I recently watched a clip from the British talk show This Morning, about gaming addiction, titled: “I lost my 10-year-old son to Fortnite”. 

Playing video games can be therapeutic – and victory in battle, as in survival games like Fortnite: Battle Royale, can feel rewarding. For students, this time out from heavy school workloads can reduce stress and anxiety. In fact, a scientific study presented at an American Pain Society conference in 2010 found that 3D video gaming was effective in relieving chronic pain.

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Aside from relieving mental stress, gaming can also increase brain capacity. Often seen as a mindless and dull activity, gaming can actually cause positive impacts on our brain. A 2013 study in The Journal of Neuroscience showed players of the Super Mario games experienced increases in grey matter and did better on memory tasks than the control group that did not play them.