video games and positive research

Video games can do more than bring people together. It can help to heal them from their ills. The Los Angelos Times said, "A game was recently tried by pediatric cancer patients at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The game is designed to improve resilience, empowerment by using visualization. Visualization has been shown to be helpful for competitive athletes' neurological recovery after injury, among other situations, the authors wrote." It's more than just a chance to have fun, but a chance to enjoy healing.

The same article discussed the health benefits from video games: "In an article that perhaps doesn’t surprise gamers, researchers say that games like Dance Dance Revolution can help fightobesity. And games like Packy & Marlon, designed to teach children and adolescents about a condition such as diabetes, can make users feel empowered to cope and even get better." I was once able to convince my family into getting a Wii console because of the wiifit games and because it uses more of they body than just your hands.

Video games have also been used to help in classrooms: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-in-english-classroom-terrell-heick. It allows for learning in a way previously impossible. Interactive learning with a medium that children, and adults, consider inviting and entertaining, would open up a new gateway to education for those who find traditional learning difficult and lengthy.
These are all wonderful ways that video games have been proven to help us. They are still a danger, as sites such as WebMD discusses, video game addiction is real and even requires measures as extreme as detox and rehabilitation. I remember hearing about missionaries in the MTC who were going through withdrawal from technology upon entering the MTC. I do not mean to say that video games and technology are a bad thing, we must simply be careful. Video games for relaxation or enjoyment is a wonderful tool until it goes too far. As long as it does not overtake other part of our lives, it can be a fantastic experience.