It’s no surprise that the generations before ours haven’t been as fond of technologies as the majority of the millennials are. Some say technology makes us lazy, some call it a necessary evil whilst it is probably the best friend for some of us. More importantly, technological advancements have changed the meaning of certain activities and aspects of life. If we look at the crux of the matter, it has made the accessibility of things much easier and convenient before. We can literally carry an endless source of entertainment in our pockets. Have a boring journey? You can play fun games instead of waiting for the journey to end. Love gambling but don’t want to go to casinos? You can gamble at online casinos. Love football but can’t play at the playground? You can play EA Sports’ FIFA at home. This list might never end.
The point is, regardless of how evil older folks might think the technology is, it isn’t that bad. Since we’re covering the gaming aspect of it in this article, we’ve amassed some interesting points that might bring a change to your perception about the debate of ‘Online games vs Outdoor games’ and would help you understand why the younger generation picks former over the latter.
Less stress:
First of all, outdoor games make you go ‘outdoors’. That means leaving your bed (not as easy as it sounds when it comes to winters), probably getting your gear, hitting the field and burning a significant amount of energy. Outdoor games are fun and stimulate better blood circulation and have loads of useful benefits. But, let’s face it — we’re a lazy generation and many of us prefer stressing our brain over sweating our body. And fair play to video games because ultimately, most of us play games for the sake of interactive entertainment. Video games gratify that need to the fullest.
Fair for all
Making friends works differently for everyone. It comes easy to some people whilst for some, it is rocket science to make new connections. Think of an introvert kid wanting to play a team game with a new group of people. The whole idea of approaching a group of strangers often scares kids and they end up having fewer friends and or maybe no friends to play with. Gaming here makes it easier for them. Online games are open to everyone and a person sitting on the other corner of the world could be playing with you. Rules are simple and more importantly, equal for every person. Best of all, they don’t have to be exposed in the scorching sun or cold wind to play. They could be played literally any time of the day and take moments for the player to be ready for the game.
A kid’s social life stimulates their mental well-being. They go through myriad challenges while growing, that shape their mentality and decide how content they are with their lives. So, as mentioned above, fitting into a foreign or (maybe) regular social space could be tough for children. The lack of sense of belonging and depression due to meagre social connections could affect their minds in awful ways. Also, playing outdoor games needs a person to have a certain level of fitness to play with ease. Kids that deal with physical shortcomings often get bereft of playing outdoor games. That’s where gaming makes life easy for them. They get the fun of playing with real players online without going through the complex process of making interactions like real world and bonding to be friends with them. And the problem of your body type is non-existent in the online gaming and guess what — there are no bullies online.
Healthy competition:
Who doesn’t enjoy winning? Whatever be the level of competition at the playground, you’ll always get a healthy competition when you play online. There are both free and paid tournaments online. Participants always enjoy competition and that instils the value of competitiveness in the individuals. Would you prefer going to a playground each day to play with the same group of people or sit at your home and compete with a new player each day — take our current generation in perspective and think about what will lure them more?
Griping storylines and roleplaying:
Online gaming as easy fun and the creative graphical elements employ an unparallel ecstasy in the experience. You could do things while gaming that aren’t possible in the real world. You could be a governor, a superhero, a soldier, a football player or god knows what — the possibilities are clearly endless because the virtual world has no constraints. Interaction with the fantasy world is always going to be exciting.
Now think about the storylines in the games. Didn’t you want to be Spiderman or James Bond at some point in your life when you were a kid? Or wanted to save people from a catastrophe like a superhero? The world of gaming pacifies that hero inside you. Could you get that on a playground? Never. Games have intriguing storylines that you make a live an alternate reality full of thrills and challenges. While the number of outdoor games still have a limit, there are myriad online games that are rolled into the market each year. The immense diversity of gaming is a big candy for this generation.
Is gaming as bad as people think it is?
We’re not here to show that online games are superior to outdoor games. But the speculation of them being a waste of time and zero productivity needs to be addressed. There are plenty of benefits that are overlooked because of the lack of physical stimulation in gaming.
Gaming has its psychological rewards. It stimulates your intellect, helps you concentrate on a single task over a long period of time and improves your psychometric abilities too. You go through different dilemma’s and are forced to become a better thinker and decision maker while playing a game.
Your analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities and hand-body coordination improve to certain levels when you play video games.
So, there are plenty of factors that encourage the youth to pick online games over outdoor games and we hope this article made you understand that scenario better — so, for the next time, don’t be baffled by watching kids spending hours in front of an electronic gaming gadget.
