Killjoy Study: Video Game Ownership Affects Grades In Young Boys
by MICHAEL TUNISON / IT'S SCIENCE / VIDEO GAMES
A study that I’m glad wasn’t published when I was a kid suggests that the mere presence of a video game system in the home negatively affects early academic achievement in boys. Two psychological scientists from Denton University surveyed families with boys ages 6 and 9 who were considering buying systems for their sons. Half of the studied families received systems, and that’s when the underachievement started.
The study showed that videogames became an immediate distraction, with the gamers spending less time studying and more time playing games. The gamer kids scored significantly lower on reading and writing tests after only four months.
Not sure why the scientists limited the study to boys only. Oh, right: Girls never play video games. The God of War 3 commercial told me so. Anyway, while there’s no doubt games offer a tempting and easy distraction to the youngins, the onus is obviously on the parents to make sure it doesn’t become overwhelming and detrimental. Perhaps by using game time as an incentive to improve grades. Oh, who am I kidding? Let’s just destroy all the systems and allow a new age of enlightenment to dawn.
— January 20‚ 2009 —
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