What 7 Popular Game Genres Do to Your Brain

A modern teenager would play around for about 10,000 hours by the time they reach adulthood. That’s the same amount of time kids spend in middle and high school. It’s a lot of time, is what we’re saying.

According to certain knowledgeable people, the teenage brain is shaped by any memorable experiences and repeated activities. This means all those games you’ve played as a kid, basically, molded your adolescent mind. And depending on the genre, you’re getting different results.

1. Shooting games

You hone your reaction skills and hand-eye coordination, shooting up enemies and targets. Some people think that shooters make you bloodthirsty killers, but they are the dinosaurs whose opinion is as outdated as rage memes. If your kid likes shooters, he values precision and teamwork over going ham.

2. Strategy games

Strategy and tactical games affect the brain areas associated with logical thinking and event planning. It means that nothing bad will come to those who like playing XCOM or Warcraft, as they will be ready for any possible option.

3. Sports, racing and fighting games

Scientists call them useless since the skills developed while playing these games are in no way applicable in reality. But what if we told you that playing these games professionally can make you a wealthy person? Yes, they may not have any “real” benefits, aside from improved critical thinking, but if you can get paid for playing them, how is it not the same as becoming an athlete?