Huffington Post: Hour of Gaming a Day Is Key to Success in Life - News

by VGChartz Staff , posted on 15 February 2011 / 3,956 Views

I know that the Huffington Post may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of video game research, but Jane McGonigal is a name that you should be familiar with (although you probably aren't). She spearheaded some of the most recognized socially consious and alternate reality games games of the last few years, such as Halo 2's viral marketing game I Love Bees, the McDonald's/Olymipc Games collaborative ARG The Lost Ring, and the eco-conscious World Without Oil. She's also a games researcher and has even given her own TED talk.

Anyway. She has written a piece for the Huffington Post that will be music to gamers' ears after all the bad press games have been given over the past... forever. It states that an hour (but no more than three) of video gaming a day will make us more confident, social, and successful people in our non-virtual lives. She claims that humans are being increasingly drawn to games because "we get to practice being the best version of ourselves... more optimistic, more creative, more focused, more likely to set ambitious goals, and more resilient in the face of failure," and because "in today's society, computer and video games are fulfilling genuine human needs that the real world is currently unable to satisfy."

While playing games won't reduce the national debt or end world hunger (although some are trying!), they're not a waste of time, either. Some research she cited in her article:

Kids who spend just 30 minutes playing a "pro-social" game like Super Mario Sunshine (in which you clean up pollution and graffiti around an island) are more likely to help friends, family and neighbors in real-life for a full week after playing the game.
People of all ages who play musical games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero report spending more time learning and playing real musical instruments than before they started playing the videogame.
And just 90 seconds of playing a game like World of Warcraft - where you have a powerful avatar - can boost the confidence of college students so much that for up to 24 hours later, they're more likely to be successful taking a test at school... and more outgoing in real-world social situations.

This is good news. The obvious question remains, however: if we're really this easily influenced by positive games, are the negative ones doing even more psychological damage than even Fox News claims?

10 Comments

silicon (on 16 February 2011)

@binary solo

If you want to see what she published search her named using google scholar. She published a few articles. Also she did her PhD on studying the effect of gaming apparently.

binary solo (on 16 February 2011)

Research published in a scientific journal or it didn't happen. It's a two edged sword this sort of stuff, and Nick hit that other edge with that past question. If something can have a beneficial effect, then used wrongly it can also have a detrimental effect. Clearly Jane recognises this by noting that 3 hours is the maximum play time in a day. More than that and the negatives start kicking in.

But if she's saying a game that simulates carrying out acts of public good makes kids more likely to undertake acts of public good in real life, then it means the reverse public detriment stimulus will increase the likelihood of real world manifestations of the same unless those stimuli are negated via other, mush stronger counter-messages.

You can't have a one sided outcome with video game influences. Either they can influence for good and ill depending on the variables, or they have no discernible influence either way. Which is it folks?

cory.ok (on 15 February 2011)

this chick was on the colbert report a few days ago talking about this stuff

fastyxx (on 15 February 2011)

What about 10 hours straight of wow when I'm supposed to be grading papers?

Cirio (on 15 February 2011)

90 seconds of WoW... HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Toastrules (on 15 February 2011)

@radiant lololololol /support

dsage01 (on 15 February 2011)

well yes i agree with this article perfectlyly i play around 2 hours a day (cod,halo,god of war,granturismo,killzone,uncharted)
games like cod,halo god of war killzone and unhcarted gice me a self confident boost and i feel as if i need more action in my life
games like gt and forza improve my driving especially gt
games like need for speed get me a ticket for driving to fast

radiantshadow92 (on 15 February 2011)

More like 8 hours of gaming a day lolololol

mchaza (on 15 February 2011)

also Shooter games make gamers more likely to join the army.

Kotaku received this letter from an soldier and said that all the gamers in the army he knew that wanted to be there all played shooter games.