Do Video Games Give Boys an Advantage in Later Life?

In my opinion the disparity apparent between male and female visual-spatial skills is caused by extremely deep differences in brain structures, and playing more video games isn't really going to help anyone. Men were hunters and needed to excel in spatial skills, women have advantages in other forms of visual recognition- such as more acute color differentiation probably having something to do with plant cultivation.

I have to agree. Ug needed that spacial awareness for spear-chucking. Uga needed that color awareness to determine ripe from poisionous fruit.

While there are games that girls do enjoy, they tend to be story based. This minimizes the spacial awareness developed from them, as opposed to the standard point and shoot.

If you were really concerned with female spatial awareness, you would just promote softball. Spacial awareness, athleticism, and a chunk of feminism in one activity.

You also need to factor in that girls would rather do other than play video games. Then the color differential could also improve their video gaming skills. Do to the fact that it could allow them to see the enemies movement earlier. You also need to see that men are overall more violent so a first person shooter will of course appeal to them. Other games that girls do play are not visual based to rehash what Oakspar7777 said.
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What a premise. I doubt that the lack of video gaming is a significant factor in holding back female surgeons. Is the field male doninated -- apparently so -- but there are apparently a host of social issues. Search on Joan Cassell to get one view of what's going on.

Also, how would you fix the issue? Video game companies are driven by (surprise) profit. They will develop what sells. I guess that they didn't realize that they were pre med.

BTW, my wife kicks my butt at games ( not surprising, I'm pretty bad). But, she also routinely trounced my son, when he was a game addicted teen. Guess that the girls can compete.

Games won't draw in girls until they facilitate socializing rather than distract from it. Listen in on any conversation between girls and it will be 95% about PEOPLE with other subjects coming up only as necessary. Developers are still making games about THINGS that, while they may be popular hobbies, are still non-central to girls' interest. Games will need to be as social as texting or Facebook before girls tune in.

As a female gamer (since I was about 10), I think that the way to appeal to girls with games that will develop hand-eye-coordination is entirely about the storyline and characters. I loved playing Rivers of Light (EA) back in the 80s on my Commodore64, and the engrossing storyline sold me. I want to like games like World of Warcraft, but all of them are very boring, and exactly the same-no depth, no changes to the world.

Girls would probably much rather play a Half-Life like game, that has a defined story. The problem with those is that they get so incredibly difficult at the end that you have to play scenes repetitively. (I never have finished Half-Life 2.) So the best I've seen in the past 15 years for girls is Tomb Raider. The story doesn't get too monotonous, and the movement of the character is simpler.

Now just put a "Twilight"-esque storyline in there, which has some girly romance, and the girls will flock to it!

As girl gamers grow up and become girl programers/game designers then there will be better games for girls. Also girls will probably make games that are interesting to people outside the male 9-13 age group.

This is just another chance for women to jump at the chance at men having an unfair advantage. Seriously? How big of a difference are video games going to make when it comes to being a surgeon? And I thought that the whole thing with video games is that they're supposed to make you dumber, not give you a so-called "academic advantage". I do not hear any girls whining about how there aren't any girly video games for them to play. Why would you even promote video games anyway? How about something more productive and HEALTHY like sports?

I think almost every woman is being given very bad games made just for theme my mom got me a game for girl,s and it was not that fun at all the story was bad and it was way to easy treating me like i was stupid.

As a guy ive been a gamer for a number of years. While i enjoy playing halo 3, I enjoy it for its storyline and character background. Ive always enjoyed games for their storyline and games that are just about pointless destruction with no story line are quite boring. I like games that unfold like books do, such as half life 2 and while it is violent it has an actual story line. The only reason that I bought halflife 2 was for the story line.

Hmmmm. I play Call of Duty 4 and 5 and I LOVE the game. Im 13 I own that was probably irrelevant