Enjoying Video Games Has an Surprising Impact on Youngsters’ IQ, Study Discovers : ScienceAlert

Researchers have linked spending extra time taking part in video video games with a lift in intelligence in kids, which works some technique to contradicting the narrative that gaming is unhealthy for younger minds.

While the distinction in cognitive skills was a small one and is not sufficient to indicate a causal relationship, it is sufficient to be notable – and the 2022 examine was cautious to think about variables together with variations in genetics and the kid’s socio-economic background.

Meanwhile, watching TV and utilizing social media did not appear to have a constructive or unfavorable impact on intelligence. The analysis ought to show helpful within the debate over how a lot display time is appropriate for younger minds.

Related: Video Games Can Boost Your Mental Health – But There’s a Catch

“Digital media defines modern childhood, but its cognitive effects are unclear and hotly debated,” the staff from the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden writes of their published paper.

“We believe that studies with genetic data could clarify causal claims and correct for the typically unaccounted role of genetic predispositions.”

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The researchers looked at screen time records for 9,855 kids in the ABCD Study, all in the US and aged 9 or 10. On average, the youngsters reported spending 2.5 hours a day watching TV or online videos, 1 hour playing video games, and half an hour socializing over the internet.

They then accessed data for more than 5,000 of those children two years later. Over the intervening period, those in the study who reported spending more time than the norm on video games saw an increase of 2.5 IQ points above the average rise.

The IQ point increase was based on the kids’ performance on tasks that included reading comprehension, visual-spatial processing, and a task focused on memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

It’s important to note that while the study only looked at children in the US and did not differentiate between video game types (mobile versus console games), it’s still a valuable insight into gaming and IQ – and backs up the idea that intelligence isn’t a fixed constant that we’re born with.

“Our outcomes assist the declare that display time typically would not impair kids’s cognitive skills, and that taking part in video video games can really assist enhance intelligence,” neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said in 2022 when the examine was printed.

As the researchers note, this is not the first study to suggest that there could be a link between the time that kids spend gaming and the development of their cognitive abilities – and there seem to be other associated benefits from video games, too.

The team behind the current research says that small sample sizes, the different designs of studies, and the lack of consideration for genetic and socio-economic influences have all led to the conflicting reports of the effects of screen time that we’ve seen to date. Those are limitations that this study aimed to minimize.

All of this is to say that there are a lot of factors at play, both in terms of how intelligence might be developed and formed and in the different ways in which screen time might affect our bodies and our habits – so much more research is needed.

“We did not study the results of display habits on bodily exercise, sleep, wellbeing, or college efficiency, so we won’t say something about that,” said Klingberg.

“We’ll now be finding out the results of different environmental components and the way the cognitive results relate to childhood mind improvement.”

The analysis has been printed in Scientific Reports.