Are video games a positive good?

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I think so, but I've been a gamer my entire life and cannot be considered unbiased. Still, I think the idea that videogames are harmful and/or that they're not something adults should be into is outdated, although with my sociology background, I think I understand where those ideas come from.

Videogames are part of a phenomenon known as "adult kinder-culture", which is the act of adults getting into things that were traditionally perceived as being "for kids", largely because they were. This phenomenon also includes things like comics, traditional animation, collecting figures, etc. I believe George Lucas is credited for being the first entrepreneur to market action figures to adults with his Star Wars line in 1979, but though adult kinder-culture gained slight momentum over the 80s and 90s, it wasn't until the 2000s and especially the 2010s when it really started to pick up steam. The internet might have been instrumental in that.

Videogames in particular were in fact marketed primarily towards kids as far back as the 3rd and 4th gen, and that may have even been true to a degree in the 5th gen. It's worth noting that those kids grew up and many still enjoy this pasttime. Perhaps everyone here identifies as one of those kids?

It's a stark contrast to just one generation prior to ours when videogames, along with a lot of other things were commonly left behind when someone reached adulthood. Maybe they would play games with their kids, or maybe they were part of the probably very limited audience for Atari porn games, but otherwise, adults generally had different priorities. Some might now be inclined to check out videogames and other things, but if some have a hard time grasping why those of us in our 20s and 30s still like to pick up a controller, that's why.

Gaming isn't the only pastime suffering at the hands of outdated ideas. Traditional animation in the West almost died off at one point and is still fairly scarce, all because for whatever reason it was decided that it's for kids, unless you're watching Family Guy or The Simpsons or something. I think animation is recovering, but as much as I like CG I'm not exactly thrilled that it's the norm now. I know people who wouldn't even touch CG films, so they're probably in a similar boat even if they're faring quite a bit better.

Maybe if we want videogames to be accepted as art, and something that's just as good for adults as they are for kids, we should ally with fans of other media rather than treating certain issues as exclusive to one medium...since they all stem from the same place. We ought to work towards striking at the roots of the ideas that are harmful to the acceptance of our favourite things, so that we can reach a future where enjoying these things are just accepted as the norm.

Yes, of course. I don't really see how they are different from films or books. Nobody complains about how reading books will turn you into some anti-social shut in. Some people will be overly absorbed in them to their detriment, but that will occur for any medium.

I don't think games have to aspire to be 'high art' either, whatever that means, to gain credibility as an art form. I think games like Firewatch and Spec Ops: The Line are great games with high aspirations, and games like To The Moon hold a lot of special meaning to me. But I don't think these sorts of games need to exist either to justify the medium as an artform. Nobody argues that films such as Alien or The Terminator aren't art, and as such games like Doom shouldn't need to justify their place as art either.

Hi, gamedev with depression here! The above is right about all of the medical benefits and there are some they didn't list.

Science has proven that video games from every era have similar benefits (less anxiety, more accurate worldview, better appetite, promotes social interaction, less anger, etc) so that back in my day bit doesn't make sense. Ever play pong with a buddy?
Think about how many people made friends because of Mario Kart, Pokemon, or any major competitive arcade game. You'd get close to these people you meet at the arcade, and even if there was no multiplayer in the games you played together.

It's not that games promote isolation, it's more that isolated people like games. Now we need to find a way to use that fact to help people.

Look into Checkpoint Organisation and how they use video games to promote mental health. They have links to research pages all over the site and are working on more global solutions.
https://checkpoint.org.au