Better, Faster

A new study says that regular video game players learn to process information faster and more accurately, not just in video games, but in unrelated real-world tasks.

"Playing video games enhances performance on mental rotation skills, visual and spatial memory, and tasks requiring divided attention, say the researchers."

Normally, when people speed up tasks they make more mistakes. But this research hints that our video-gaming children will be able to crank up the speed AND improve accuracy, which is pretty amazing. The benefits also extend to older people, by the way. And just to sweeten the deal, the study also says that video games can close the visual and spatial processing gap between the sexes.

So grab that controller and bring on Mario!