Computer games make children smarter and more sociable

In recent years, published several scientific studies that prove the positive impact of video games on the mental and mental development of children. Video games develop memory, attention and intelligence, improve the higher cognitive functions, including the ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time, and others.

In the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology published another research work c a study of thousands of children aged 6 to 11 years in six countries European Union. Scientists have found that computer games not only correlate with higher intelligence, but also make children more sociable. However, they do not affect mental health.

The study showed that out of 3195 children, about 20% play video games for more than 5 hours a week. The number of playing hours is influenced by various factors: age, gender, family size, mother's personality. Children of poorly educated, single, unemployed or psychologically suffering mothers spend less time playing computer games. All these factors are taken into account when analyzing the data.

The number of playing hours was reported by parents, information about academic performance was taken from teachers in schools, the psychological health of children was assessed by teachers and parents according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire questionnaire , and also by children according to Dominic Interactive self-test .

After normalization of the sample by age, sex, family size, age of the mother and her marital status, the result was obtained: children who play a lot of computer games are 1.75 times more likely to have high intellectual development and 1.88 times more likely to have excellent academic performance. . This group of children did not show any differences in mental health - neither in the results of questionnaires of parents and teachers, nor in independent tests.

At the same time, "gamers" have a smaller indicator of problemness in interpersonal communication.

Scientists conclude that video games can have a positive effect on children at an early age, although the mechanism of a positive impact on children's development still needs to be further investigated.

Children by nature love to play with each other. This teaches them teamwork that comes in handy in adult life. "Video games often become a form of joint activity for schoolchildren," said Professor Katherine Keyes, one of the authors of the study. “The results indicate that children who often play video games may be more socially cohesive with peers and better integrated into the school community.”