Twenty years ago, our parents kept insisting that spending all day in front of a screen was “a waste of time”. Today, e-sports move millions of dollars, and as if that weren’t enough, video games have the ability to improve our visuomotor coordination when driving. That’s the conclusion of a study by researchers from the University of Hong Kong and NYU Shanghai. A mere five hours of play can noticeably improve driving ability, even if the driver isn’t a frequent gamer.
Video games demand a certain level of skill, that’s for sure. The problem is that this skill is rarely appreciated as it deserves. We also have to admit that we “get rusty” as time goes by. Some titles that were very easy for me when I was 11 or 12 are a real nightmare today, and I’m sure many of our readers have had a similar experience. Maybe the idea that the mind is a sponge in childhood and a brick in adulthood applies here, but the point is that playing has its benefits, regardless of age. Some people relieve stress, others seek to “disconnect” for a while, and now a study shows considerable improvements in visuomotor coordination, which could optimize our performance behind the wheel.
The study, prepared by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and NYU Shanghai (a joint effort between New York University and East China Normal University), had two parts. First, they established a relationship between video game skill and driving quality, challenging experienced gamers to keep a simulated car within a lane for 95 seconds under strong crosswinds. Compared with results from people who don’t play, the gaming group had a clear advantage. Then, they aimed to determine the minimum amount of experience or “exposure” to video games needed to translate into a detectable benefit for “non-gamer” drivers.
The non-gamer group was split, with one half focusing on Mario Kart and the other on RollerCoaster Tycoon III. Ten one-hour sessions were run for each game, but after just five accumulated hours, the Mario Kart players were already outperforming by a wide margin those who remained “stuck” in RCT3. A very striking aspect of the study is that it also declares FPS games (in this specific case, Unreal Tournament) even more effective at improving our driving. In short: before sitting at the wheel, many people out there will probably need to pick up a gamepad first.
