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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

#71

Post by civilized »

Since I see we're using this as an excuse for general video-gaming-and-parenting discussion... I'm currently very conflicted about video games for my son (7). He loves them but mom hates them and insists on a limit of 10 minutes per day.

I am not sure she is wrong. I played a lot of games as a kid and I probably could have done better things with my time. Not that I got any guidance as to what those better things would have been, but still.

At the same time, it seems like a lot of dads are bonding with their boys by playing games, and I wonder if I am missing out.

I just don't know what to think.

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

#72

Post by artur_makly »

my only beef ( as a dad to a 10yr old ) is that at all the game he loves playing are incredibly bloody violent.

- Far Cry - Assassin's Creed

*exceptions ( Fortnite )

What kind of games do you recommend that can extend his critical thinking while increasing his focus?

Lastly, is there a WYSIWYG game creation platform that is high-quality/fidelity? not Minecraft/Roblox. I see him making stuff in the game industry one day.

p.s. HUGE props to Elon's edu platform: https://synthesis.is/ it's been worth every damn penny.

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

#73

Post by dchichkov »

XorNot wrote: post #66
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.

/s I credit Civilization 1 as well. Or should I credit my parents who had PC/XT at home when the price of PC/XT was that of 3 new (soviet) automobiles? /s

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

#74

Post by gchamonlive »

I wonder if the industry incentives have shifted and if it impacts these cognitive benefits.

Games changed a lot over the past two decades and I am not quite sure they preserve the same sense of challenge, opting for quick rewards and addictive mechanics.

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

#75

Post by twostorytower »

dubeye wrote: post #60

My kid is 3.5. Would love to game with him but had assumed it was years off.... Any tips on games or consoles? I think I have an ancient ps4 in the attic somewhere but very open to buying new kit

Nintendo Switch. Animal Crossing? Breath of the Wild in a year or so.

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

#76

Post by practice9 »

DelightOne wrote: post #6
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Assuming it doesn't become overwhelming I don't see the issue with that, same as any other stress relief.

Its too addicting.

Perhaps the underlying addiction mechanism (dopamine) also improves cognitive performance (as a side effect)

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

#77

Post by seventytwo »

It wouldn’t be surprising at all that a child’s relationship with video games is no different than their relationship to any other form of media - it can be constructive and educational and productive, or it can be a waste of precious time. Big AAA games can still be fun and formative, too. Discuss the meta aspects with the kids - what ads do they see inside the game? What team aspects or problems solving is needed? How are video games like the real world and how are they not? How much is the CIA involved in the plot lines of the latest CoD game?

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

#78

Post by ianbutler »

noduerme wrote: post #55
raydiatian wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m inclined to disagree based on antithetical first hand experiences. In fact the only console we ever had growing up, my father smashed in front of us after a year because all he gave a shit about was our grades. When a few classes started slipping he blamed the box. Also, “associated” is different from “causality”, right?

I had a similar upbringing. Video games and TV were blamed for bringing down our grades, and were extremely restricted. We never had a console. Dad would come home and put his hand on the TV to see if it was warm, and ground us if it was. I was allowed to spend time on the computer if I was writing BASIC or playing something "educational" (like Carmen SanDiego, or Oregon Trail). The occasional Sierra game slipped in.…

It's funny how different circumstances shape people so differently. I had access to a lot of video games and I decided I wanted to make them as a kid and that started my programming experience around 11-12.

If I didn't have video games I probably wouldn't have become a programmer!

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

#79

Post by guelo »

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.

I dont understand what you're getting at. What are the "reasons to think" that the populations are not equivalent? The study controlled for parental income, sex, age, BMI, IQ.

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

#80

Post by renewiltord »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #12

Huh, my immediate assumption was income played a huge role but the video game cohort had poorer parents. The gender difference is huge though, the nongaming cohort had 288 males and 840 females while the gaming cohort had 372 males and 307 females. Also, I'm a bit confused why they just dumped anyone with between one and three hours of videogame playing a day.

It would be natural to do so since you assume in these time-reported things that people are not precise about the actual amount. If someone will report (x-1,x+1) h then it makes sense to just bucket into low and high so that, if there is an effect, it is initially apparent.
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