It wasn’t so long ago that parents were bemoaning the popularity of computer games and fearing that they would turn their offspring’s brains into rice pudding and plunge the world into apocalypse.
Given that we can now look back on gaming being a part of life for 30 years or more, it seems safe to surmise that this has not come to pass. In fact, those very teenagers who caused such fears as they spent hours playing Frogger and Paper Boy are now parents, and even grandparents themselves.
Gaming for all with mobile casino apps
The really funny part is that not only do today’s parents have a more relaxed attitude to gaming, most would feel a little hypocritical to complain, given that many are still keen gamers to this day. The range of sports betting and online casino sites that are specifically aimed at the adult market can be seen at https://www.thecasinodb.com/new-casino-sites and shows just how popular this type of gaming is among a demographic that would never have been so much as considered by the gaming industry 20 years ago.
Yet there is another reason that today’s parents need not worry about their kids enjoying gaming. Not only has experience told us that is does us no mental damage, there is plenty of research out there to show that the opposite is true, and gaming can actually serve as excellent brain food.
Gamers get better grades
One of the most compelling studies was conducted by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2016. It examined the grades of some 12,000 15 year old students and identified a distinct trend that those who played games every day did better in subjects such as mathematics, reading and science than those who did not.
Before you start insisting that the kids spend four hours playing Grand Theft Auto every evening, it is worth adding that it is games that demand logical thinking and problem-solving that have the biggest impact.
Even action games are good for you
Having said that, we might have dismissed GTA a little too hastily if this study by Vikranth Bejjanki et al is anything to go by. In it, researchers from the University of Rochester in New York found a positive correlation between those who play fast-paced action games and better performance in attention, cognition and perception. The irony is that these are exactly the type of games that past generations confidently predicted would precipitate the collapse of western civilization.
Gaming improves mental function and keeps you young
It’s not just the kids that can benefit from gaming. Another study, this one carried out by the University of Iowa, revealed that games like Blackjack are perfect for giving older brains a mental workout. It found that those who play for as little as two hours every week exhibit significantly lower rates of mental decline than those who do not.
Further evidence, as if we needed any, that those periodic visits to the online casino are exactly what the doctor ordered!
