A new study published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly suggests that children who play a lot of video games might actually be doing harm to their attention spans. The survey followed 1,323 elementary school students for over a year and found that those who play games more than two hours a day are 67 % more likely to have attention problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is a similar correlation as found in other studies surrounding television consumption.
However, the study concedes it can only prove correlation, not causation and goes on to say that there are holes in this theory – as video games require concentration and focus which is something someone with ADHD will lack.
Of course, this hasn’t stopped the tabloids jumping all over this like flies on poop. Metro are running with the headline ‘Video games are linked to ADHD’ – and promptly goes on to list all the negatives from the study, and none of the actual conclusions.
Speaking personally, I’ve been playing video games for twenty three years now and yet I manage to function perfectly well in society. Are these studies a valuable resource, or just a waste of money?
Source: Gamasutra
mrfodder
“Are these studies a valuable resource, or just a waste of money?”
I think we need a study to make some wild conclusions on this.
Dan Lee
Great idea! Ill be lead…study…dude.
duncanuaz
My son has ADHD, diagnosed at 6, started playing games at 10. I’ll have to find something else to pin it on…. I blame the parents.
Amphlett
I’ve been playing computer games since the days of the Spectrum (48k rubber keys) and never… ohh, a butterfly… …
stonyk
I’ve played games for last 20 years and am now a professional tester which supposedly requires a high attention to detail / attention span. Although it doesn’t mean I’m any good at it :-)
ericzap
Geez, you could just as easily say that kids with ADHD are more likely to play video games. There is no clear cause or effect in this study, just a faint correlation. It’s partly the doctors who get a commission for prescriptions, it’s partly the pharmacists who invest in the medications they sell, it’s partly the severely anti-game media.
An aside, one of my classmates has ADHD, he claims it makes him great at Guitar Hero. Apparently the notes slow down for him.
AdmiringWorm
What was this article about again, I didn’t pay attention.
well, I always have had problems with paying attention, even before I started playing video games.
YOURMUMANDME
Isn’t ADHD something that’s hard-written into someone at birth ?
I used to have a mate it and he seemed to play games 24/7, never in my life have I seen somebody go through so many controllers …
TSBonyman
ADHD3D with Move support..
ericzap
You deserve a medal. I want that.
PoorPaddy89
Kevin Butler’s new job title – VP of Ritalin Prescriptions
jikomanzoku
Obviously I can’t back it with statistics but I’d be willing to bet that of sportingly gifted youngsters engaged in more than 2 hours per day of their given sport – There’d probably be a very similar percentage of those exhibiting similar attention problems.
I’d also be curious to know what percentage of male children are kinaesthetic learners as that obviously has relevance too.