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Here is a study that will reassure parents whose offspring are addicted to video games: children who play them are more intelligent than other children of the same age. Results obtained by researchers from the University of Vermont (United States) who observed more than 2,000 children aged 9 to 10 years.
It is a study that goes against the tide of received ideas: while video games are often accused of all evils, the conclusions of this work consider a contrario that the children who play them are more intelligent than their peers of the same age.
Three or more hours a day
Far from being a waste of time, video games can stimulate certain cognitive abilities. This is demonstrated by American researchers, by testing children who play at least three hours a day compared to children who do not play.
For this, the children were divided into two groups according to their playing time per day. 1,278 children said they had never played video games, while the other 800 mentioned using them at least three hours a day.
Best test scores
The authors then subjected the 2,078 children to tests that assessed their reaction time, problem solving and memory, while they underwent a functional MRI scan to measure their brain activity.
Result: children who play for three hours or more a day have on average better results in cognitive and memory tests than their peers. The scientists also detected more activity in the regions of the brain responsible for each function, including more activity in the gyri and precuneus regions of the brain, associated with attention and memory. According to Dr. Stéphane Clerget, a child psychiatrist in Paris, these conclusions are consistent: “It has been proven that video games stimulate certain faculties because they participate in the development of certain brain regions“.
An observational study
If the results seem in favor of children who play video games, the authors nevertheless qualify their results by recalling that their study is observational and that it could not therefore prove whether the improvement in these faculties was due to video games. or some other factor.
The researchers also point out that all types of games and modes (solo, multiplayer, etc.) have not been tested. “Although we cannot say whether playing video games regularly resulted in higher neuro-cognitive performance, it is an encouraging finding and we need to continue to investigate these children as they transition into adolescence and middle age. adult“.
Should video games be encouraged?
If the results of this work are not final, the practice of video games can still be beneficial for a child. So should we let him play for so long? “Certainly not“says Dr. Stéphane Clerget. “If video games can stimulate certain cognitive abilities, they harm others in children, such as social and relational abilities and the cut off from outside activities. The child should be allowed to play, but not more than an hour a day“concludes the specialist.