Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

nida.nih.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 332 posts

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

#291

Post by jacooper »

annyeonghada wrote: post #206
jacooper wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my wife and I decided our kids won't have video games. We'll see how it goes. I think you kid would feel excluded in school, when everyone is playing together online and talking about the latest games.

Is this such a strong component of the American teenager identity? I know exactly one person here (Southern Europe) who plays videogames and nobody talked about it. Sports, music, fashion, movies, politics: that were the things that could make you or break you in high school.

I don't live in America, so I don't know. I agree its not the biggest thing in high school, but in pre-teenage gaming is big, at least where I live.

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

#292

Post by omniglottal »

thesz wrote: post #278
sexy_seedbox wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or in most cases, it's parental neglect with both parents working full-time jobs with barely enough time to take care of themselves?

From what do you infer "in most cases"? What are your statistics?

Parental availability has been steadily declining for decades - the same decades where video game usage took the place of other activities. You can do your own research. If it's difficult to get hard data, use soft data and draw inferences, but don't invalidate what data we clearly have and from which plenty of valid use can be extrapolated.

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

#293

Post by branon »

dpatterbee wrote: post #254
lucasfcosta wrote: post #221

I'll add the classic comment here: "correlation does not mean causation". Maybe it's the kids with better cognitive performance that like videogame better. I wouldn't find that unlikely considering it's more mentally stimulating than other "real-world" activities. Also, I personally learned to code by writing bots for an MMORPG, so I definitely owe my career to videogames.

Always amusing when I see yet another person who started their coding journey writing RuneScape bots, seems like a really common path within a certain demographic. (I'm assuming RuneScape here because it was the largest bot community I was aware of but I suppose there could be others)

I'm another one who was introduced to tech through gaming (RuneScape) and to programming largely through RuneScape macros. There are literally dozens of us!

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

#294

Post by throwaway0asd »

spookybones wrote: post #182
throwaway0asd wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like wishful thinking in a Dunning Kruger kind of way by somebody who never played physical sports on a competitive level. Video games are a non-social controlled environment with obvious and predictable goals, similar to gambling. Gambling encourages a person to keep pushing themselves for a positive outcome but that alone does indicate any form of personal advancement. Sports and music require developme…

The goals are pretty obvious in many sports. Heard of goal posts before?

An athlete doesn’t go from couch potato to immediately scoring touchdowns just after a few attempts at trial and error. You can do that in video games because everything is synthetic and linear.

In the real world you actually have to overcome real pain (both mental and physical) to achieve success. Video games are incapable of teaching that on absolutely any level.

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

#295

Post by Tao3300 »

omniglottal wrote: post #292
thesz wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what do you infer "in most cases"? What are your statistics?

Parental availability has been steadily declining for decades - the same decades where video game usage took the place of other activities. You can do your own research. If it's difficult to get hard data, use soft data and draw inferences, but don't invalidate what data we clearly have and from which plenty of valid use can be extrapolated.

No one else gamed with their parents? No one else games with their kids? My anecdata disagree with the causal link you're suggesting, fwiw.

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

#296

Post by throwaway0asd »

Dracophoenix wrote: post #184
throwaway0asd wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like wishful thinking in a Dunning Kruger kind of way by somebody who never played physical sports on a competitive level. Video games are a non-social controlled environment with obvious and predictable goals, similar to gambling. Gambling encourages a person to keep pushing themselves for a positive outcome but that alone does indicate any form of personal advancement. Sports and music require developme…

> If a given video game took years of investment to complete the current level almost nobody would play that game. How do you explain League of Legends or even E-sports in general? Games are as competitive as they are endeavors of creativity.

The same way I would explain drugs and gambling. Gambling can be very competitive. That appeals to somebody and glamorizing it can generate a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean it’s beneficial in absolutely any way.

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

#297

Post by brooksbp »

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.

Quake III Arena / QuakeLive training for mind warp speed and hand/eye coord.

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

#298

Post by throwaway0asd »

bawolff wrote: post #187
throwaway0asd wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like wishful thinking in a Dunning Kruger kind of way by somebody who never played physical sports on a competitive level. Video games are a non-social controlled environment with obvious and predictable goals, similar to gambling. Gambling encourages a person to keep pushing themselves for a positive outcome but that alone does indicate any form of personal advancement. Sports and music require developme…

> Video games are a non-social controlled environment Lots of video games are social. Some are not. The amount the environment is controlled can also varry. > Gambling encourages a person to keep pushing themselves for a positive outcome but that alone does indicate any form of personal advancement. So like literally everything. Seriously, can you name an external stimuli that this doesn't fit? Is work gambling? Scho…

> What's the difference exactly?

The difference is third party contribution. If you are playing games purely for personal enjoyment that’s great. If you consider it a sport you are probably someone else’s product with little or nothing but lost time to show for it. This has long since been explained in Nicomachean Ethics and Utilitarianism. What matters is not the carrot someone can dangle in your face but your ability to tell the difference.

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

#299

Post by artur_makly »

artur_makly wrote: post #72

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 d…

update: i found these WYSIWIG platforms:

1- https://struckd.com/ mobile only

2 - Google's Game Builder https://www.blog.google/technology/area-120/create-3d-games-... sadly discontinued.

3 - https://www.sandbox.game/en/create/game-maker/ *but it has a complex crypto component I dont like.

All have the high-fidelity UX I've been looking for.

any others? any others?

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

#300

Post by mod »

Aeolun wrote: post #233
mod wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At young ages, I say give them an old-school Nintendo, or N64 etc. Little/no advertising, monetization of your kid's attention, whatever. If they're not on the web or at school yet, they won't even know they're missing out on more modern systems. Or some similar setup where there's no online, no monthly charge, no pay-to-win, and instead the child gets to play a carefully crafted game, hopefully an awesome one. I als…

My 4yo son loves the N64, but he plays nothing but Smash Bros. It’s not like I don’t understand, but it still feels mildly wrong.

He'll branch out when he gets a little older.
Post reply on HN