Study reveals children benefit from playing video games

Do video games really influence a kid’s growth?

A new study at Oxford University has revealed that a small amount of regular video game play can be beneficial for teens and children, reports IGN.

The study was 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 result obtained from the study was that the children who spend an hour or less each day playing video games tend to be better adjusted and happier individuals.

It also revealed, “ 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.”

"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 also explained why the games that the children played were important as they gave the kids “ a wide range of novel cognitive challenges, opportunities for exploration, relaxation and socialization with peers” that rivaled the benefits of “non-digitally mediated” forms of play.

Children who were gaming in moderate amount of time ranging from one hour to three were found to display no positive or negative effects while the children who played for more than three hours a day were found to be less adjusted than their counterparts. The study also revealed that factors such as family life and personal relationships tend to have significant effect on a child’s behaviour than their playing habits.