Dancing, playing volleyball, golfing, running and competing in baseball and soccer were ideally made for the outdoors, but as video games evolved, so did the ability to play sports indoors and essentially build stamina without outdoor involvement.
As mentioned at Time.com, before video games evolved, people only exercised their thumbs because there was no other type of physical involvement. Players were only required to move a monitor or a control to engage and become involved in the video game experience.
With an increase in the time spent playing video games, the entertainment industry completed the experience by allowing people to completely interact with their games with movement.
“These games get you to be active and use your body. There are games that make you use different body parts, and all of them will get you active when you play,” Jose Aguilar, junior, said. “It’s fun
as well because before you would only use your fingers to play, and it makes the game more enjoyable because you’re being active.”
“You are being more involved rather than sitting and the games get really intense because you have to move, jump, dodge, dance, etc.,” Gabriela Gonzalez, sophomore, said.
The emergence of both the Wii and Kinect gaming systems allow video gamers to continue their devotion to video games while remaining active.
“You can connect with the sports when someone does not have the motivation to go to the gym,” Aguilar said. “Especially for kids, it’s a good way to get them to exercise. It also depends on commitment because you also have to be careful of what you eat if you just use the games. If your eating habits are bad, there would be no benefits.”
As mentioned on Cnet.com, researchers found that playing video games has positive aspects, as it increases the player’s ability to improve eye contrast sensitivity. However, there are other detrimental aspects of playing video games.
“They help you build eye coordination and critical thinking as well as problem solving because you react quickly, and you already know what you expect, but it does not compare to moving around outside,” Aguilar said.
Other advantages and disadvantages include: Advantages:
-Playing on a Wii or XBox Kinect system serves as therapy for those that cannot be outdoors for extended periods of time. In fact, Time.com mentions several researchers are conducting a series of studies on therapeutic video games to help children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, which is a condition that partially paralyzes one side of the body.
-Children and teenagers become motivated to participate in physical activities by playing video games, decreasing the chances of obesity.
-Eye coordination is increased.
-You become physically active to the point where you sweat (if you’re exerting enough effort).
-You can play at night or at dawn without facing dangers.
Disadvantages:
-There needs to be a specific time set up to play; otherwise, they become far too time-consuming.
-Since there is no coach, people might cheat their way through the game. However, “The Wii also has games that allow you to exercise while it monitors your fitness routine,” Gonzalez said.
-There is no sunlight.
-There is no interaction with others while playing unless it is a multiplayer game.
