Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits, review find
According to a study of studies published in American Psychologist, playing video games, particularly aggressive shooting games, can help children understand, stay healthy, and socialize.
The research comes as psychologists and other health experts begin to discuss the impact of violent media on children and adolescents. A task force of the American Psychological Association is undertaking a systematic study of literature on aggression in video games and digital media, with the results expected later this year.
"Significant research has already been done for decades on the harmful effects of gaming, including addiction, depression, and violence, and we are definitely not saying that this can be overlooked," says Isabela Granic, PhD, lead author of the report from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. "However, a more balanced approach is needed to consider the effect of video games on the growth of children and adolescents."
According to many studies discussed in the paper, though one commonly held belief holds that playing video games is mentally lazy, such play actually strengthens a variety of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, logic, memory, and vision. The authors discovered that this is particularly true for violent shooter video games. According to a 2013 meta-analysis, playing shooter video games strengthened a player's capacity to learn about objects in three dimensions almost as well as college classes aimed at improving these skills.While one widely held view maintains that playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games, which are often violent, the authors found. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses designed to enhance these same skills, according to the study.
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