Gaming So Hard — Good or Bad?
Are video games really all that bad? They are interactive so kids get to play with their friends—which came in handy during a quarantine! They allow children to meet with people from all over the world. They are something parents haven’t yet infiltrated so kids can figure things out on their own and feel a sense of independence. Why does this matter? Well, there is a lot of rese that suggests video games can actually help athletes. These games can be so realistic that when you’re playing, you’re being exposed to more and more real life situations. For quarterbacks in football they get extra exposure to learning how to read defensive coverages, and in soccer you can see different defensive sets and how to counter them. There is also research that says playing these games will help increase your reaction time. With all this in mind, do these positives outweigh the negatives?
Some of my favorite memories as a kid was riding bikes to my friends houses, playing football in their backyards, and playing “kick the can” with my neighbors until the sun went down. This is not to say that I also didn’t play a ton of video games with my brothers and friends—because I did. To this day, I still have a Wii that I’ll play Mario Kart on from time to time, but it was never how it is now. We would play at the end of the night or if we had sleepovers and it was too late to go outside. Now, kids are skipping practices and quality time with friends to play video games. They don’t even need the actual devices, our own phones have unlimited options for video games! I know this is not news to most of you. Despite the research saying video games can help develop athletes, I’ve found that the best athletes that come into my gym, also don’t play video games nearly as often as the others.
The obvious reason for non-gamers to have the potential to be better athletes is that if they’re not playing video games, they’re more likely to be doing something active. Sitting around in front of a screen is literally one of the least active things you can do, so no surprise that by not playing video games you’ll be more active. The big difference lies in what sort of activity kids choose to do instead of video games. Literally, anything outside is better. To become a good athlete you need to be able to react to different situations in a sport. Playing multiple sports and games around the neighborhood is going to expose you to different situations that will prepare you for your sport! I’m not a coach that thinks an athlete should play only one sport. I think they should play every sport possible as well as “kick the can”, capture the flag, and any other backyard game they can create. Get out and get active!
We also need to develop a competitive attitude. When you’re “competing” with a stranger online, you get to hide behind a screen hundreds, maybe even thousands, of miles away. When you’re competing with a person face to face, you can’t hide. Many times people win games on attitude alone. The attitude that I am better than you and you will not outwork me, that’s the attitude that is developed over many years of competing with people face to face. That’s the attitude you develop from being challenged to work harder than your opponent! That is not something you can develop from a video game.
Now let's be realistic, it’s no secret that some of the top athletes in the world play video games. They are vocal about it and they use it as a method to escape from their demanding and intense lifestyle. That’s all fine, but these are individuals that are spending the majority of their time being active, practicing their sport, with a small percentage of their time being spent in front of a screen playing video games. The problem with our younger generations, our rising athletes, is that they are doing the exact opposite—the majority of their day is spent being complacent in front of some sort of screen. It really does become an addiction. If you’re using video games as an escape from reality and are spending more time playing than interacting with people in real life - that’s a problem. It can affect relationships, your brain's circuitry for learning, it will hurt your ability to develop emotions, and stunt your overall mental growth. It sounds harsh, but this is the truth.
Video games can be a fun outlet to kill some time and interact with friends, but like anything else, it needs to be done in moderation. Don’t pass up time with friends in person in order to play online. You don’t have to go out and play sports all the time, but get out of the house! Go fishing, ride your bike, explore the woods, create a new game with your friends—anything! The weather is getting much nicer and we live in an area that you can do so many fun things outside. Get outside, get creative, and get active!
- Coach Tom