Some time playing video games can actually be good for kids
Quartz
With research showing that video games can have both positive and negative effects on kids, parents can be forgiven for being confused. In the US, 31% of teens play video games daily, according to the Pew Research Internet Project, consuming up to one-half of their daily free time. Now a new study suggests there’s a sweet spot for just the right amount of time is good for gamers.
The study, conducted by Andrew K. Przybylski, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute, looked at survey responses of nearly 5,000 British boys and girls aged 10 to 15—75% of whom reported playing video games everyday. The kids answered questions about their life satisfaction, friendships, willingness to help others, and levels of hyperactivity and inattention.
Those who played for less than one hour a day, Przybylski found, were happier with their lives and had more emotional stability than those who never grabbed a controller. Those who played for three hours or more a day were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most maladjusted of the lot.
Why are non-gamers at a disadvantage? Since so many of their peers are active gamers, not having the experience as part of the conversation cab be socially harmful, Przybylski told the BBC. He suggests that the fun, social nature of video games works much like traditional face-to-face play by enhancing social skills and presenting opportunities for identity development.
Przybylski notes that his sample is quite small, and that video games are not the most important contributor to having having well-adjusted kids. Factors such as strong family relationships, a positive community, and school environment play an undeniably larger, more enduring role in a child’s development. Still, the study provide some reassurance to parents who are unable to completely detach their kids from the controller.
The study, conducted by Andrew K. Przybylski, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute, looked at survey responses of nearly 5,000 British boys and girls aged 10 to 15—75% of whom reported playing video games everyday. The kids answered questions about their life satisfaction, friendships, willingness to help others, and levels of hyperactivity and inattention.
Those who played for less than one hour a day, Przybylski found, were happier with their lives and had more emotional stability than those who never grabbed a controller. Those who played for three hours or more a day were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most maladjusted of the lot.
Why are non-gamers at a disadvantage? Since so many of their peers are active gamers, not having the experience as part of the conversation cab be socially harmful, Przybylski told the BBC. He suggests that the fun, social nature of video games works much like traditional face-to-face play by enhancing social skills and presenting opportunities for identity development.
Przybylski notes that his sample is quite small, and that video games are not the most important contributor to having having well-adjusted kids. Factors such as strong family relationships, a positive community, and school environment play an undeniably larger, more enduring role in a child’s development. Still, the study provide some reassurance to parents who are unable to completely detach their kids from the controller.
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