Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Lots of people think that video games are a waste of time. Well, that may depend on how they're used and what games are being played. In this episode, we examine many of the health benefits that can be derived from a healthy video game diet. Playing games can lead to the acquisition of a surprisingly large number of skills. Skills that your parents probably weren't aware of, or that they didn't realize where you learned them. Bottom line is: games are dope. You should play them. Let us know what talents and skills you've gained through playing certain games in the comments! Thanks for watching and being part of the conversation.

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Research links:
files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304728.pdf
scientificorigin.com/15-surprising-benefits-of-playing-video-games
apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0120011
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0187779
cnn.com/2022/10/24/health/kids-video-games-cognition-memory/index.html
https://www.videogameseurope.eu/perspective/girls-who-play-video-games-are-three-times-more-likely-to-pursue-stem-careers-than-girls-who-dont/
education.minecraft.net/en-us/blog/teaching-sel-and-cs-with-intention
youtube.com/watch?v=twE-zdUkB_U&list=WL&index=1
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/21/06/find-fun
https://today.tamu.edu/2021/09/06/5-reasons-video-games-should-be-more-widely-used-in-school/
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178907000055
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563212000623
washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/12/17/ten-country-comparison-suggests-theres-little-or-no-link-between-video-games-and-gun-murders
forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/19/as-video-game-sales-climb-year-over-year-violent-crime-continues-to-fall
youtube.com/watch?v=xaICKlp9kQc
forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/04/06/the-surprising-connection-between-playing-video-games-and-a-thicker-brain/#:~:text=What%20they%20found%20is%20that,brain's%20command%20and%20control%20center
https://news.byu.edu/news/video-games-are-good-girls-if-parents-play-along#:~:text=Researchers%20from%20Brigham%20Young%20University's,family%20connection%2C%20mental%20health