As technology advances and game programmers keep creating new content, there appears to be a brand new game to try out daily. Meanwhile, Reading books rewards both physical and psychological health, and these benefits can last a lifetime. Subsequently, video games vs books, which is better? Learn by reading below.
Video Games Vs Books: Which is Best?
It depends on personal preference. Some people may prefer video games because they offer interactive, visually engaging experiences. Others may prefer books because they offer a rich and immersive storytelling experience with the power of imagination. Both have their own unique advantages and it’s up to the individual to decide which they prefer.
1. Games help break bad habits
Since nicotine and sugar make people feel bad, bad habits are good.
While your local pharmacy has a wide range of medications to curb physical appetites, psychological desires are up to you. 1 winning match strategy.
A 2014 Brown University, American Cancer Society, and Stony Brook University study found that smoking cessation patients could reduce their cravings by playing two-player games or solving puzzles with their partners.
Why does it work? MRI scans of the couples’ brains showed that playing and solving puzzles had the same benefits as smoking.
Many casual games, like Sweet Crush, offer lasting rewards for completing obstacles (think of the delightful visual and auditory consequences if you snag a row of tiles). Thus, when you crave, give yourself a match.
2. Games reduce pain
Many gamers find relief in video games, despite haters’ claims.
In one experiment at the University of Washington Harborview Burn Center, acute burn patients were given virtual reality headsets to play Snow World, allowing them to explore an immersive 3D landscape of hidden ice caves, jolly snowmen, and snowflakes while receiving painful wound treatments.
Patients who played Snow World were able to ignore their pain 92% of the time, while most patients did not. Snow World patients also reported a 30–50% reduction in pain, significantly greater than morphine.
Why does it work? Researchers say our brains focus like a spotlight on a restricted amount of info.
When we’re focused on a mentally challenging game like Candy Crush or Temple Run on our phones, we’re less likely to notice smells, noises, and even anger.
3. Games give you control of your memory
Complex puzzles can reduce physical discomfort and painful memories of past injuries. We use Oxford University’s Tetris study as proof.
After viewing a series of graphic images to simulate post-traumatic stress disorder, volunteers were divided into two groups.
One squad played Tetris for five minutes while another did nothing. A week later, the Tetris group had half as many flashbacks of those violent photos as the team that did not play and showed much fewer PTSD symptoms.
Why does it work? Tetris and Candy Crush so effectively occupy their visual processing abilities that peripheral visual memories (flashbacks) are severely affected.
The Oxford study found that only visual games like Tetris hijack memory, while text-based games like Words With Friends don’t.
4. Games reduce stress
Games may soothe children before doctor visits, as you know from burn therapy and PTSD. New Jersey Medical School anesthesiology researchers found that kids who played portable video games before surgery felt no stress.
After anesthesia, game-playing kids felt half as much tension as medicine-given kids.
Why does it work? Like the Tetris and Snow World tests, this handheld anxiety reduction simply shifts the psychological attention.
Minecraft-obsessed kids won’t worry about their impending operation because they’re establishing an empire from the ground up.
Read more: Top 30 Best Video Game Books of All Time Review 2024 about matches, touching upon a vast array of games and subjects which affected us to gravitate toward this interactive creative outlet.
5. Games can inspire you to exercise
Here’s a surprise way to lose weight if you can’t get to the gym after work: Exercise first.
According to a recent study by Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction laboratory, research participants who saw virtual avatars of themselves working on a treadmill felt unusually confident that they could get fit and exercised for an hour longer than those who just watched their virtual twins stand around.
Why does it work? VHIL founder Jeremy Bailenson, Ph.D. says the avatar experiment gives participants fast digital weight loss.
“Working out using a digital doppelgänger means that you may observe physical benefits of exercise immediately,” he says. In reality, positive physiological changes take days or months.
Be aware. Breaking a sweat in The Sims is safer than in Pokemon Proceed! since this inspirational idea only worked when the avatar closely resembled the player.
6. Games fight depression
PopCap Games, maker of Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled, and Peggle, knows that having fun is hard work.
In an official poll of its players, Pop Cap found that 77% of gamers sought mental or psychological health benefits from playing, and casual games were beneficial for reducing anxiety, improving mood, and relieving stress.
Why does it work? Pop Cap worked with East Carolina University biofeedback experts to track everyday players’ underlying brain activity changes.
Amazing results: After 20 minutes, players demonstrated increased heart rate variability (associated with reduced stress and resilience) and decreased left frontal alpha brain waves (associated with improved disposition, according to a written poll).
No such changes occurred in Web browsers. In her book Super Better, Jane McGonigal writes, “Someday soon it is rather probable that psychologists or physicians will normally compose prescriptions for Angry Birds to decrease stress, or Peggle to deal with depression or Call of Duty for anger management.”
7. Games make you more resilient (and optimistic)
Any gamer knows game over is temporary. Many games allow you to retry a difficult level with more knowledge, skill, and ability to complete your mission. Most players find real life similar.
25 European and North American experts found that movie gamers who play nine or more hours per week have increased grey matter in their reward processing regions. Frequent gamers have greater brainpower to dedicate to a conclusion, motivation, and confidence than non-gamers.
Why does it work? “For those who have continuous opportunities to try unique approaches and receive comments, you get more frequent and more extreme bursts of dopamine… not only do you receive mia minute-to-minute pleasure but the mindset begins to change long-term manners,” neuroscientist Judy Willis, MD, says in SuperBetter.
Your mind adapts to seek more battle, fear failure, and overcome bitterness.
8. Games allow you to get together with strangers
Kids see everyone as a playmate. A research from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University found that a little gaming might rekindle this euphoric mentality.
NTU scientists organized weekly 30-minute Wii Bowling sessions for undergraduate students and seniors.
After six months of virtual chunking, seniors and students became buddies.
Even better, seniors and students reported less tension about another group and were more likely to associate with a teammate in the future (the management group, who watched TV together, didn’t report such improvements).
Playing games with someone makes you a new friend and opens the door to tens of thousands more.
Why does it work? Game players agree to play by the same rules, start with the same tools (in Wii Bowling, physical strength doesn’t matter), and focus on the same goal, according to NTU researchers.
This equalizing impact creates sympathy amongst players during competition, making it easier to relate and understand them. Matches eliminate social strain.
Watch also about The Truth About Video Games
Why reading might be better than playing video games
1. Books are clever
Books can enhance brainpower better than gaming.
Matching logic.
It’s math in football and action movie games.
Gambling might take you out of the story.
The player forgets why they’re there while trying to beat a level.
Books outsmart video games.
Writers can swiftly create characters to teach or satisfy emotions.
Books reflect reality, unlike video games, which may have comics or fantasy.
Take a quick look at our Books Vs Movies: Which Is Better [2022] here to learn more about stories about these hot issues.
2. Books are not as lonely as explained
Gaming may be lonely.
Computer wins against amounts.
Nobody cares or knows you won.
Nobody will know your successes if you play a computer game alone.
Nobody cares. You’re alone with your movie game.
Bookfriends are real. A book’s author cares.
Books show real people with real goals.
They socialize like video games can’t.
Someone with good intent wrote them.
Books are conversations.
Books can be terrific friends with a purpose.
Some believe the devil developed video games to promote violence, sex, and drinking.
3. Books tell real stories
Most video games tell fantastical stories.
Video game characters merely reflect the player’s experience.
Similar issue! Video Game Bestsellers: Power Play
Killing people and becoming a fanatic—where?
A great book will introduce you to various cultures and customs.
Reading gives readers a new but realistic perspective.
Books have better storylines than videogames.
4. Books are valuable
Video games convey notions of death, dream, and exaggeration.
However, these aren’t honest thoughts since the significant goal of gambling is to amuse.
A fantastic idea takes some time to think about.
You have to consider and reflect on such a notion, but a video game doesn’t offer this luxury.
Each of the participants would like to progress to another level.
But books deliver true thoughts and give you time to consider ways to use them in your own life.
Believing lightbulb for video games versus books.
After studying, it is possible to take all of the time you want to learn and comprehend the writer’s ideas.
That is why books are far better than video games.
With today’s modern technology, electronic books do not need complicated computer hardware to read books.
Why Reading Books Is Important?
FAQs
What is the difference between video games and books?
Video games are interactive multimedia experiences that allow players to control virtual characters and participate in simulated environments, while books are primarily a written form of storytelling that require imagination and interpretation from the reader.
Which is better for storytelling?
This is subjective and depends on personal preference. Some people prefer the immersive experience of video games, while others prefer the intimacy and depth of storytelling that can be achieved through books.
Can video games be educational?
Yes, video games can be educational. Many video games offer educational content, such as history, geography, mathematics, and science, while also developing problem-solving, critical thinking, and other cognitive skills.
Can books be interactive?
To a certain extent, books can be interactive. For example, choose-your-own-adventure books allow readers to make decisions that determine the story’s outcome.
Do video games have a negative impact on attention span and reading skills?
There is a debate about the impact of video games on attention span and reading skills. While some studies suggest that excessive video game playing can lead to reduced attention span, others suggest that video games can improve cognitive skills, such as visual-spatial skills and problem-solving abilities, that are beneficial for reading.
Is it possible to get lost in a video game like in a book?
Yes, it is possible to get lost in a video game, especially if the game offers an immersive experience with a rich storyline and complex world-building.
Can video games replace books?
No, video games and books serve different purposes and offer different experiences. While video games can be an enjoyable form of entertainment and storytelling, books offer a unique and intimate form of storytelling that cannot be replicated by any other medium.
Conclusion
Games require full involvement. When our brains participate, extraordinary things begin to occur. At precisely the same time, kids need to see as much as possible because the consequences of reading are cumulative.
