Christopher Hanson

Prof. Intawiwat

Eng 111_128

9 April 2017

The Cognitive Benefits Of Video Games

Analyzing subculture choices hasnt been the easiest thing to do for me simply

because Im involved in so many different subcultures. From video gaming, all the way

to boxing my choices had a wide array of outcomes. Furthermore, in the end Ive

decided itd be smartest to stick to the subculture that I enjoy the most of all, Video

Gaming. Meeting new people throughout my life while gaming Ive experienced a vast

majority of what many online communities have to offer. Not just friendship in most

cases, but also life skills, and personal stories from many anonymous sources. Its a

whole different world under the blanket society has casted upon gamers. Gaming is so

much more than given credit for, thats why Ive chosen it as my topic. The importance

gaming has on the physical well-being of people is beyond comprehensible, Its an

incredible way to deal with real world stress, and develop new trades to build upon such

as better communication skills.

The questions asked in my interview were very centered around my thesis of

how video gaming really does affect everyday life, how we improve from the diversity

the games offer, along with how gamers do interpret these games, and what games do

for stress. Essentially, with this interview I wanted to gain more insight from fellow

gamers on what their view is on the societal construct based around video games.

Maybe to see what my colleagues think about the representations casted upon them by
others, accurate or inaccurate? And potentially things theyd like to change about the

bias on video games. Ive chosen around three questions from the twenty-five asked in

the interview, the questions picked, I deemed as the most important.

After the three questions Ill go into more detail about some papers written about

videogames and real world stress, along with papers and studies written about the

benefits of games. What video games can do to cognitive function, and how they help

better and build relationships.

The interviewee is my good friend Hazan, him and I have been gaming together

for multiple years. Hazan is one of the friends mentioned before that Ive met online and

developed a wonderful relationship with filled with laughs, and debates about

controversial topics, not only pertaining to video games. Ive decided he would be the

best choice to be part of this Ethnography because hes also in love with gaming and its

affected his life in more ways than its affected mine.

The first question I asked Hazan relates pretty well to the stress relief section of

my thesis, I asked him What have video games done for you personally? He answered

I play games mostly for stress relief and entertainment. Which I and many others can

relate too, but I feel as if video games offer much more than that. Theyve served me

alone not only as a stress reliever, but as a way to create friendships, and better my

coordination.

The second question I chose as one of the more important of the twenty-five was

Does the gaming demographic only represent your typical nerd? To which his answer

was Accurately to an extent, when you look at the communities for certain games like

for example Magic the Gathering, a card game, the demographic represents a majority
of your nerdy persona. With that said, I think its mostly dependant on the game

chosen. Which I completely agree with, people tend to play the games that represent

them best as a person, not saying that certain video games appeal to only one group of

people, but its accurate to make the assumption that it appeals most to them. With that

said though that is in no way a bad thing to be part of different things will always appeal

to different people.

The third and final question Ive chosen to include is Why do you think our sub-

culture is male dominant? He replied Gaming is more of a male thing simply because

its more geared towards them, just as shops are more geared towards women. (For

example at the H&M in NYC there are three floors devoted to women, and on the third

floor there is about of it devoted to men). This question is similar to the last question

chosen, how certain things are geared towards certain people. Not everyone will always

be interested in gaming just because of how its marketed to the public. People make

assumptions and judge without thinking.

Now that we know what people inside the sub culture think of how theyre

perceived, we should look into more of the reasons why people in the first place begin

playing video games. Personally in my own experiences as stated above in the

interview questions, there's typically more than one reason. Ill go into depth on the

more popular reasons in the paragraphs ahead.

Stress relief, commonly video games help people perceive things differently.

However, we often dont look into the benefits these games have on our brain activity

and how we perceive stress. Multiple studies found that based on the genre of the video

game being played, it can often help you associate things from the game with real life
emotion and actions. Youre able to make a mental connection with the bad guy in the

game, and that guy in real life you dont really like (Griffiths, 2002)(Boot, Blakely, and

Simons, 2011). These relationships you develop in your mind help you generate

endorphins when you finish a task youve wanted to complete, much like working out.

The correlation between task completion and happiness has been evident for almost all

of human history. If youre looking to complete something or deal with things in a certain

way, video games provide that opportunity with you. You can become that good guy, the

hero, and feel as if youre on top of the world. Giving you a temporary escape from real

world stress.

Increased cognitive function, one study found that gaming has a beneficial

impact on brain development and relations we make in our head. Much like the way we

deal with stress, we also make connections in our head based on genres of games we

play. If youre playing a game that focuses intensely on ocular use, youll be more adept

to noticing things many wouldnt see in everyday life (Boot, Blakely, and Simons, 2011).

Another example that could be referenced is the action genre, the action genre not only

boosts decision making capabilities, but also boosts situational recognition. Giving an

advantage over those less adept and with less experience in situations like that.

Educational opportunity, while this appeals more to parents wanting to teach their

children the alphabet and simple math, gaming provides a fun and hands on approach

to doing so (Griffiths, 2002). Keeping children in tune with what theyre learning has

never been easier with anything other than gaming. Constant flow of entertainment

provides a healthy stream of information and a balance of fun to go along with it.
 On the job benefits, one study found that gamers are more adept to jobs that are

heavily demanding in hand-eye coordination, attention, and quick decision making

(Gray, 2015). To further prove this point, there was a study done on surgeons measuring

performance, the surgeons that were avid gamers came out on top above their non

gaming peers. They actually had 37% less errors, and 27% faster completion than their

peers (Rosser et al., 2007). And thats based off only three hours of gaming a week.

In conclusion, Ive found that many gamers actually play games for the benefits

rather than just pure entertainment purposes. Im surprised that my research has not

only impressed me, but has opened me to new reasons to play video games and stay

intrigued. Im inspired to inform others of the benefits of gaming, why they should get

involved, and how to start.

References
 Boot, Walter Richard, Daniel P. Blakely, and Daniel J. Simons. "Do Action Video Games Improve

Perception and Cognition?" Frontiers. Frontiers, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.

Griffiths, Mark. "The Morality of Videogames." The Educational Benefits of Video Games (n.d.): 150-

71. 3 Nov. 2002. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.

Ph.D., Suzanne Degges-White, Ronald E Riggio Ph.D., Susan Newman Ph.D., and Peg Streep.

"Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games." Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 20 Feb. 2015.

Web. 9 Apr. 2017.

Rosser, J. R., P. J. Lynch, L. Cuddihy, D. A. Gentile, J. Klonsky, and R. Merrell. "The Impact of Video

Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century." Archives of Surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960). U.S.

National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.