Spending a lot of time playing video games is bad for your eyes? Not necessarily. The issue is not so simple and research in this field is very recent. Some of the latest studies point out that more than having a positive or negative impact on vision, what this excess causes is the modification of visual perception. Explained in a simple way, it is adapted to detect earlier and better the signals and stimuli that dominate in a digital environment —and which happen to be vertical and horizontal lines and right angles— as opposed to the real world, in which it is appreciated a balance between those and the oblique lines, which in turn implies a greater register of angles. In addition, it seems that the human eye is able to readapt and jump from one mode to another quickly when it returns to the real world.

Video games to the rescue of vision

The truth is that, although research is still beginning in this area, the use of video games as therapy to treat vision problems is increasingly being considered, which is something very different from training the skills of people with healthy vision. In this regard, a pioneering study conducted in 2011 by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that treatment with video games improved the vision of individuals with amblyopia or lazy eye, even in adult patients, who experienced a marked improvement after only 40 hours of video games. play.
Similarly, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester found that action video game therapy markedly increased, almost immediately and with lasting effects, the peripheral vision of children with low vision. Some results that venture great potential for the application of the game in virtual environments as a treatment for various eye problems.