A new study that analyzed 9,855 American children first at ages 9-10, and then again two years later, has unusually taken great pains to account for both genetic differences in intelligence as well as the effects of socioeconomic status. Wealthier people are typically healthier and more educated, which leads them to perform better on standardized intelligence tests. So what did this new study find about the effects of video games on a child’s intelligence?
Neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said “our results support the claim that screen time generally doesn’t impair children’s cognitive abilities, and that playing video games can actually boost intelligence.” The results found by the international group are statistically significant, and absolutely indicate a correlation between gaming and intelligence.
It may be good for their brains, but let’s fix up that posture, too.
What were the actual results? Kids who played more video games than average in the two-year period between the two studies had an increase of around 2.5 IQ points versus kids who played fewer games than average. That’s not a huge difference, and again, there’s no evidence to establish a causal relationship here. It’s still encouraging to those of us who prefer video games over other forms of entertainment, though.
This should be no surprise to longtime gamers, of course. Another recent study showed that players of highly-detailed cowboy action title Red Dead Redemption 2 were both more empathic toward and better able to identify wild animals thanks to their experience with the game. Given that most video games are fundamentally simulations of some kind, it makes a lot of sense that gaming can sharpen your mind.