Playing video games has become an increasingly popular activity for children over the past couple of decades. 

Toy sales were down by 5% compared to sales in the beginning of 2003 according to the NDP group. The video game industry made $12 billion in sales in the United States alone.

The increase shows that parents are more likely to buy their children electronic gadgets than traditional toys. The benefits that could come with playing video games are more than just entertainment value.  For many young adults, playing video games helps with some educational aspects.

“Whenever I’m playing Minecraft on my PS4 console, I play through different chapters of the game,” Steven Bryce, a history major at Baruch College, said.

“Some parts of the game ask me to build something using blocks which in turn helps me develop creative thinking skills inside my mind. Even when I’m playing in creative mode to build shelters in the game, which allows my brain to develop strategies, this in turn leads to slowly developing creative and strategic thinking skills which have helped me in college and other parts of life.” 

In an Onepoll survey sponsored by Playtika Holding Corp., nearly 62% of gamers said that video games allowed them to sharpen critical thinking skills and improve hand-eye coordination, which demonstrates how video games might help with playing sports and learning to cooperate with others.

“During 2025 Christmas, I went shopping with my brother and one of the gifts he wanted was a new video game console. One of the things he said after playing some of the games was that he felt better and saw an increase in creativity and knowledge in his daily life. So, whenever he does any task, his mind always shifts towards a more creative approach to doing things,” Ian Vandina, an accounting major at Baruch, said.