We typically hear how violent video games cause violent acts in teenagers and rarely hear about video games helping people. While it's difficult to determine video games as the cause of violence, it is clearer to see when a game does some good for someone.
Last week a study reported by The Arizona Republic showed that playing "Marble Mania" on the Nintendo Wii was a cheaper and better trainer for honing surgeons' fine motor skills than their $10,000 surgical simulators at Arizona's Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.
Surgeons in New York have also conducted a study whose results show that doctors who play video games make fewer mistakes and complete tasks faster than non-game-playing doctors, states USA Today. The type of surgery they were preparing for, laparoscopic surgery, utilizes joysticks to control cameras. The fine motor movements required in this method are very similar motions to the movements used on game controllers.
The Wii has also benefited senior citizens at various retirement homes across the country.
In Washington State, the Ponderosa retirement community has a Wii for its senior citizens to help facilitate exercise. The activities director, Annie Oord, said in the local Yakima Herald that the Wii assists in good physical and mental therapy. She was glad to see the residents out of their rooms, participating in something active instead of watching TV all day.
For children, there are parent guides to games such as Pokémon that outline how the games can improve reading skills. In order for kids to progress through the game, they often have to read through dialog that explains what should be done next.
The computer games I played as a kid back in the early 90's had little reading involved, but helped with other cognitive skills. Many games throughout my childhood were full of puzzles and mental challenges that held my attention better than school. Of course I played mindless games such as "Centipede" and "Frogger" from an early age, but they didn't drive me to commit violent acts on insects or amphibians.
James Gee, an Education Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, states in an article for Science News for Kids that children like the interactive nature of video games rather than sitting and listening in a classroom. If used in the right way, he argues that video games can actually help kids learn.
"Above and beyond, the fact that action video games can be beneficial, our findings are surprising because they show that the learning induced by video game playing occurs quite fast and generalizes outside the gaming experience," says Daphne Bavelier, neuroscientist of the University of Rochester, said in the Science News for Kids article.
Gee even claims there is a positive side to the "Grand Theft Auto" series of video games, a game that has received a large amount of negative attention from Jack Thompson, an avid anti-video-game crusader.
Players don't have to choose violent actions, are provided many opportunities for problem solving, and are faced with moral dilemmas and other issues more akin to problems faced in real life, says Gee. A game with only good choices wouldn't be nearly as helpful.
With the recently growing popularity of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs), gamers can still learn to interact with others even while sitting at a computer. While working on completing quests in games such as World of Warcraft, players can talk with each other and work as a team.
Later this year, Nintendo is coming out with Wii Fit, which will incorporate another device that is sensitive to pressure to help track progress on exercises such as yoga, aerobics and stretches. Wii Sports was criticized for its lack of real exercise, but the new game may actually give users a workout.
With advances in technology and new knowledge about how video games can be used in a positive way for all age groups, we may start to see more stories about how this medium can benefit society.
Monique likes to kill things in video games to release stress and frustration, yet she can't even kill a cockroach. Take that, Jack Thompson. Email her at monique.devoe@asu.edu.
