Of all the forms of entertainment, video games tend to get a bad rap from groups as diverse as anti-violence activists to those afraid of addiction. However, as with most hobbies, video games aren't actually the equivalent of junk food to the body or mind — and, in fact, they can actually help you in a few areas.

While no hobby, job, or other interest should be done to excess when practiced in moderation, there are benefits to playing video games — so if you're curious what a few of them are, then here's what you need to know.

Boosts Your Memory, Attention, and Concentration

These three benefits all kind of brush up against each other, so they're worth mentioning in a pack. Memorizing controls, identifying characters, paying attention to boss dialogue, and puzzle hints delivered through NPCs (non-playable characters) throughout the game — these mainstays of gaming all help to improve valuable attributes such as memory, attention, and concentration.

Games especially help lengthen out short attention spans; in order to be successful, a game has to be able to not only capture but also hold the attention of the player; stretching one's ability to pay attention is a skill valuable later in life, especially in school and in the workplace, where classes and meetings can stretch for hours on end without a break.

Improves Your Coordination

Whether you play on a PC or on a console, you'll have to learn how to manipulate joysticks, buttons, and/or keys if you want to have a hope of getting through any video game. All that repetitive finger movement helps to improve your hand's coordination, letting your fingers move more quickly and accurately than they would have done otherwise.

Linking the actions of your fingers and the events on-screen also helps to improve your hand-eye coordination, a skill which is useful in many fields of adult life, from physical activity to even complicated processes like medical surgery.

Hones Your Social Skills

The image society (helped along by anti-gaming advocates and numerous TV shows) tries to paint of those who play video games is that of an anti-social misanthrope — but studies have found that the opposite is actually true of gamers. Gamers have been found not only to be outgoing, social people, but also to learn how to develop their skills through online games such as World of Warcraft.

Gaming can even widen your social circle, introducing you to people with similar interests and hobbies as you. Gaming conventions are far more common than they used to be, and places like game stores and internet cafes allow for gamers to connect more than ever — online and offline.

For more information, contact a company like Area Amusements.