Are video games a valid extracurricular activity or a time sink?
Are video games a valid extracurricular activity or a time sink?
Are video games a valid extracurricular activity or a time sink?
By Amber M. Northern
May 11, 2023
Summary
Many of us are at least vaguely aware of prior studies finding that playing violent video games is linked to increases in overt aggressive behavior over time.
Six scholars from the University of Vermont examine the link between video games and cognitive performance in children-specifically involving working memory and motor responses.
Their theory: Video gaming shares some similarities with common cognitive tasks like tracking multiple objects, rapid changes in attention, and peripheral vision that may enhance reaction time, problem solving, and logic.
First were the gamers-those young people who self-reported playing video games three hours per day or twenty-one hours per week or more, which is an amount that exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics's recommended maximum of one to two hours per day.
Specifically, gamers took less time to inhibit their motor response or reaction time in the tasks and were less susceptible to distractions, suggesting that "Gamers have greater capacity to suppress or disregard irrelevant stimuli." Moreover, data from the MRI scans showed differences in brain activity patterns when performing the tasks.
Digging even more deeply, during tasks involving working memory, the scans showed that gamers exhibited less blood-oxygenation-level dependent signals, which indicates that their responses came from specific areas of the brain-and suggests that the children were actively engaged with the video game content, as opposed to passively watching it.
Although the results appear positive for gamers, spending three hours per day or twenty-one hours per week playing video games is a lot of time.
Reference
Northern, A. M. (2023, May 11). Are video games a valid extracurricular activity or a time sink?. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/are-video-games-valid-extracurricular-activity-or-time-sink