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Video Games Aren't Harmful to Most Teens, Study Shows
Filed under: In The News, Video Games, Research Reveals: Teens
Video games -- not bad after all? Credit: Getty Images
The findings of a Yale University study published in Pediatrics show that most teens who play video games don't automatically fall into unhealthy behaviors. Only a small fraction -- 4.9 percent -- show signs of addictive behaviors, HealthDay News reports.
But that minority of high school students may be more likely to smoke, use drugs or become depressed after playing video games, the Yale University study suggests, HealthDay says.
The researchers set out to discover if video game playing negatively impacts youth. They discovered that gaming does not necessarily cause aggression or have ill health effects, according to Pediatrics.
The researchers surveyed 4,028 teens, with 51.2 percent reporting they play video games (76.3 percent of boys and 29.2 percent of girls). Of those teens, only 4.9 percent reported "problematic gaming," defined as having three main symptoms: trying and failing to cut back on play, feeling an irresistible urge to play and experiencing tension that only play could relieve, HealthDay reports.
"The study suggests that, in and of itself, gaming does not appear to be dangerous to kids," study author Rani Desai, an associate professor of psychiatry and public health at the Yale University School of Medicine, tells HealthDay. "We found virtually no association between gaming and negative health behaviors, particularly in boys."
"However, a small but not insignificant proportion of kids find themselves unable to control their gaming," she tells HealthDay. "That's cause for concern because that inability is associated with a lot of other problem behaviors."
Among boys, gaming itself wasn't associated with unhealthy behaviors. In fact, boys who played video games typically reported a higher grade average, were significantly less likely to smoke and were more likely to say they'd never used alcohol or marijuana, the study found, according to HealthDay.
Desai tells the site the fact that gaming in boys was linked to healthier behaviors may mean that, for boys, it's normal to play video games.
Girl gamers, however, were more likely than girls who didn't play video games to get into serious fights or carry a weapon to school, Desai tells HealthDay.
"This finding may suggest not that gaming leads to aggression, but that more aggressive girls are attracted to gaming," she adds.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2010 @ 8:14AM
Alicia said...You might also want to look at how girl gamers are treated. I don't think it's so much that aggressive girls are attracted to gaming, any more than aggressive girls are attracted to sports. In athletics, it's competition that makes the players aggressive. In gaming, it's the fact that everyone else treats you like crap if you're a girl gamer. Guys tend to ignore you or make sexist and demeaning remarks and can be openly cruel. Other girls treat you like you're a freak and are cruel behind you're back, especially if you're still in high school. That treatment is probably what makes gamer girls aggressive, because most I know aren't naturally aggressive (loud, yes. Sometimes vaguely obnoxious, but not aggressive. I'm certainly not naturally aggressive, but I love gaming).
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11-23-2010 @ 10:40AM
Hank said...Ugh where did you get the picture for this article. Not the best. It looks more like your trying to stereo type the gamer crowd. Which belies your own stereo type. I am an avid gamer but refuse to dump loads of cash into the games that essentially give you nothing in return. I save and use Http://bit.ly/FreebieHomepage
11-20-2010 @ 4:10PM
LESLI said...As a parent of a teenage boy who does a lot of gaming, I can say that video games do have benefits. My son and husband share a common love of video games and they often play together (like a family might play Monopoly or Scrabble). My son has gained some self confidence and problem solving skills. He's also learned to do research, because if there's a difficult level, then he can check for tips online. There are also social aspects if the game is online, such as World of Warcraft and other Role playing games.
I've always found it interesting that they always harp on "couch potatoes" who watch tv and play video games. Yet a child who sits all day and reads or draws is somehow not a couch potato. It never made any sense to me. And there are other so-called healthy behaviors that are just as addicting. Like say, golf. There are people who feel like they HAVE to golf or go to the gym to relieve stress.
As for "more aggressive girls" being attracted to gaming. I think that is a dangerous comment to make.
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