Video games: stress relief of choice for Palomar students

Life can get hard when you’re a college student with all the assign­ments you have, exams that you have to take, and trying to pass all your classes with good grades. Vid­eo gan1es can allow you to relax and have fun, while learning new things and applying new skills.

Video games like Call of Duty, Madden 17, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto are not just for fun and games, but have an effect on peoples brains that can help with regular day-to­day living.

Whether you’re playing a role playing game, shooter game, sports game or any other types of genre, you use your hand eye coordina­tion while using the controller and focusing on what to do while play­ing the game. You also must follow directions in order to to figure out how to complete missions and get from one location to another.

As an example, role playing games force you to use cognitive skills as well as problem solving and reasoning skills. You can use these skills in your own daily life while making choices on things like col­lege, work, and having a family.

Andrew Rees, a Palomar College student, enjoys playing video games in his spare time and likes to take a more strategic approach while gam­ing.

“I play mostly turn based and strategy games,” said Rees. “I defi­nitely like to take the strategy ap­proach, it helps me predict what I can do and what I can’t do.”

Rees also uses video games as a way to relieve some of the stresses that come with being a college stu­dent.

“It helps with my mental health,” Rees said. “It is one of my ways of relieving stress and helps me relax.”

Puzzle and platform games are another genre that help with pro­viding strong life skills. With these games the player is made to solve problems by figuring out puzzles, and helps with memorization and other important cognitive skills.

“Thinking about some tactics and strategies has to make you use your brain,” said avid gamer and Palomar College student Jungkwan Lee. “I think it’s a great hobby:.”