Are video games a positive good?

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Yes, of course. I don't really see how they are different from films or books. Nobody complains about how reading books will turn you into some anti-social shut in. Some people will be overly absorbed in them to their detriment, but that will occur for any medium.

I don't think games have to aspire to be 'high art' either, whatever that means, to gain credibility as an art form. I think games like Firewatch and Spec Ops: The Line are great games with high aspirations, and games like To The Moon hold a lot of special meaning to me. But I don't think these sorts of games need to exist either to justify the medium as an artform. Nobody argues that films such as Alien or The Terminator aren't art, and as such games like Doom shouldn't need to justify their place as art either.

Hi, gamedev with depression here! The above is right about all of the medical benefits and there are some they didn't list.

Science has proven that video games from every era have similar benefits (less anxiety, more accurate worldview, better appetite, promotes social interaction, less anger, etc) so that back in my day bit doesn't make sense. Ever play pong with a buddy?
Think about how many people made friends because of Mario Kart, Pokemon, or any major competitive arcade game. You'd get close to these people you meet at the arcade, and even if there was no multiplayer in the games you played together.

It's not that games promote isolation, it's more that isolated people like games. Now we need to find a way to use that fact to help people.

Look into Checkpoint Organisation and how they use video games to promote mental health. They have links to research pages all over the site and are working on more global solutions.
https://checkpoint.org.au