10 Surprising Ways Video Games Are Actually Good For You

7. Reduce Cravings

We all have cravings. Ice cream. Alcohol. Crack... Fortunately, UK scientists have found a new way to reduce these cravings through the fun means of playing video games. Elaborated Intrusion Theory posits that visual imagery is key to obsessive cravings, so performing a visual task should distract subjects and therefore reduce their cravings. UK researchers tested this theory using the classic game Tetris, which requires a huge amount of visually-based concentration. Participants who reported they felt a craving were either asked to play a game of Tetris or sit in front of a computer waiting for it to load a program. Frustratingly, the program would fail to load, but the subjects were never explicitly told that this was part of the experiment. Those who played the game of Tetris reported weaker levels of craving compared to the participants who were forced to wait in front of the static loading screen. It could be argued that general feelings of boredom for those in the second group could have also helped maintain their cravings at a higher level, but then we're not psychologists... Who needs methadone to withdraw from heroin when you can just download Tetris from the Google Play Store?