Who Gains from Brain Games?

(Photo: Mazes clear mental hazes for both creators and players.)

I really swallowed the hook with online “brain” games.
Playing on the terror of senility apparently not restricted to seniors, such sites promise to keep mental faculties sharp simply by sitting at a computer playing games that are, they claim, “scientifically based.”
Based on what? Once I got my mind out of the euphoria of keeping it compos with gamesmanship, I started to search for the basis for those claims. I looked for scientists, docs or anyone credible (who wasn’t conflicted by a vested interest in one of the gazillion brain gain sites) whose opinion was that they do anything to stave off senility.
Not that the sites mention dementia. This is Mad Avenue at its slickest. They don’t call the 800-pound gorilla by name. They don’t have to. They just play on the fears of losing our minds. The stakes are enormous: all the current seniors and the tsunami of Boomers set to become official seniors next year.
And all future seniors. Some subscribers, by their own description, are in their 30s.
If it sounds too good to be true...
Some sites are beautifully constructed. They include the credentials of the founders and directors. Some of them have a medical background. More of them have backgrounds dealing with creating similar websites. I’ll repeat that: their expertise is in creating websites that attract subscribers.
Studies show challenging your mind builds new neural pathways (which means you have more brain to lose, it's always good to have plenty of spare synapses.) Activities that train baby braincells include crossword puzzles and learning Chinese, anything that makes you think hard.
Brain games are like a diet pill. The only way to lose weight is eat less and exercise more. The way to keep a brain sharp is to challenge it with new stuff. Doing crossword puzzles and consulting the solution on the tough ones doesn’t count.
One of the sites I tried (and I only scratched the surface of the iceberg on these brain gain sites)is British or Australian. They use different names for things like fish and garden tools. I didn’t do well since I’d never heard of the words.
That is troubling. Were I truly paranoid about dementia, that site could deepen the despair, especially for one who lives alone and doesn’t have friends to tell them they’re OK.
But these folks aren’t in it for our peace of mind. They’re in it for a piece of our fortune.
For a piddling $14.50 a month, you can play them all you wish, get comparisons of how you’re improving, compare your scores with...well, who knows who you’re comparing your scores with. One site advises that your scores are matches with others on the site, not the general public. That changes the dynamic hugely, but it’s a small notice and easily overlooked.
Another suggests playing games that make your eyes move at most 8 inches from the centre to the edge of your computer screen will keep you from having car accidents.
The AARP has games, but with a disclaimer that that is only what they are: games. They do not claim to improve mental acuity or retention.
Bless the Internet: it giveth and it taketh away. Play the games, sign up for the trials, join, if you get a kick out of it. For sure it beats TV. Just don’t buy their comparisons and scales and assessments.
RSVP. If you’ve found games at a certain site to be a head boosting trip, I’d love to know the details. And if you have proof of disinterested studies that show positive results, we would all love to know those.

SLI