People with online gaming skills are set to triumph over the coming years when it comes to making money and living successfully, according to new research.
The lives of young people are increasingly becoming shaped by their online presence and gaming skills along with the ability to ‘play' with online personal data when dealing with organisations will enable them to prosper.
The report by The Future Laboratory on behalf of Confused.com claims that skilled online gamers in the UK will be able to turn this knowledge into real financial power over the next decade. The study found over half of people (57%) said they would be prepared to share more personal data, tastes and preferences in return for bespoke financial services, products or promotions.
Many companies harvest data from the digital world about consumers and it appears gamers are more likely to be happy with this - so long as they're getting a good deal out of it.
The study notes that the techniques and strategies learnt in the online gaming environment are starting to be transferred to the real world - see, all those hours have been worth it!
Matt Lloyd of Confused.com said gamers "have already taken control of their online personal data and begun making deals with their data to save money - or to make more cash".
The survey also found that more than half of people in the UK (57%) would be more likely to keep their streets clean if an element of online competition was introduced. Perhaps local councils will set up some online leaderboards for us all?
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think gaming skills can be transferred to the real world? Let us know in the comment section below.
[source confused.com]
Comments 23
Nice! Now I have an excuse to play video games all night.
Thanks to GTA, I'm livin' the dream!
I gotta say, whenever I spend more than 2-3 hours straight on a videogame, especially when it is online play, I feel like an absolute pile.
I've heard studies like this before. Who would've thought gaming is actually good for you?
In seriousness, if we're going to believe this influences people in positive ways, then we also have to take into consideration the bad influences. If it has the power to inspire someone to get off their rump and do something smart with their life, then on the flip it has the power to inspire someone to do something dreadful with their life. We can't on one hand praise, then on the other defend it when cited as a negative influence.
A can of worms, no?
What online play teaches us about skills in the real world is when you're up against insurmountable odds that cannot be overcome, you should switch off and run away.
@HawkeyeWii ... You had to go and say that when I gt off a 2 hour 50 minute session of Guild Wars 2, didn't you? Lol.
Sure you can use these skills. The media always tell us, that people who ran amok practiced targeting with "Violent and gory shooters like world of warcraft, where the main goal is to defend europe from islamisation" (original quote from a german talk show)
Every single thing can teach you something. Online games can teach you teamplay, so can co op board games, co op field games, co op school projects etc. Likewise, everything can implant negativ fealings. Videogames are a hobby, nothing more, nothing less.
@MrGawain Or in my experience from Ace of Spades, is that if you're outnumbered, build walls, plant mines, cut bridges, and shoot drill guns. Then, you might win despite being outnumbered two to one.
What a load of crap! Has anyone actually read this? They're saying that filling in surveys, giving away e-mail addresses and signing up for things is a valuable life skill? So ONLINE gamers can get like £40 a year for selling their details, filling in surveys all day, cramming their inbox with spam and possibly dowloading viruses? Must have been all those hours they spent typing 'Get money free' into google so they could afford next months WOW membership.
@PvtOttobot
This makes no sense to me either; not making the connection between 'online gaming' and being bribed for personal information...
Seeing as this survey was commisioned by confused.com who have that 'fat tennor singer who can't sing' who used to appear in their tv ads but is now banned due to complaints, I would be a little cautious about their conclusions. They're just trying to figure out if youngsters are any more likely to give away their personal details so they can bombard them with sales and marketing crap.
I think if you can run a guild in World of Warcraft for an year, you are ready for a management position at any firm.
I've been successfully jumping over barrels thrown by monkeys in real life since 1981.
Doesn't work for me since im playing like 1b games at a time. 1B games!
And people say gaming is unhealthy. :3
Another study says it makes you more creative.That's good,seeing as I'm an artist.
I don't see the connection here, that study doesn't seem very good for multiple reasons.
@ajcismo And I've got a full time career in plumbing thanks to... oh wait, that is a real job.
So...basically what this article is saying is younger people (who have grown up with games and online access) are comfortable with facebook selling their personal data when they "like" a company as long as they get a coupon? It's just another way to deliver coupons to people for the purpose of buying something they wouldn't have bought anyway. Instead of spending time clipping from newspapers, they're giving away personal information.
I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, but I think it's hard to make the arguement that, as a generation, they will be better off financially because of it. Like anything else, some will be smart and benefit, others will just end up drowning in debt (ironically on cards they were "pre-approved" for according to a social media ad). Companies wouldn't waste money on thes promotions if a majority of people who take advantage of them would have bought whatever they were selling anyway.
i have to agree with others here who have said that this article makes little sense as to actual skills gained from gaming being used in rl.
the main skill kids can gain from video gaming is hand/eye coordination. that one has been proved and is an actual skill as opposed to being open to selling your personal info.
oh NL swings arm
The only way I can see this being true is that since the world is becoming increasingly reliant on the internet people already familar with it will have an upper hand, in the same manner that skills gained from the technical side of PC gaming can be beneficial.
Otherwise, I wouldn't consider taking survays or the like an actual "skill".
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