The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence • Hacker News Board

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#91

Post by hackernewds » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:48 PM UTC

d3ckard wrote: post #75

lettergram wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the point the prior commenter was making was that this research validates people who think gaming is good. They pointed out the issues and said “if you still want to believe this, I can’t stop you” The commenter may have a bias, but most prior research shows us the opposite of the study. I also saw the poor experimental design and had a similar thoughts. Basically, this research looks poorly done and like an…

In any case, using CoD as an example does not exactly show good will. I personally believe in huge gains from gaming, based on personal experience (so obviously n = 1, read further accordingly). Platformers train hand-eye coordination and pattern recognition, strategies teach resource management, RPGs about optimization and adopting growth mindset, racing games require long-time concentration, puzzlers and adventure…

The question is about incrementality. in those same hours you played CoD, do you think (assuming the endpoint as you suggest is being a softeng) you could have learned more by practicing softeng (even if for half the time)

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#92

Post by whatusername » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:48 PM UTC

isolli wrote: post #73

brightball wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nintendo games on a console that don’t need an internet connection or include advertising. These have been the best combination for our kids where they have fun but aren’t addicted and can easily put them down. The moment games include advertising they optimize for all the wrong things. I won’t let my kids get free games on iPad, etc for this reason alone.

My daughter is transitioning from children's games to pre-teen games, and I can't find a single acceptable game on the tablet. Until now I hadn't realized how sensible Apple's rules around children's games had been, notably: no internet connection required, and no ads.

Have a look at Apple Arcade.

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#93

Post by lelanthran » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:55 PM UTC

dash2 wrote: post #13

The fact that they "controlled" for genetics using polygenic scores already is a strong sign of low quality research. Polygenic scores are powerful, but they contain very large amounts of noise compared to the true genetic effects. Controlling for genetics using them is like controlling for income by asking whether the respondents own a Porsche. Also, be aware that Scientific Reports is, if not quite a predatory jour…

> If you wanna believe that your hours on COD have made you a genius, go ahead, I won't stop you. Just don't imagine that this research proves it.

Maybe it's the games you play (CoD) that make imagine that game-playing develops no reasoning skills.

Play something else (starcraft, for example).

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#94

Post by boloust » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:55 PM UTC

dash2 wrote: post #13

The fact that they "controlled" for genetics using polygenic scores already is a strong sign of low quality research. Polygenic scores are powerful, but they contain very large amounts of noise compared to the true genetic effects. Controlling for genetics using them is like controlling for income by asking whether the respondents own a Porsche. Also, be aware that Scientific Reports is, if not quite a predatory jour…

Is there a reason to consider the use of a noisy signal as a strong sign of a low-quality study, without addressing whether the noise is correlated with the outcome?

Do we think this study would be improved if it did not control for genetics at all?

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#95

Post by bamboozled » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:56 PM UTC

galoisgirl wrote: post #83

bamboozled wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about neither TV or computer games and doing things outside like fishing, hiking, scouts, riding bikes etc ?

Are you asking seriously? How about bad weather, or that part of the day when you've already done those things?

I remember riding my bike through the rain and hitting puddles full speed and doing skids on wet grass and absolutely loving it. I also remember we used to go catch and observe certain insects and frogs that would only be seen in the rain.

I’m not saying you’re wrong. Just bad weather can be an opportunity for children too. What about doing art? Lego ? Even cooking something fun?

Recently my friends kids were going mad because they wanted to jump on the trampoline but she wouldn’t let them because it was raining. I really couldn’t see the logic behind it. I’d just let them go for it.

If they’ve been outside doing stuff all day I can’t see how they’d need more stimulus, maybe a bit of TV / relaxation is good for them ?

The comments seemed framed as if it was TV or games, that’s all.

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#96

Post by JamesSwift » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:56 PM UTC

moduspol wrote: post #58

throwoutway wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are old games designed to be addictive? The original NES and Sega games? Like Mario Bros, etc? I think more recent games added the addictive components

Old games were designed similarly to arcade games, where the "true" goal was to get you to keep inserting coins. Then there was kind of a slow transition away from that, but they still relied heavily on the player spending a lot of time replaying prior levels to get to the harder (final) ones due to the limited amount of content. IMO it was addictive, but only to certain personality types. Mine is definitely one of t…

Id disagree that console games were the same as arcade. Arcade often had gimmicks that _required_ more quarters, whereas console encouraged mastery (e.g. learning boss patterns, level layouts, etc). Very few console games would need a game genie to beat, but many arcade games are near impossible with a single quarter.

In reality for certain personalities (myself included) that focus on mastery is actually the addictive bit, and I think its a productive addiction all things considered. Im not addicted to the mind-numbing aspect of playing, I'm addicted to the huge amount of knowledge I need to gain in order to succeed. Its the same reason I was drawn to DOTA and Magic later in life.

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#97

Post by swframe2 » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:57 PM UTC

I think it is better to focus on getting kids to do creative projects. For example, parents should get them to write and illustrate a story once a month, or learn to play a music instrument, etc. If kids are doing interesting projects that change yearly and they work to improve their skills then the amount of time they spend on digital media will decrease and will not be a concern.

Having kids do projects is super helpful. 1) It builds their confidence in their ability 2) It shows the world (e.g. college admission boards) how they are valuable 3) It can become a way for them to be their own boss 4) It allows them to figure out what they want to be 5) It keeps them busy and out of trouble

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#98

Post by JamesSwift » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:58 PM UTC

objektif wrote: post #41

NateEag wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget relaxing - sometimes it's nice to distract the kids so I can, say, cook dinner without them literally hanging off my legs.

I can't even go to the bathroom in peace. How do you guys manage time for yourself??

Easy, you dont!

- Parent of a 2,4,6, and 8 year old

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#99

Post by BlargMcLarg » Tue, May 17, 2022, 1:59 PM UTC

hackernewds wrote: post #91

d3ckard wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In any case, using CoD as an example does not exactly show good will. I personally believe in huge gains from gaming, based on personal experience (so obviously n = 1, read further accordingly). Platformers train hand-eye coordination and pattern recognition, strategies teach resource management, RPGs about optimization and adopting growth mindset, racing games require long-time concentration, puzzlers and adventure…

The question is about incrementality. in those same hours you played CoD, do you think (assuming the endpoint as you suggest is being a softeng) you could have learned more by practicing softeng (even if for half the time)

Obviously. Which is why the question isn't about incrementality. It's about whether the choices one was willing to make were beneficial to something that doesn't seem remotely related at first glance.

Most people aren't going to program 10 hours a day. But they might program 8 hours a day and then do 2 hours of entertainment. Maybe those 2 hours of watching TV were better spent gaming in terms of contributing to other aspects in life. Maybe those 2 hours of gaming could've been 2 hours of drawing instead.

If we're talking about incrementality, we'd better question why almost every software company is still treating their employees like idiot savants when games show us how quickly people can learn drastically different concepts, as long as presented correctly.

Re: The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence

#100

Post by JamesSwift » Tue, May 17, 2022, 2:00 PM UTC

erfgh wrote: post #19

christophilus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's really nice to distract the kids while you relax.

Why can't the kids play among themselves? I have two little daughters, ages 3 and 5 and I've never had to drop them in front of something. If I have time to play with them I do (which is most days) but when I don't have time or I'm very tired or I need to do something else I tell them to play among themselves.

Nothing is better than the 10% of the time that siblings get along. The problem is that 90% of the time they actually are fighting with each other and its way more frustrating to deal with as you repeat the same exact arguments you've made every single day for the past 2 years.