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Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

nida.nih.gov

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Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#61

Post by hot_gril »

imran-iq wrote: post #44
notch656a wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents. I guess they could send the kids outside but people nowadays start asking questions if a kid is caught outside while single mom is working for 3 hours or something. Given infinite money I think many of those parents would send the kid with nanny if needed or whatever to organized sports, piano classes, etc.

> Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents Source on that? Video games (console or pc) is very expensive and not something low income folks can generally afford for their kids.

Not if they're old/used. Even new games are cheaper than sports lessons, music lessons, or living in a nice area for other activities.

Of course, without video games either, kids will find a way to have fun regardless. My grim apartment complex still had kids kicking around a soccer ball or riding bikes in the parking lot.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#62

Post by thaumasiotes »

rednerrus wrote: post #31
etiam wrote: post #8

Careful now. Self-assortment into those who don't play at all and those who play at least three hours per day? There's good reasons to think those weren't otherwise equivalent populations in the first place. I'm buying "associated" but any sort of claims about effects from the games are going to have to come from elsewhere.

Would you assume the same thing about playing a musical instrument or playing a sport? What is playing video games except practicing cognitive performance? It works spatial reasoning, logic, dexterity, problem solving, reactions, etc.

> Would you assume the same thing about playing a musical instrument or playing a sport?

Yes, of course. Musical ability is well known to be closely associated with mathematical ability. Musical achievement is not known to be closely associated with mathematical achievement; people tend to do one or the other.

But this already tells us that playing an instrument will predict better cognitive performance for reasons unrelated to the work you do to learn the instrument.

I would not assume that playing a sport predicted better cognitive performance, but I obviously would assume that playing a sport intensively predicts better athleticism -- independent of the effect of practicing sports -- than avoiding sports does.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#63

Post by hot_gril »

I played a lot of video games as a kid because that's what other kids did. Probably taught me some logic skills, but I would've traded it for a real childhood and social skills. Self-exploring coding was far more educational anyway. Card/board games are a good in-between with a social component and without the mindless or consumerist aspect of some video games.

My wife and I decided our kids won't have video games at home. We'll see how it goes.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#64

Post by fragmede »

imran-iq wrote: post #44
notch656a wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents. I guess they could send the kids outside but people nowadays start asking questions if a kid is caught outside while single mom is working for 3 hours or something. Given infinite money I think many of those parents would send the kid with nanny if needed or whatever to organized sports, piano classes, etc.

> Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents Source on that? Video games (console or pc) is very expensive and not something low income folks can generally afford for their kids.

Maybe not for the truely destitute, but the $350 for a Nintendo switch and another $150 for some games is way cheaper than private piano lessons or math tutoring where the sky's the limit. The cheapest is probably Roblox on a school-provided Chromebook, both of which are close to free.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#65

Post by ASalazarMX »

starside wrote: post #53

I would like to see a comparison to other mentally demanding hobbies, such as sports, cooking, crafting, art, dance, etc. My money is on video games not looking so good.

I wouldn't compare the focus needed to play amateur sports with the focus needed to finish Megaman 3 on the NES at an amateur level. It teaches you resource managing, planning, timing, memorization, and delayed gratification.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#66

Post by XorNot »

drooby wrote: post #49

I credit RuneScape with teaching me the value of delayed gratification and basic economics. I credit competitive Halo 3 with teaching me team building and strategy skills. I credit StarCraft with training my mind to travel at warp speed. Honestly. My video game experience was instrumental to my success so far in life. This is not surprising to me.

Civilization 1 was my introduction to world history.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#69

Post by waboremo »

andrewmutz wrote: post #35
darkteflon wrote: post #14

My son started playing games (with me) at 4 yo (partly because we were all locked indoors for months on end). Anecdotally - and providing you use some discretion as to choice of game - I’ve found it absolutely fascinating to watch both the pace of development of problem-solving skills, and some of the frankly astounding leaps of logic and intuition young kids are capable of. I vividly remember one rock-moving puzzle…

What games do you recommend for kids of that age?

In general, most Nintendo made and published games tend to be great for kids of all ages. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker for problem solving, Mario Maker 2 for dexterity but also once they get comfortable with the game they can make their own levels and express themselves, Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening for the same reasons the above person noted Breath of the Wild. Switch Sports is great for getting your kids into sports that you might not normally have access to (like volleyball).

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#70

Post by dandellion »

TapWaterBandit wrote: post #9
armatav wrote: post #2

Problem is avoiding them being used as a coping mechanism for stress

Yea, video games can definitely end up being an unhealthy coping mechanism used to avoid addressing your real life issues. That said they are probably on balance a better coping mechanism than some of the other popular ones out there (Alcohol, drugs, porn, gambling) but definitely worth keeping an eye on. Especially because video games aren't restricted for children like all those others things are (at least in theor…

Why unhealthy? I've been using games as a coping mechanism for stress and personal issues for about twenty years and as far as I can tell I'm reasonably healthy. Most people my age that are clearly unhealthy it's because of drugs, alcohol or weight issues, not videogames. I'm somewhat prone to stress, and I find taking a few days off to play games helps in recovering from burnout, while something like travelling which helps some people, stresses me out.
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