Are Games the New Coffee—Deemed Bad for You for Years, Then Suddenly Good?

I’m not a big video game fan. I’m perfectly content to leave any stray affection for the beastly things in the capable hands and heart of our resident gaming expert and reviewer, Bob Hoose.

So I guess that makes me the perfect guy to share a couple of good-news stories about games.

We hear a lot about how games damage us, especially in the way our minds control our impulses and emotions. But there are always two sides to every news story. And according to a new study by scientists in Berlin (as reported by sciencedaily.com), video games can actually help increase brain capacity for spatial orientation, memory formation and strategic planning, in addition to helping gamers improve their motor skills. The study, conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, asked volunteers to play Super Mario 64 for half an hour each day. Researchers performed MRIs on players and a control group that didn’t play video games, and they found that some regions of the brain expanded among gamers.

Says study leader Simone Kühn:

While previous studies have shown differences in brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase. This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games.

And second, according to Time, some scholars are taking issue with a recent statement made by the American Psychological Association that linked real-life violence with virtual gaming. “Research shows there is not consistent evidence to support this statement,” says Christopher Ferguson, a researcher at Stetson University. “In my recent research we found that for some teens with a preexisting mental health issue, playing violent video games seemed to be associated with less bullying.”

The emphasis on less is mine, because it is indeed a startling way to think about things in the gaming world. And the APA says it’s now reviewing the policy statement.

If you’re not an avid game lover, like me, are you mentally reviewing your own feelings about games right now? Or are you inclined to just ignore the folks pushing the APA to reconsider? And if the organization does reconsider, is there still enough negativity associated with video games that you’re inclined to continue avoiding them?