What Students Can Learn About Financial Responsibility From the World of Online Gaming

Learning and gaming are two words that sound like they’re mutually exclusive, but they really aren’t. While most people play online games for fun and entertainment, it is also possible to learn valuable life lessons from games under the right circumstances. One of the most important lessons that can be learned from playing games is financial literacy.

At its core, financial literacy is all about understanding money; how to earn it, save it, and even grow it while protecting what you have. Mastering these critical skills can help individuals navigate the complex real-life financial landscape.

While there are games geared directly at teaching players financial literacy and responsibility, other games do so indirectly through their built-in digital economies. In this article, we will explore some of the ways students can learn about financial responsibility from online gaming.

Understanding the Value of Money

The virtual economy of an online game can teach players about the value of money, including how to earn it and manage it effectively. In many games with this kind of system, money is earned from activities within the game. A few games also allow players to supplement this in-game wealth by using real money to obtain virtual coins or tokens.

This creates a link between the virtual value of the in-game token and real-world money. In games with this kind of system, players can easily quantify how much their in-game wealth is really worth. This has a profound impact on how they manage or use their wealth within the game to maximize their playing experience.

Smart Gambling and Financial Responsibility

Although gambling is considered a potentially harmful vice by many people, it is actually a valuable way to learn and master the art of money management and financial responsibility. One basic principle in gambling is that “the house always wins” in the long run. To walk away with a profit, you must know how and when to hit the brakes and cash out your winnings when you’re still up.

It takes a lot of intelligence, discipline and self-control to learn and master financial responsibility. This is why many online casinos and gambling sites have built-in features that promote financial responsibility such as deposit limits, withdrawal limits, self-exclusion options, and reality checks. These tools help to keep players in line so they don’t end up overspending when they play casino games. Before using any gambling platform, read expert reviews to understand their financial responsibility policies. These reviews also highlight features designed to help players manage their bankroll effectively.

Microtransactions and Budgeting

Many games with unique in-game currency allow players to carry out micro-transactions such as purchasing items to be used within the game. These assets include:

• Skins or outfits
• Access to special servers
• Weapons
• Game levels
• New characters

Some games also try to emulate real-world economies by making the price of in-game assets go up and down based on demand and other factors. Systems like this can teach players how to budget and use their money effectively. Based on their limited virtual currency balance, they can determine which assets are worth buying and which ones they should ignore.

Prioritizing and creating scales of preferences is one of the most important financial literacy lessons everyone should learn. Players can also learn how to leverage discounts and special events to buy items at a lower cost and maximize their balance.

Peer-to-Peer Trading

Online games, particularly those with a multiplayer system tend to support peer-to-peer trading of assets. This means players can exchange their assets with others within the game through a barter system or earn more in-game currency by selling assets that they do not need to someone.

This opens the floor to learning about peer-to-peer trading and negotiating the best deal. Since the art of negotiation is an important part of financial literacy, playing games with trading features helps players learn how to trade smartly in real life and improve their financial situations.

Savings and Investment

Some online games have vaults and other options for saving your in-game currency or assets. Using these features will keep you from losing your assets if your character gets killed in the game.

For example, when you play Minecraft in Survival mode, if your character dies in the game, all the items they have will be gone. To stop costly losses, players must be wise about what to keep on their person and what to put in chests.

In some games, players can also get an interest on the virtual currency they’ve stored in vaults. This can teach lessons about savings, investments, and safety of money. In real life, you can learn the value of putting your money in a bank or investing it instead of having cash on you.

Auctions and Sales

In some games, the way to purchase and sell assets is to participate in auctions or sales, which are broadcast to other people across the game. On one hand, this adds a fun twist to the process of obtaining assets within the game.

An auction is also an interesting financial instrument because you get to learn about settling limits within your budget while still maximizing opportunities. Games with systems like this also tend to have other options for obtaining assets, which means you learn about different ways to approach financial transactions.

The various money management features commonly incorporated into online games are summarized below:

Conclusion

Modern games are rife with economic principles and financial systems that can teach players a lot of lessons about smart money management. In trying to maximize their enjoyment and make good returns, players get to learn different techniques and strategies including savings, investment, smart gambling, budgeting, and financial responsibility.

However, it is worth noting that the mere presence of these features doesn’t necessarily teach you financial literacy. The lessons you’ll learn and how well you’ll learn them depend on how well you’re able to contextualize the features offered by these games and draw valuable lessons from them.

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