Get the latest tech news

Playing video games boosts IQ in children

Researchers have linked spending more time playing video games with a boost in intelligence in children, which goes some way to contradicting the narrative that gaming is bad for young minds.

"Digital media defines modern childhood, but its cognitive effects are unclear and hotly debated," the team from the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden writes in their published paper. "Our results support the claim that screen time generally doesn't impair children's cognitive abilities, and that playing video games can actually help boost intelligence," neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said in 2022 when the study was published. The team behind the current research says that small sample sizes, the different designs of studies, and the lack of consideration for genetic and socio-economic influences have all led to the conflicting reports of the effects of screen time that we've seen to date.

Get the Android app