Video Gaming for Kids – Good or Bad?
Video Gaming – What is It?
I knew very little about video gaming until my 9 year old grandson told me last week he woke at 2am. He was so excited he couldn’t get back to sleep, so I asked why. Apparently his father (my son) said he could try a borrowed Nintendo Switch at 6am, but not before. I had no idea what Nintendo Switch was, but with my curiosity piqued, I decided to find out. What is it about?
Video Gaming is the use of special purpose consoles, supplied with hand controllers (e.g. Sony’s PlayStation, Nintendo’s Switch and Microsoft’s Xbox). Also they are played on mobile phones, tablets or computers to play a variety of games.
Biggest Selling Console: Sony’s PlayStation 2
Years ago, I received 2 Microsoft Xbox controllers free with a computer purchase. Not knowing much about them, I listed them on eBay. In no time they were sold!
This post covers the pros and cons of video games for kids. My initial take on it is that a cognitively demanding game is better than kids just watching TV or movies. Obviously, they need a balance of physical activity (e.g. regular sport – enhances learning) and mental activity. Most caring parents probably ensure this happens. Also, it helps the young understand digital technology which will dominate their lives. We all played a variety of games when we were young, but this industry is now huge. The types of games are endless but I deal with the major ones below.
Video Gaming is Big
The global video game market was about $US 151 Bn in 2020 and expected to be $US200 Bn by 2023. See Video Game Statistics
The biggest number of players are in their early 30s, but retired people are catching up fast!
Games
Obviously there are addictive, violent and sexually explicit games. So this blog explores data to help parents ensure their children benefit from games, avoiding unsuitable ones. It is obvious parents should monitor what their children play and the time they play, especially little ones, although research shows about 90% don’t. There is much information about this aspect. Parents playing video games with kids is a great way to interact with them.
Great Way to Relate to Your Children
Fortunately, there are many educational games that children find engrossing, that help them with skills.
Types of Games
Educational – for complete list and detail, see Wikipedia
- Minecraft
- Where on Google Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
- Nancy Drew Interactive Mysteries
- Wordscapes
- Zoombinis
Violent – for complete list and detail, see Wikipedia
- Grand Theft Auto
- Splatterhouse
- Postal
- Mortal Kombat
- Manhunt
Below is an extract from the Harvard Medical School “Violent video games and young people”
“Key points
- Much of the research on violent video game use relies on measures to assess aggression that don’t correlate with real-world violence. Some studies are observational and don’t prove cause and effect.
- Federal crime statistics suggest that serious violent crimes among youths have decreased since 1996, even as video game sales have soared.
- Parents can protect children from potential harm by limiting the use of video games and taking other common-sense precautions.”
As a youngster, I and friends played cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, taking either side. Even stone fights and acorn fights with shanghais (stupid – could have lost an eye!). I also owned a very realistic toy silver pistol that would terrify any burglar. All these activities had zero effect on making me aggressive physically. Nothing was or is further from my mind.
Are Action Games Bad?
Apparently not. The video below shows they make vision better, increase multitasking ability, reaction time and recognition skills!
See also: Medical News Today
Stopping or Preventing Addiction
I am no authority on this subject but there is help. Below are some good links:
References
- Harvard Medical School
- CNET
- Wikipedia
- IGN
- Video Game Statistics
- Curing Addiction See also ‘Stopping or Preventing Addiction’ above
12 Responses
Campbell
Thank you for this introduction to a youth I missed …. Bored with the traditional board game, I developed triangular-chess for 3 people which encouraged the forming of alliances. I played the first and evolving computer chess games. . and early developed a winning sacrificial blitzkreig strategy … until the computer ‘learnt’ this and then systematically beat me.
This is tame stuff on your account. Now I watch 2- year olds on the bus manipulating joysticks pitted against the Universe 💥… while their mothers are texting.
Where have the good old days gone ?
John. Good work on the triangular chess. Tell us more. Being the optimist I am, I think these are the good days!!
Thanks Cam for this article.
I agree with it when it talks about no correlation of violence with gaming. The face that violent crimes have decreased is probably because all the young people are home gaming and not out on the streets or drinking alcohol etc….Teenage pregnancies have decreased as well because of this too.
Gaming is v addictive and is definitely changing the way young people today socialise. It’s probably the biggest challenge parents are facing today- how to keep everyone balanced. Screen time , sport , work, education- very tricky from our experience with three teenagers.
I’m old school so outside time very important. Hard though.
Thanks so much.
Sarah. Thanks and great to get real life comments. I can imagine the difficulty of monitoring play time and getting kids into sport, etc. I will see what more info is available.
Sarah
See my reply to John Shand below. Also, this website is good:
https://www.lifeeducation.org.au/parents/physical-activity-how-much-do-kids-need?gclid=Cj0KCQjwse-DBhC7ARIsAI8YcWIaNNpf-uZC856K79WgWr4yGoV4RguSq_ZZsN06IgSLKlJXe-BaHWAaAt03EALw_wcB
Sarah
I found this website which details how to lock and also monitor your children’s phones, which seems to answer your concern about what they watch, play, and to avoid addiction:
https://www.androidcentral.com/best-ways-lock-down-kids-phone
This is for Android phones but friends tell me they can do it on their iPhones
The biggest problem I have is that the games can and do lead into online gambling which is hard to detect, also the ability to verbally communicate seems to diminish. Great idea to be involved with the children but very strict and enforceable rules have to bbe laid down.
Thanks, John. Points well made. Games have ‘loot boxes’ which draw kids in. This web site shows the detail with advice for parents:
https://famisafe.wondershare.com/parental-control/gambling-in-video-games.html
I’ve got to say I wasn’t good at disciplining our kids but my wife was and hopefully, one or both parents can communicate and police rules. Also, encourage kids to keep to them and communicate. It is hard but there are heaps of websites with advice on these subjects. Parents need to google them.
Hey There Campbell,
Excellent blog thank you. This has increased my understanding immensely and a number of the links are superb in this regard also. I am pleased to hear that playing Cops and Robbers and Cowboys and Indians did not adversely affect your current mental state in the same way as the long grass at Massey Golf currently does.🤣
I find it amusing that many of my friends in their sixties plus have such negative views of todays young people and are bewildered by their behaviors …… in much the same way as I recall adults reacting to our behaviours back then🤣 Like you I also believe these are the good days too.
Murray, this misgiving about the future quite common. I find the future exciting, but then I am an optimist. I guess while it can be shown without doubt that we are better off in so many ways than in the past, e.g. increased longevity, better standard of living, less poverty, etc., human nature hasn’t changed much and we have a cross-section of pessimism, optimism, etc. I have read some of the books below and the last one is very realistic and ‘factual’:
Bill Gates: These 4 books make me feel optimistic about the world
“Energy and Civilization: A History” Author: Vaclav Smil. …
“Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress” Author: Steven Pinker. …
“Factfulness” Author: Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund. …
“Sapiens”
Campbell, your audience may well be interested in a review of the benefits (and costs) of video games purporting to prevent the decline of cognitive skills in aged persons. I saw that one company (Lumosity) that has strongly promoted such products for preventing cognitive decline was recently fined by US authorities for making false claims about the efficacy of their products. I believe that one of the major Australian organisations supporting persons with dementia has endorsed this company’s products in the past.
Ivan, thanks. The website below has some appropriate data. Mario 64 is one game cited by a University of Montreal study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171206141648.htm