I have a little brother who is always playing video games either on his computer or on our TV. He is an active kid, but when he is not playing soccer, he is playing videos. My little brother is a little boy genius though! This made me think.. does playing video games make children smarter?
My little brother plays mostly war-like video games and sports video games, which all involve strategic planning and thinking. “Games can help growing children question and critically think about the world around them and their place within it”, says Colin Wilkinson, a DesignGroup Manager at game development studio 1st Playable Productions. He explains that video games “teach simple motor control and hand-eye coordination.” According to this article, there was a study conducted in 2009 which found that “children who play educational video games were less likely to develop attention problems in school”, while “children who played arcade-like, or violent video games were more likely to develop attention problems in school”.
I found a counter-article that states that video games (yes violent ones) can make a person smarter and help develop important skills that are necessary to succeed. I will list a few examples:
- Critical thinking- brain is stimulated to have creative solutions and thoughts throughout a video game, some can be applied to real life situations
- Problem-solving and decision-making skills- video games require players to solve problems and make decisions quickly, which end up determining the outcome of their game
- “Social nature of video games produce collaboration skills”- there are many games that allow players to communicate to each other (forming a team) to defeat or win, this takes communication skills and team effort. (ex. Xbox Live)
- “Teach how to fail”- gamers constantly fail a video game or parts within a video- helps with persistence and hard work to achieve a goal
- To learn more about the many benefits of playing video games, click here.
Depending on your source, different research proves that video games are either harmful or beneficial. From observing my little brother and researching this topic, I do believe that playing videos is beneficial in many ways mentally, but physically it can be harmful. With a good balance of fitness and leisure time playing video games, I think playing video games can be good for one’s mind. Too much of one thing, though, is never a good thing…
http://www.veterangamers.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/games_onthe_brain.jpg
http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-experts-think-playing-video-games-actually-make-you-smarter-2012-1?op=1
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/benefits-video-games/
Very interesting post, and I do agree to a degree that certain games make you smarter. However, I worry this could be a dangerous label to put on video games for society’s sake. i just finished writing a post about how video games are a leading cause for child hood obesity, so while they can be beneficial they also can be dangerous. I think if we can find an even balance between too little and too much, then video games could be extremely beneficial to society and even help kids with skills they may need in adult professions such as surgeons and pilots. very interesting post!
I found this article very interesting. I always link video games to negative effects. I have never been a fan of the technology but you bring up some very valid points. When I first read the title of your blog, I assumed that educational video games might make kids smarter but I did not think that regular video games would have this same effect. This youtube video describes in detail even more positive aspects of playing video games. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOsqkQytHOs