Third Point

HI Guys!!!!

Welcome back! Today we will be talking about the cognitive benefits of school age children playing video games.

There are many beliefs that playing video games causes children to be intellectually lazy but after conducting some research, there are many cognitive skills related to playing video games (Granic et al, 2014, p. 68). It is stated that children who play video games have shown improvement in Spatial skills, controlled attention, problem-solving skills and enhanced creativity (Granic et al, 2014, p. 68). Games genres like shooting, strategic, racing, fighting and puzzle games all display an improvement in one or more cognitive skills for children (Granic et al, 2014, p. 69). Research states that " video games can promote problem solving skills, such as when games encourage players to stop, thoroughly explore different possibilities, and consider new strategies and goals before moving on" (Adachi & Willoughby, 2013, p. 1041). It is important for children to learn problem solving skills as it is strongly related to academic performance (Adachi & Willoughby, 2013, p. 1042). Furthermore, it is proven that video games enhance children's creativity regardless of wether it is violent or not (Granic et al , 2014, p. 69). For example, a video game like Minecraft allows children to explore and manipulate the blocks to create their own personalized worlds. In addition, what caught my eye the most was the positive outcomes in children playing shooting video games. Research has displayed that:

 "... those [playing] the shooter video game show faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial resolution in visual processing and enhanced mental rotation abilities... conclud[ing] that the spatial skills improvements derived from playing commercially available shooter video games are comparable to the effects of formal courses aimed at enhancing these same skills" (Granic et al, 2014, p. 68).

Equally as important, video games have been recognized to be effective for cognition skill training for controlled functions like visual attention skills (Adachi & Willoughby, 2013, p. 1042). Through video games, children are able to focus on what is at task without getting distracted. They are then able to use this skill that they have learnt and apply it to other situations (Granic et al, 2014, p. 68). Overall, the research that I have displayed for you all shows that there is a positive connection between school age children playing video games and the cognitive benefits.

Talk to you all later,

- The Positive Gamer

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