According to some new research, frequent gaming can improve visual search speed.
"In experiments with college students who were either hard-core video game players or novices, the researchers found that players were quicker to detect target objects on a busy computer screen than their peers were."
"What this means for real life is uncertain. The advantage video game players held over their peers was on the order of 100 milliseconds, Castel noted. It's possible, though, that a gamer's speedier visual processing could make the difference between, for example, crashing a car and averting an accident, according to Castel."