Why not play video games instead of skating on Douyin and IG all day long? Study reveals benefits: Players' IQ increases by 2.5 points in 2 years
Playing video games for hours on end is often seen as a sign of disorder or lack of self-discipline in childhood. However, research published in “Scientific Reports” shows that video games have a positive effect on children’s thinking and may help improve IQ and cognitive behavior. Compared with watching online videos and using social media, they may be more effective in shaping children’s thinking. The potential benefits to the brain are even greater.
Is it more beneficial to play video games than to play Douyin? Study: Children’s average IQ increases by 2.5 points
The research was initiated by scholars from Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The research team analyzed the data of 9,855 children aged 9-10 years old from the “Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study” (ABCD), and conducted random interviews with 5,169 subjects. The team further divided the subjects into three groups: a group that watched online videos, a group that used social media (such as Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok), and a group that played video games, trying to clarify the connection between the three and intelligence.
The research team used five tests related to cognitive function and took into account factors such as polygenic score (CogPGS), parents’ socioeconomic status, and congenital personality defects (such as lack of patience). Preliminary analysis results show that children’s IQ performance is most closely related to innate genes; it is negatively related to watching videos and using social software (meaning that these two behaviors may damage children’s IQ); it is not independently related to the behavior of playing video games.
After two years of random interviews, the study found that the two groups of children who watched videos and used social software had no significant correlation with the increase in intelligence, but it did not lead to a decrease in IQ. However, the IQ of the group that played video games improved within 2 years. In terms of game time length, the average IQ point of the top 17% of subjects increased by about 2.5.
Is playing video games good for the brain regardless of gender? Experts warn: Children’s self-control may still be damaged
Study author Torkel Klingberg added that the test results found that watching educational videos that are beneficial to children’s learning also has a certain probability of improving children’s IQ, but compared with video games, the effect does not seem to be significant. Importantly, boy subjects spent about twice as much time playing games as girls, but there was no significant gender difference in the benefits of video games on improving IQ.
Klingberg said that modern children spend an average of 2.5 hours a day watching online videos or TV shows, using social media for half an hour, and playing video games for an hour. “The widespread use of electronics among children has increased dramatically over the past few decades. While smart devices are ubiquitous among adults, they now truly define some people’s childhood.”
Klingberg believes that video games have both advantages and disadvantages for children’s mental development. For example, although video games may help children’s intelligence and cognitive functions, they may cause some damage to their self-control and self-discipline. “In our research, we are particularly interested in the impact of video games on intelligence. Children may learn the ability to think rationally, understand complex ideas, and adapt to new environments.”
Study: More screen time may lead to poorer cognition! Children swiping their mobile phones for 3 hours a day can be affected
In addition to video games, many parents are also worried about whether their children’s watching screens for too long will affect their normal lives and even their interpersonal interaction performance. Research published in “Computers in Human Behavior” points out that moderate screen time is beneficial to children’s cognitive development; however, if it exceeds a certain time, it will damage children’s cognitive functions.
The study included screen usage data from 11,875 children and analyzed it and found that every hour of accumulated screen time during holidays begins to cause damage to cognitive function compared to weekdays. In addition, compared with low screen time users (1.2 hours per day), high and moderate screen time users (7.2 hours and 2.9 hours per day) had worse cognitive function, and boys used it longer than girls.
Contrary to arguments supported by the previous literature, this study suggests that even an hour of additional screen time may have a negative impact on children’s brain function. However, study author Jeremy J. Walsh said that using electronic products to play educational games and downloading parent-child interactive applications may be able to eliminate the negative effects of watching screens for long periods of time.
Source:
Associations between duration and type of electronic screen use and cognition in US children
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