Can anyone direct me to some studies on how playing video games affects brain dev.?

[gandpsmommy]

And how much time spent playing video games is considered moderate for kids and how much time is considered to be harmful and excessive?

[hsmamainva]

Jane Healy has written two books along this same vein. Both are very popular and should be available at your local library.

 

One is called "Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About it", which studies the effects of television on children.

 

The second one is called "Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds", which studies the effects of computers (and likely video games) on children.

 

Hope this helps!

[JFSinIL]

I was going to post the Healy books, too. Excellent information in them!

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Not exactly what you are looking for, but here is a good article debunking the "myths" about video games.

 

http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

 

Video games in and of themselves are not bad. Many kids do just fine with no limits. When the video games start to take over a child's life- when the child no longer has interest in playing with friends, can't keep up with schoolwork, is interacting less with the family, is neglecting self care- then there are issues to be dealt with- however these issues are not directly tied to the video games themselves.

 

Take alcohol for example. Most people can have a drink or two every now and again and it doesn't interfere with life. However, some people have a biological component that leads to addiction. For others, there is a psychological component that leads to simply drinking too much - they are not addicted to the alcohol but have developed a lifestyle that revolves around the drinking.

 

What we have done here is help our dd set her own limits on screen time. there are days when dd will play on the computer for 2-3 hours then not play at all for a few days. There are times when she will play the Nintendo DS for an hour but then not touch it for 2-3 days. Some days she wants to watch a couple of 30 minute shows, some days she wants to watch a 3 hour movie. Her free time is hers, and we don't dictate how she spends it, although we would intervene if we saw an unhealthy amount of time being spent on any one activity- there have been times when I have had to tell my kid to put down a book and go play outside. Most of the time a simple discussion about getting the most out of life and not limiting oneself is enough. Sometimes it involves us setting some limits for her until she can learn to do it for herself.

 

If my child were spending 5-6 hours a day watching TV or playing games, I firmly believe that would be my fault as a parent. Why does this kid have that much time? Is it a lack of friends? Have I always kept my child "occupied" so that she never has to entertain herself or come up with activities on her own?

 

IMO the fact so many kids are obsessed with screen time or spend too much time in front of a screen has to do with the fact kids today are often not equipped to entertain themselves. From the time they are babies, every activity is planned and scheduled. Kids aren't expected to sit and wait in a waiting room, mom or dad brings a bag full of goodies to keep them occupied. They aren't expected to sit in church and listen to the sermon, they are given coloring books. Everything is arranged for the purpose of keeping the child occupied and entertained. Add to that the often unfounded fears some parents have about things as simple as letting their children play outside in their own yards, fear of germs, fear of being non-successful if they aren't involved in 20 extracurricular activities, fear of a hole host of things that are preventing today's kids from being kids. I read somewhere that today's kids don't know what it's like to play without direct parental supervision and a snack.

[dirty ethel rackham]

 

IMO the fact so many kids are obsessed with screen time or spend too much time in front of a screen has to do with the fact kids today are often not equipped to entertain themselves. From the time they are babies, every activity is planned and scheduled. Kids aren't expected to sit and wait in a waiting room, mom or dad brings a bag full of goodies to keep them occupied. They aren't expected to sit in church and listen to the sermon, they are given coloring books. Everything is arranged for the purpose of keeping the child occupied and entertained. Add to that the often unfounded fears some parents have about things as simple as letting their children play outside in their own yards, fear of germs, fear of being non-successful if they aren't involved in 20 extracurricular activities, fear of a hole host of things that are preventing today's kids from being kids. I read somewhere that today's kids don't know what it's like to play without direct parental supervision and a snack.

 

I disagree with this. My kids have had plenty of opportunity to entertain themselves from a very young age. I worked part-time from home and the kids had to entertain themselves. However, I do believe that there is something very seductive about the glowing box (TV, computer games, game systems.) I notice a big change in behavior and personality after my kids have watched more than 1 hour of TV or played on the computer for more than 30 minutes. I also notice this in other kids after they have played. This is in families who value unstructured, undirected play time. The designers of computer games work very hard to make the games as seductive as possible. How else will they get people to shell out that much money for game systems and games? There is a science behind what they do. There are changes to the brain, there is stimulation of pleasure centers. I do thing there are changes in the brain. Now, that doesn't mean that everyone who plays games will suffer noticeable long term effects. (I do wonder if the control group - those who don't get much screen time - are just considered totally wierd and would be dimissed.) For people who have a tendency toward addiction (my family has it, BIG time), the changes are much more noticeable. I had to have a strick time limit on computer games in my house. Without them, there were behavior problems as one would see from someone who is addicted to something and needs a fix. One son becomes so totally immersed that he would wet his pants and not even be aware of it. We have a 2 hour a day screen time rule (outside of schoolwork), only 1/2 of it may be computer games and an 8 hour a week limit. Sounds draconian to some, but I found that my kids are more creative, cheerful and pleasant to be around when we instituted it.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

For people who have a tendency toward addiction (my family has it, BIG time), the changes are much more noticeable. I had to have a strick time limit on computer games in my house. Without them, there were behavior problems as one would see from someone who is addicted to something and needs a fix. One son becomes so totally immersed that he would wet his pants and not even be aware of it. We have a 2 hour a day screen time rule (outside of schoolwork), only 1/2 of it may be computer games and an 8 hour a week limit. Sounds draconian to some, but I found that my kids are more creative, cheerful and pleasant to be around when we instituted it.

 

Like I said, I do agree there is a psychological component, perhaps even biological, that causes some kids to to go overboard. And, like I said, I totally agree in setting limits until the child can do it for himself. I notice though, most parents do not seek help from a psychologist to deal with the psychological aspects of the addiction/obsession, nor are they working towards the goal of the child being able to set his own limits. Now, I am not talking about YOU here, I am speaking in general terms based on observations of parents I know personally.

 

I think too many parents rush to blame changes in behavior on the video games themselves. Let me tell ya- when I worked and I had a 2-3 hour span where I had to sit at my desk and do nothing but read resumes or go over payroll reports. If you would have gotten hold of me after that 2-3 hour span of sitting on one place and being hyperfocused on one thing, I would not have been pleasant. However, I think few would argue that resumes or payroll reports are harmful.

 

Advertisers are also very slick in being seductive. So are politicians. Again- it comes down to education- learning to analyze the tactics and methods used so that you are less likely to fall prey to them.

 

ETA- there is also a theory about the lack of competition on the lives of kids today, and how beating each level of a video game has replaced being recognized as the fastest runner, smartest in the class, best artist, etc. etc.

Edited October 13, 2008 by Academy of Jedi Arts

[LilyK]

Not exactly what you are looking for, but here is a good article debunking the "myths" about video games.

 

http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerev...act/myths.html

 

 

Very interesting. My only source is observation of my son, but I especially agree with point #7, that these games are no longer socially isolating. My son is kept pretty busy, so he rarely plays by himself. 90% of the time he plays with a friend or many friends. They talk about strategizing, they even help each other get to the next level or cooperate while playing on teams. I have especially noticed that when my son meets a new group of boys, they usually connect by beginnig a conversation about video games. I believe I heard someone on tv describe it once as a new form of social currency among young boys. I have even developed in a few areas by playing some of my son's games. Guitar Hero takes some serious coordination and rhythmn, of which I had NONE before I tried playing with him.

 

That said, if a child is naturally unsocial and has few friends, I would be wary letting him spend more than an hour a two a week alone in front of the video box.

[Frontier Mom]

I would highly recommend you read "Playstation Nation." They go over the dangers associated with video games and makes one really go into this video game world with your eyes open to the dangers.

[SapphireStitch]

I just finished reading "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax. He addresses video games as one of the reasons some boys experience problems in school and dealing with life in general. I believe he has a website as well...some of the studies and articles might be available there.