Is gaming bad?

Disclaimers:

• I am learning about the impact of games on brain as more research is coming out. I will try keep all points of view updated.
• The below article covers only the topic of gaming and not screen use in total. I will cover that in another article.

First, a personal story which led me to believe in the power of games.

I had multiple pregnancies and life saving skull surgeries, that impacted my memory and brain functioning. My field requires heavy use of the brain. This scenario was scary. Using my love for games, even before I entered this field as a professional, I developed my own small games to re-train my brain and then moved to training on online games.

Playing these games consistently brought back my critical thinking, memory retention and organizational functioning. Some would argue, even stronger than before. Brain training became my secret tool.

Note: I personally do not like violent games as it makes me unhappy and so I pick brain training and strategy games.

Now some data

Study 1: Association of Video Gaming With Cognitive Performance Among Children; October’2022

ABCD is a long-term study of brain development and child health in the US.

Sample size = 2,217??? Age: 9-10 Year old??

Comparison between kids who played 0 hours per week (NVGs) vs. 21 hours per week (VGs).

Limitation: The study does not make a difference on the genre (types) of video games. For example, puzzles vs. violent games.

Key takeaways:

1. Cognitive impact: Better performance for video gamers group in cognitive performance involving response inhibition and working memory and in areas of the brain responsible for visual, attention, and memory processing.
2. Mental health impact: ?More research needed: In the self-filled checklist that assesses the behavior of children, the VG group scored higher on attention problems and depression. This was not yet tested statistically and something I understand could be part of future ABCD studies.

Study 2: Study focused on online football simulation gaming site encouraging online social support and community. April 2023

Sample size: 40

Limitations:

• While a good start, I’d like to see such studies expanded to a larger sample size.
• What happens to online bullying if this sample size becomes 400 and not 40? Impact of large scale in game socialization still needs to be analyzed.

Key takeaways:

1. Gamers with more in-game social support are more likely to engage socially.
2. Stronger in game sense of community enabled players to bond and discuss over real life issues.
3. Gamers who had depressive symptoms were less likely to initiate communication, meaning they need more formal support structures.

Study 3: Study focused on linkage of violent games and empathy. November 2023

Total participants: 89 split into 2 groups Age: Adult Gender: Males

Key takeaway: a few hours of violent video games do not reduce empathy levels in ADULT MALES.

Limitations and caution:

• Despite the caution of the authors, I have seen this study quoted as “Violent games do not reduce empathy”. That’s NOT the conclusion.
• Sample is adult males, meaning their brains are already developed unlike children who continue to develop until they are 25 years old.
• I am yet to see studies for children in this area.

Conclusion for parents and caregivers:

1. Know this: there are games that can help improve brain functioning.
2. There is a phenomenon of “peer orientation” which means kids are more impacted by their peers than by their parents. Kids are playing even if we may not know.
3. In all cases, limit time on technology/ online and get kids outside play time. Another article on this to follow.
4. For those, whose kids are NOT gaming yet, try to keep them off as long as possible. Check on peer pressure they may be facing.
5. For those, whose kids are gaming,

• limit the gaming time – Another article on how to do that.
• move them to games that help develop skills. (Think positive games I played)

And the last part is my mission! I hope to build FUN games that REPLACE violent/ aggressive/ addictive ones with positive skills development.

It’s not complicated – good games do teach us. What is bad is the time we spend gaming and nature of some games. ?

Some last words:

• I acknowledge this is a field developing daily. If you see other studies/ have a perspective, I’m looking forward to hearing.
• Please share this article and newsletter with as many parents as possible so we can all learn together.
• You can help your and all the other children and parents by testing our positive games. Please comment on this post and I will include you in the test group. You can make a difference directly by supporting us in our mission.

From, a parent to all the parents out there!