I have hopes that a lifetime of playing video games is going to help keep my mind sharp in old age. I seem to recall reading a study to that effect some time ago.

Surgeons that play video games (IIRC, FPS games) perform better in surgeries, so it wouldn’t surprise me if video games also had general cognitive benefits. It would be interesting to see if the genre made a big difference, high speed task management games seem more likely to improve, for example, surgery outcomes compared to playing chess.

My Skyrim and stardew binges are justified! Shweet

Video games keeps me away from feeds and on something else. That alone is a win.

Wow. Never really thought of that, but aside from reading a book, it's probably the longest form of common media we have. Even a short game takes 10-20 hours to finish.

I wonder if having a mixed batch of games in your portfolio helps too: fast paced shooters/fighting games for reflexes, simulation games/RPGs for multitasking and executive functioning, and even fringe stuff like VR games for exercise or "comfy" games for stress management.

The more effort it puts on the media consumer to engage actively over long periods of time like a game, book, textbook, etc for more gradual and lasting dopamine instead of a series of small dopamine spikes seems the trick. Social media is fast food for your attention, too much adversely effects your mental health just like too much fast food effects your physical health. Habits build results good or bad. Video games that give similar small, frequent dopamine spikes like skinner boxes (casino games, candy crush, vampire survivors, cod, etc) are probably going to be more similar to the junk food social media compared to games like journey, the last of us, puzzles, etc.

I've been noticing I'm having less patience for puzzle solving in games than I used to. I can't tell if it's because of the short attention span future we're heading into or if I just play enough video games that I'm tired of solving puzzles.

My cousin is an anesthesiologist and enjoys video games. I never put two and two together but it makes sense.

The Chaarani study cited in the article has been retracted https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36279138/ I'd take the article's conclusions with a grain of salt at best or as part of a moral panic if you're feeling less charitable.

Every study I've seen on the subject said it helps or that it doesn't hurt. Note that this tended to have a lot to do with the type of games and how they're played. Mobile games and similar attention vampires are worthless. On the other hand are puzzle, strategic, and some competitive games that challenge the user the most. The more you have to think or the faster you have to think, the more good it does.

I've been getting into geoguesser lately and it's like brain exercise, feels much better than scrolling... I'm also convinced my time in WoW back in the days helped me bootstrap my career and skills.

Some games give a lot of good life lessons. I knew a Technical Director who grew to their role, because they were managing clan in RuneScape or in some other old-school online game. Another example is playing as a squad lead or commander in HLL. So many life lessons from it.

Well okay I’m not sure it is working in my case but I am willing to keep trying indefinitely.

Thanks, I scanned article if it was properly sourced but not that in depth. I’ll take this down.