Since the proliferation of the videogaming industry throughout the world, many psychologists, researchers and scientists have evaluated the benefits and disadvantages of applying a videogaming experience to our day-to-day life. Videogames, however, can be looked down upon by parents, who consider them time-wasters and inducers of violence, aggression and revengeful behaviours, as well as promoters of wrong values and promiscuity.

My message is the following: don't worry if you spent hours of your life playing "Age of Empires", "RollerCoaster Tycoon", "Black and White", "Rise of Nations", "Civilization" or even "World of Warcraft". Perhaps your rear got incredibly sore but your brain and career might thank you in the future for it.

"'We're finding that the younger people coming into the teams who have had experience playing online games are the highest-level performers because they are constantly motivated to seek out the next challenge and grab on to performance metrics,' says John Hagel III, co-chairman of a tech-oriented strategy center for Deloitte. Hagel has been studying the effect that playing videogames has on the performance of young professionals in the workplace."

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Rise of Nations

Civilization

Black and White

RTS and Business Strategy games can edify high order thinking skills such as problem solving, multitasking (In strategy games, for instance, while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might emerge. This forces the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics.), resource management (the player learn to manage resources that are limited, and decide the best use of resources, the same way as in real life), plan formulation and execution (games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle or action games could be a training tool for real-world situations), interpretive analysis and strategic thinking (gamers must deal with immediate problems while keeping their long-term goals on their horizon).

There was a study which included adults who were randomly assigned to either the video game group or a comparison group that received no training in the game. Over 1 month, the gamer group spent about 23 hours training in "Rise of Nations", an off-the-shelf video game where players seek world domination. Ruling the world, the game group learned, requires a complex set of tasks, including military strategy, building cities, managing economies and feeding people. Study participants who trained in the game ended up improving their scores in several areas of a battery of cognitive tests.

Action-oriented games like First Person Shooters are also good for your career and day-to-day life, as they improve your reactions and prime the brain to make quick decisions.

Another study pitted two groups of against each other in a problem-solving exercise: those who had played fast-paced action games versus those who had played slower strategy games such as "The Sims 2." The results: those who had played the action games "made decisions 25 percent faster than the strategy group, while answering the same number of questions correctly."

The scientist who lead the research team says: "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference."

So now you know:

Parents, don't prohibit your children from playing videogames. If the time is well managed they will gather essential skills for their future career and dealing with problems with their day-to-day life, as well as managing better their time, money and resources.

Videogamers, don't think that you waste your time everytime you sit on the couch playing your games. If you schedule your time, you may gain abillities that will help you with your career and improve your leadership and management skills.