Are video games bad for kids? Parents on social media have debated this question for years. The gaming industry is growing. Gaming is incredibly accessible. Kids can play them on mobile phones and handheld devices like the Nintendo Switch 2. Yet despite the gaming industry’s growth, the age-old debate over whether children should play video games rages on.
In fact, a PubMed article reports that more than 90% of children over 2 years old play video games, and about three-quarters of American households own a video game console. So let’s examine the positive and negative impacts gaming has on children.
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Are Video Games Bad For Kids?
What Are The Risks?
Let’s begin by discussing the risks. Like any hobby, enjoy gaming in moderation. But what happens when gaming goes overboard? Studies have shown that excessive video game time can lead to cognitive issues. There’s no single hourly limit on gaming, but factors like age, personal responsibility, and how it affects your everyday life are important.
According to the article, “Rewiring Young Minds, “the risks associated with gaming negatively affect cognition, learning, attention, and distraction. Video gaming is also linked to increased impulsiveness in children. The articles also show that children who already have attention problems are more drawn to gaming, which may worsen difficulties with sustained focus, self-regulation, and academic engagement over time.
Long play sessions can disrupt sleep quality. Kids are also less likely to study and do their homework. Parents also worry that children don’t play outside as much as they used to. Critics blame video games for increased violence among youth. Yet, according to Harvard Health Publishing, there’s no concrete evidence that gaming has caused school shootings or other acts of violence.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, video game addiction is called Internet gaming disorder. “It is characterized by severely reduced control over gaming habits, resulting in negative impacts on daily functioning, including personal, social, educational, and occupational responsibilities. Millions of people play video games; only a small percentage develop video game addiction.”
Then there are the stereotypes that children, especially young men, will become adults who live in their mom’s basement and play video games all day. Stereotypes paint gamers as antisocial, unemployed, and lacking intelligence. Yet, these stereotypes couldn’t be further from the truth. But there are good reasons for children to play games, right?
What Are The Rewards?
So, what rewards come from children playing video games? Despite the stereotypes, over 70% of gamers are incredibly social and play games with family and friends. In fact, the same Medium article cites a 2014 study by LifeCourse Associates that conducted several surveys. The findings show that gamers are not lazy and tend to be more successful. They are also more likely to be full-time employees than non-gamers (42 percent vs. 39 percent). They were also more likely to be happier and to work in a career they actually wanted (45 percent vs. 37 percent).
For example, action games can serve as active brain training. According to PubMed, “action games can enhance visual-spatial capacities, including spatial navigation, mental rotation, and attentional control.” The positives of action games can also extend to various cognitive functions, including working memory, selective attention, and processing speed. Adolescents who play strategy games have shown “improved problem-solving skills over time, which may enhance their academic performance.”
Another study published in JAMA Network Open found that nearly 2,000 children who reported playing video games for three hours or more per day performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory than children who had never played video games.
What Are The Rewards Continued
Video games can also help relieve stress, especially cozy games. A child-friendly game like Super Mario Galaxy shouldn’t be compared to a first-person shooter game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Games come in different genres, and some are child-friendly. Parents should check a game’s ESRB rating (Entertainment Software Rating Board) before buying. Educational games, like LeapFrog Tablet and the LeapFrog Leapster Ultra Handheld Learning Game Console, can also teach children grammar and math skills.
Ensuring a child has balanced play time is crucial. An hour or two of game time a day is a decent amount. Most games have parental control settings. These settings let parents limit play time and control who their child interacts with in online games. As a child, my mom didn’t let my brothers or me play Mature-rated games. We also weren’t allowed to play games all day and night, and were limited to an hour or two of game time on the weekends. Even though my godmother asked my mom, I still wasn’t allowed to play World of Warcraft until I was 17.
How Growing Up As A Gamer Shaped Me
As a child, I was always inspired by the arts and entertainment. I loved literature, music, and gaming. I’d spend hours reading books and writing stories. I fell in love with creating artwork. My godmother introduced me to video gaming and literature. She was disabled and lived her life in a wheelchair. Those wheels never stopped her, though. Gaming let her socialize with friends around the world, and no game did that better than World of Warcraft.
Gaming is an art form. Major industry awards like the Game Awards recognize game developers and the amount of work it takes to create a video game. KINGDOM HEARTS was the first video game I’d ever played. As a child, I was amazed by the music, the graphics, and the story. My godmother introduced me to KINGDOM HEARTS, a world that began on screen but lived on through its players. From the screenwriters to the artists who design the monsters, and the music that wraps it up with a bow, KINGDOM HEARTS, and by extension, gaming, has revealed a world full of meaning and hope.
Gaming is relaxing. Depression and anxiety have been a constant struggle for me over the past 10 years. Gaming has given me a way to ease my anxiety and connect with others like me. Gaming is a form of escapism. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hello Kitty Island Adventure, and World of Warcraft have given me peace. If I have children of my own, I hope they appreciate gaming as an art form. An art form that can transcend culture and unite fellow gamers.
Are Video Games Bad For Kids?
Leave a comment below and tell me about your gaming journey. Do you believe video games are bad for kids? Why or why not? Please share this post on social media.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully, this article was helpful.
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Thank you for hanging out at my hearth,
Spyells