Children who spend more time playing video games are more intelligent. This contradicts the widely held belief that gaming is detrimental to young brains. Further, watching television and utilizing social media have little influence on IQ. It is hoped that the findings will shape the debate on how much screen time is appropriate for children.
Digital media characterizes contemporary childhood. However, its cognitive impacts are uncertain and widely contested.
More than 9000, all aged 9 or 10, were studied for their screen time. Among those surveyed, 2.5 hours a day were spent watching TV or online videos. 1 hour was spent playing video games and 30 minutes on social media. The study adjusts for genetic predispositions that are often unaccounted for.
Researchers collected information on more than 5,000 of those youngsters for the next two years. Over the course of the research, children who spent more time playing video games than the typical person did have their IQ jump by 2.5 points.
How Gaming Improves Intelligence
Children’s brains may benefit from playing video games. Your youngster will learn how to seek, negotiate, plan, and experiment in order to succeed. Valorant, for example, is a modern tactical game that incorporates strategic thinking and problem-solving. As an added benefit, it enables players to express their creativity. At the same time, gain a thorough knowledge of the game’s rules and structure. There is no need for video games to be labeled “educational” to be deemed fit. Many can assist youngsters in learning to apply strategy, foresee repercussions, and express their personalities.
It’s common for children to see video gaming as a communal activity. They don’t just see it as a solitary pastime, unlike their parents. For young children, video games give a common ground for making friends. That is a place to hang out and spend time with peers in an organized manner.
Your child’s imagination might be sparked by playing video games. Children and technology researchers at Michigan State University identified a link between playing video games and having more creative ideas. No matter what gender, race, or genre of video game they were playing. Using mobile phones, the Internet, and computers other than video games did not affect creativity. However, playing video games did.
Other Benefits of Playing Video Games
- Games such as Revolution and Nintendo Wii Boxing employ Kinect. They encourage your child to be physically active. It is estimated that a 10-minute session of these athletic games burns more energy than a 30-minute walk on a treadmill at 3 mph.
- According to a University of Rochester research, video games make players’ eyesight more sensitive to varying hues. Those who play first-person shooter games, for example, Wrath of the Lich King, have a condition known as contrast sensitivity. According to lead researcher Daphne Bavelier, children modify the brain’s route for visual processing. That is when they play action games. The visual system may be able to better use the information it gets in the real world.
- Eyesight may be improved by playing video games. Video gamers have a stronger vision than ordinary people. It has been established that playing video games may assist persons with visual impairments. They train the brain to recognize little details, follow motions, and detect light changes. Vision experts at the Universities of Rochester and Vanderbilt revealed that youngsters with weak vision might improve dramatically. In particular, their peripheral vision follows just eight hours of video game training.
- Video games help dyslexic youngsters read quicker and more accurately. This is according to research published in the journal of Current Biology. In addition, training with action video games increased spatial and temporal attention. Reading comprehension may increase as a direct result of attentional enhancement.
- Playing video games might help people improve certain qualities. For instance, attention, self-control, and memory are hampered by poverty.
- Children who engage in gaming tend to be more friendly, more prosperous, and more educated in the future.
- Playing video games together may improve communication between parents and children.
- When learning in a “gamified” environment, a specific brain network responsible for mind-wandering is reduced. This is according to Bristol University researchers. Computer-based games may positively impact learning if they are conceived and developed correctly.
- Gamers better understand events fast, create new information, and categorize data. This is critical, particularly in settings with considerable uncertainty.
Way Forward
One of the study’s limitations is that it primarily focused on youngsters in the United States. However, it still provides useful information about gaming and IQ. Further, it supports the premise that intelligence isn’t something that we’re born with.
Torkel Klingberg is a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He claims his findings support the argument that screen time does not harm children’s cognitive capacities. In contrast, playing video games may potentially enhance their intellect.
This is not the first study to find a relationship between children’s gaming time and cognitive development. The researchers point out that there may be other advantages to playing video games.
Over the years, researchers have seen inconsistent data on the dangers of excessive screen time due to various factors. These include limited sample sizes. Moreover, a failure to account for genetic and socioeconomic determinants. This is according to the team behind the latest study. It was the goal of this research to reduce these drawbacks. However, much more study is required to develop and form intellect. Moreover, the effects of screen time on physical bodies and habits result from this.
However, caution should be used when it comes to online gaming sites.
However, playing a video game is the downside, especially online. Privacy-conscious users should know that browsers record every search. You may wish to understand how to delete your child’s internet history if you care about their privacy.
Conclusion
When it comes to electronic video games, parents tend to concentrate more on the possible dangers. They rarely consider potential advantages. Video games may be a valuable teaching tool for youngsters if used correctly. Educators may use them to find methods to augment classroom instruction. On the other hand, game designers can use them to build educational games.
