Top 5 Surprising Facts about Video Games:
There are many more tidbits that could have been added to this list, but lists like these are subjective anyway, which is why I’m leaving the order up to you. Which of these facts are most surprising to you?
Video Games More Effective at Fighting Teenage Depression than Traditional Therapy
Although 80% of depressed teenagers are never treated, a new game SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts) was created to combat negative thoughts and encourage more positive modes of thinking. The surprising aspect of this game is that depressed teenagers who played SPARX had a significantly higher state of remission than those who only attended therapy sessions. 44% of SPARX players remained in remission while only 26% of those in traditional psychology were able to achieve a state of
remission.
Gamers May Someday Be the Reason for a Cure to Cancer
Games have become so graphically advanced that the technology used to create more realistic games is currently being utilized in a study to hopefully treat cancer. Biophysicist and computer scientist Samuel Cho of Wake Forest University is using graphics processing units (GPU’s) “to simulate the inner working of human cells,” which he says is possible due in thanks to gamers. “If it wasn’t for gamers who kept buying these GPUs, the prices wouldn’t have dropped, and we couldn’t have used them for science.” Without gamers, Cho says it would have taken over forty years to conduct a similar study, yet with GPU’s, Cho expects the research to be complete within just a few months.
Video Games Help Prevent Crime
I swear I’m not crazy: over the past year, a couple studies transpired showing that video games do, in fact, prevent crime. The Centre for European Economic Research, along with researchers in Texas, discovered that in areas with more game stores, crime levels drop! This is due to the nature of video games being so immersive that games keep criminals off the streets. Imagine that. Dr. Michael Ward of the University of Texas says, “[Areas with] more game stores are associated with significant declines in crime rates for six of eight categories of crime […] Mortality rates, especially mortality rates stemming from injuries, also are negatively related to the number of game stores.” Other studies conducted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Swedish Media Council determined that the common belief that games lead to violence is a misguided notion.
Gamers Can Control Their Dreams
Since both dreams and games “represent alternate realities,” it follows that gamers can shape their dreams. There is substantial evidence qualifying gamers as better adept at manipulating their dreams, although the primary researcher, Jayne Gackenbach, hopes to conduct further research. Her first study showed that gamers are more likely to report lucid dreams (a state in which the dreamer is aware they are dreaming), whereas non-gamers more often had dreams in which they merely observed the dreams’ events. In addition, those who play video games before sleeping “give people an unusual level of awareness and control in their dreams.” It’s as though the ability to control a character in a game serves as preparation for gamers to then have control over their actions within dreams.
Video Games Bring about Healthier Aging
Games can offer the elderly an escape from the routine of their lives, “providing cognitive stimulation and being a source of social interaction, exercise, and fun.” Games promote behavior modification, which encourages patients to lead healthier lives and “to self-manage chronic conditions.” A study conducted by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found a 23% reduction among seniors in the progression of cognitive impairment when using a bike connected to a game as opposed to a traditional stationary bike. Over a period of three months, merely riding a cybercycle three times a week lead to benefits such as enhanced decision making, planning, memory, and attention.
There are many more tidbits that could have been added to this list, but lists like these are subjective anyway, which is why I’m leaving the order up to you. Which of these facts are most surprising to you?
Video Games More Effective at Fighting Teenage Depression than Traditional Therapy
Although 80% of depressed teenagers are never treated, a new game SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts) was created to combat negative thoughts and encourage more positive modes of thinking. The surprising aspect of this game is that depressed teenagers who played SPARX had a significantly higher state of remission than those who only attended therapy sessions. 44% of SPARX players remained in remission while only 26% of those in traditional psychology were able to achieve a state of
remission.
Gamers May Someday Be the Reason for a Cure to Cancer
Games have become so graphically advanced that the technology used to create more realistic games is currently being utilized in a study to hopefully treat cancer. Biophysicist and computer scientist Samuel Cho of Wake Forest University is using graphics processing units (GPU’s) “to simulate the inner working of human cells,” which he says is possible due in thanks to gamers. “If it wasn’t for gamers who kept buying these GPUs, the prices wouldn’t have dropped, and we couldn’t have used them for science.” Without gamers, Cho says it would have taken over forty years to conduct a similar study, yet with GPU’s, Cho expects the research to be complete within just a few months.
Video Games Help Prevent Crime
I swear I’m not crazy: over the past year, a couple studies transpired showing that video games do, in fact, prevent crime. The Centre for European Economic Research, along with researchers in Texas, discovered that in areas with more game stores, crime levels drop! This is due to the nature of video games being so immersive that games keep criminals off the streets. Imagine that. Dr. Michael Ward of the University of Texas says, “[Areas with] more game stores are associated with significant declines in crime rates for six of eight categories of crime […] Mortality rates, especially mortality rates stemming from injuries, also are negatively related to the number of game stores.” Other studies conducted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Swedish Media Council determined that the common belief that games lead to violence is a misguided notion.
Gamers Can Control Their Dreams
Since both dreams and games “represent alternate realities,” it follows that gamers can shape their dreams. There is substantial evidence qualifying gamers as better adept at manipulating their dreams, although the primary researcher, Jayne Gackenbach, hopes to conduct further research. Her first study showed that gamers are more likely to report lucid dreams (a state in which the dreamer is aware they are dreaming), whereas non-gamers more often had dreams in which they merely observed the dreams’ events. In addition, those who play video games before sleeping “give people an unusual level of awareness and control in their dreams.” It’s as though the ability to control a character in a game serves as preparation for gamers to then have control over their actions within dreams.
Video Games Bring about Healthier Aging
Games can offer the elderly an escape from the routine of their lives, “providing cognitive stimulation and being a source of social interaction, exercise, and fun.” Games promote behavior modification, which encourages patients to lead healthier lives and “to self-manage chronic conditions.” A study conducted by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found a 23% reduction among seniors in the progression of cognitive impairment when using a bike connected to a game as opposed to a traditional stationary bike. Over a period of three months, merely riding a cybercycle three times a week lead to benefits such as enhanced decision making, planning, memory, and attention.
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