clans, often makes it seem like a game of chess, he said.

The importance of the social side of Counter-Strike was revealed in the constant banter, in-jokes and insults that people exchanged during play, said Prof Wright.

To outsiders this game talk can be impenetrable and lead people to misinterpret what is going on.

Players tended to bring their offline culture with them when they play, said Prof Wright.

It was often obvious when teenage boys were playing, he said, because there was much more trashtalk and sexist or homophobic insults flying around.

But, said Prof Wright, it was a mistake to think that this meant that gamers were misanthropists.

"The most common emotion when people are playing is laughter," said Prof Wright.

The only reason that people can get away with insulting friends and foes was because they knew them so well, he said.

Collective play

Games such as Counter-Strike that rely on trust and co-operation give rise to strong communities and good friendships, said Prof Wright.

It gives people an option of actively participating in some kind of fantasy role they could not do in real life

Professor Talmadge Wright, Loyola University

As a result players prefer to game with people they know rather than strangers and they tend to tone down the bad language when those they do not know well are present.

As well as good tactics, players also like moves and tricks that are particularly elegant, well executed or exploit the quirks of the game.

The names that people adopt for their online alter-egos show just how playfully regulars regard the game, said Prof Wright.

The licence that the game gives people to experiment is part of its huge attraction.

"It gives people an option of actively participating in some kind of fantasy role they could not do in real life that allows them to play with their own feelings," said Prof Wright.

"It is an area that's bricked off from everyday life that you can enter and leave at will," he said. "It offers you a way to play with things you may be scared of in a safe way where there are very few consequences."

For this reason, and others, Prof Wright believes that gaming is undoubtedly good for players.

Before now, he said, many studies of game playing have been skewed by hidden agendas.

"There's a cultural motif that underlies the critiques that go on around this," he said, "the idea of mindless activity is given short shrift in culture where productivity is given the highest praise."

[Crazy Chocobo]

Gaming would probably be good for your mind but I don't think it would be healthy to play a heap of it though. For your physical health... I don't think it's too good for you since your not getting the exercise you need outside. It would be good on your mind though, it may help your concentration and help you to think things through quicker. Being a couch potato isn't healthy haha. It would have its advantages and disadvantages I suppose. I don't think it has done anything for my mind lol.

whoa! u guys are very much matured! i didn expect much mature questions just simple ones.. no offence though..

so u guys are simply saying 'games are good but play it well'. choose the right games and u will be a better person.. hmm... but of course u will have to do divide ur time for excercising. i remember one time i read in the papers that one guy simply dropped dead when after playing online game non stop for 24hrs. and there were/are many teens these days tat play online games and their social life were very much affected. sayin that the cyberlife is sooo much better than real life.. i pity these kids for i noe real life are indeed painful...

[hellbred]

I read a news article about this as well. I believe it was on CNN.com.

Basically the Japanese gaming industry extends to the Internet and gaming cafe's where you can play online games of your choice via high speed internet while ordering food, and drinks and such... however, this kid didn't eat or drink for several days, and forewent sleep as well.

Basically no food, water, sleep, or personal hygeine for an extended period of time. Just gaming 24 hours a day and eventually passed out and died in the cafe.

Here is another story I found on slashdot. Different man/story:

http://games.slashdot.org/games/05/0...html?tid=10%22

[Tsiiri]

Most video games help with reaction time and coordination (racing games, FPS)
Some help with thinking outside of the box (puzzle games, adventure games with puzzles)
A few can improve upon you singing skills (Karaoke Revolution and the like)

Most of you said video games are not exactly good for physical health, well, there are a few out there (Dance Dance Revolution, for instance) that do provide a good physical workout.

Video games can range from improving the mind to improving our body, you just have to look for the right game.

[Sean]

IMO, Yes.


Gaming stimulates the mind, builds hand-eye coordination, and, I've said this many times, Final Fantasy IV and VI taught me to read when I was just a kid.

Games have been an intricate part of my life since I was a kid, and they teach you a lot, wether most people want to believe it or not.

Gran Turismo, with it's realistic physics, has saved my life before. I swear I'd have had no idea how to somewhat regain control of my car when I'd spun out a few years ago had I not spent so much time playing Gran Turismo 1-3.

Edit: Okay, not TAUGHT me to read per say, I was already reading much sooner than that, but it honed my reading skills a lot. I'd sit there and read the text aloud, and I'd even try to make up voices for the characters. I learned annunciation and it expedited my learning process by a lot. There's a reason I've always been years ahead of my age group in reading skills. When I took a test to try to get into advanced classes in my Frosh year, my Reading skills ranked in at the level I should be at NOW, if I were in college. Sophomore - 2nd semester.

[Snave]

Good! Not only is it good but it increases your reflexes, hand eye coordination. And when I began playing them in my prime I was completely useless, not fast reacting. Although it does "rot" your brain and removes your sense of imagination (WHICH IS NOT TRUE! I still have mine and its perfectly good.)

[Maridia]

I think that gaming can be good and bad for people, depending on how you look at it. I think it's good because it can develop hand eye coordination. Depending on what type of game I think it can be more or less. In an RPG you really don't have to be able to think that quick, it's more a story that you just follow. In a racing games and other ones like action adventure titles it would be good and help your reflexes.

Though there are bad affects from it. If you live games day and night I suppose you could lose social capabilities, well I would go on but essentially lose what you've got in the real world. But hey if you have nothing better to do then I say might as well go for it. But if you want to have a life outside gaming then I say keep in at a nice median.

[hellbred]

Another reason gaming could be bad for you is the old Sonic the Hedgehog games have some people seisures who had sensetivity to those bright flashing lights and the quickly moving background.

I think it was people who were susceptible though, because it didn't lead to a removal of the game from shelfs.