According to the British news site The Telegraph, Oxford University recently found that a small amount of regular video game play can be beneficial for teens and children.
Conducted on nearly 5,000 children aged 10-15 with varying levels of game playing habits ranging from no time spent playing to multiple hours per day, the study concluded that children who spend an hour or less each day playing video games tended to be better adjusted and happier individuals.
"Young people who engaged in a little video game playing were associated with being better adjusted than those who had never played or those who were on video games for three hours or more," the study said. "Those who played video games for less than an hour...were associated with the highest levels of sociability and were most likely to say they were satisfied with their lives. They also appeared to have fewer friendship and emotional problems, and reported less hyperactivity than the other groups."
The study went on to explain why the games these children played were beneficial, stating that the games gave the kids "a wide range of novel cognitive challenges, opportunities for exploration, relaxation, and socialization with peers" that rivalled the benefits of "non-digitally mediated" forms of play.
The children who engaged in moderate amounts of play spanning from one hour to three were found to display no positive or negative effects, while children who played "excessive" amounts of more than three hours a day were found to be less well-adjusted than their counterparts. The study suggests, however, that this was largely due to the fact that the children missed out on other "enriching activities" and were possibly exposed to themes and content better suited for adults in their gaming time.
The study also mentions that factors such as family life and personal relationships tended to have a much more significant effect on a child's behaviour than their game-playing habits.
Report author Dr. Andrew Przybylski concluded that the effects on children both positive and negative were relatively small, which indicates that "both the broad fears and hopes about gaming may be more exaggerated."
Article by Cassidee Moser.
