Study Reveals Surprising Impact of Video Games on Children’s IQ

Are video games bad for children's development? Does playing Mario Kart, Pokémon Or Fortnite could have a negative impact on the intelligence of young people? This is a question that often comes up in public debate. And all opinions are opposed. On the one hand, we have those who explain that they lead to violence and stupidity. On the other, those who praise its benefits, particularly at the social and cognitive level.

On May 11, 2022, an international study, led in particular by Torkel Klingberg, a neuroscientist from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, appeared in the journal Scientific Reports to bring a stone to the building of a debate which lasts and continues to come to the forefront.

Do video games lead to a decline in intelligence?

Let’s get straight to the heart of the matter. And the answer, which may be surprising to hear for some given the results of the study, is no, but we must add nuance.

It was by taking a base of 9,855 children, all aged between 9 and 10 years old, that the scientists began their study in 2020. On average, according to the scientists, these children spent each day:

• 2.5 hours watching television or videos on the Internet
• 1 hour playing video games
• and 30 minutes to chat on the Internet and social networks

Two years later, researchers were only able to access data from 5,000 children out of the original almost 10,000 participants. And the results of the study showed that for young people, aged 11 to 12, who spent more time on video games than the average obtained above, their IQ had increased by 2.5 points more than the total observed average.

The nuance to be made is that the study did not take into account the type of video games that the children played. They were therefore unable to differentiate between those who used a portable or home console, a smartphone or a computer. Thus, one of its supports could potentially be linked to greater stimulation in the child, while the other is not.

“Our results support the idea that screen time generally does not harm children's cognitive abilities and that video games can in fact boost intelligence.” declared Torkel Klingberg in a press release from Karolinska Institute.

And what about television and other uses of screens?

Many of us grew up first watching television and then immersing ourselves in the immensely vast world of video games. While, of course, having in our pocket a small tool that we can't really do without today: our smartphone and with it, the advent of social networks.

Unlike video games, watching television or spending time on social networks, on your computer or on your smartphone has not shown, according to researchers, any particular impacts on intelligence of children. Indeed, as reported ScienceAlertthe observed effects were neither positive nor negative. A kind of stagnation in fact.

Limitations of the study

Although studies have shown that video games can have a positive effect on child development or, on the contrary, a negative effect, they are still debated for the simple reason that they have limits.

And the study published on May 11, 2022 in the journal Scientific Reports also include them, according to the researchers themselves.

“We did not examine the effects of screen behavior on physical activity, sleep and well-being or academic performance, so we cannot say anything about this.” declared Torkel Klingberg in the press release Karolinksa Institute.

However, even if fans of video games who defend tooth and nail their favorite hobby and the benefits that it can bring, it is important to take everything into account to be able to say whether or not video games can be beneficial to the child .

In the case of a child who is very intelligent thanks to video games, but who does not sleep or sleeps very little because of that, can we really say that the impact of such a hobby is positive since obviously, could the consequences on his health be serious? What games and what types of games are taken into account to carry out the study? Could there be video games which, contrary to what the study shows, could be responsible for a “decline” in intelligence?

These are questions that are and will continue to be studied for years and years each time the debate comes back to the table, and often, unfortunately, because of a news item directly or indirectly involving video games.

Source : ScienceAlert