Are Online Games Good For Students?

Understanding the Impact of Gaming on Student Development

Studies such as a 2012 paper in the Psychology of Popular Media and Culture have found that playing online games can harm students.

Effects Of Online Games On Teenagers

A study by the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology of Argosy University found that video game addicts argued with their teachers, argued with their friends, and scored lower than others who played video games.

While some studies suggest that video games can increase children's concentration, other studies, such as a 2012 paper in Psychology of Popular Media and Culture have found that playing games can harm children rather than help solve attention problems, which improves concentration in short bursts, but harms long-term concentration. "Games can also promote acts of evil and distort a sense of right and wrong," Hull said. "Teenagers who don't play video games are often isolated," said James Ivory, a professor at Virginia Tech, who has analyzed the effects of video games. Parents that allow teens to play violent, adult games are too focused on preventing risky behavior.

Habits And Relationships Developed During Online Gaming

83% of American teenagers who play online say they play video games with others in the same room. 91% of boys and 72% of girls do so. Nine out of ten boys in online video games (88%) say they talk to their friends while playing, and about half (52%) of girls in online games do this. Three-quarters of teens who regularly play online video games say they often talk to friends while playing.

According to a long-term study on children and online friendships, more than half of teenagers have made new friends online and about a third (36%) say they have met their new friends by playing video games with friends. 57% do so while playing video games, compared to 13% of girls. More than half of the teens who play online make new friends, and nearly a second-third of them say they have met their friends while playing a video game.

Parents' Perceptions For Online Games

Many parents say their teenagers are now playing video games more often than parents of teenagers. Only 13% of parents believe that their teenagers spend more time playing games than others, while 78% believe that their teenagers play less or roughly the same as their peers.

Almost half of the parents say that playing games hinder teen activities outside the family, and 46% of parents believe that playing games deprive them of time to sleep. Excessive gaming can also have a negative impact on the health of teenagers, especially if adolescents spend more time playing virtual games than on physical activity.

Further Research On Video Games

A study published in Pediatrics journal found that a day or less of video games was associated with children and adolescents between 10 and 15 being happier and more satisfied than those who did not play. Video games, which aim to encourage teenagers to play longer, offer rewards and feedback tied to free playtime, colleagues in the Mott survey report noted. A large percentage of teens reported that playing games made them feel relaxed and happy, while a percentage reported anger and frustration.

Research shows that people who play video games like Fortnite and Rocket League have high visual acuity, which means they can track multiple moving objects and see things like fog and rain when others can't. Three-quarters of parents try to restrict playing and encourage other activities (23%) or reward teenagers who spend less time playing video games (14%) without using hidden devices.

Editor's Note

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