In the article, “National Study Finds That Video Games Could Improve Cognitive Development in Kids” , the author speaks of a recent study of 2,200 elementary school students that examined their brains and the impact video games had on it.

People hear video games and automatically think it is a bad thing. Sure, kids can play too much, causing them to lack time spent outside and with others, but what people don’t mention are the benefits they can have on cognitive development.

The study revealed that children that played for at least 21 hours weekly displayed “enhanced cognitive performance”, compared to the children who did not.

The University of Vermont confirmed that their study on 9 year old to 10 year old children had shown that the children who played video games performed better on cognitive tests, than the kids who did not play video games. These tests were on the children’s response inhibition and their working memory. These tests also changed their blood oxygen level- dependent signal during these tasks. They believed this study to be the “largest study to assess the association among video gaming, cognition, and brain function”. Researchers say that, “video gaming may provide a cognitive training experience with measurable neuro-cognitive effects”.

There are many different types of video games, though this study did not look into the specific types of games the subjects were playing. Video games can range from lifestyle and cartoon games to war games, all of which would shape the person playing differently. This study did not examine the effects on mental health that video games can have, just the effects on the subjects cognitive development.

I personally believe that video games can be super fun and beneficial for young learners. Video games require children to react fast and problem-solve. All of which benefit their overall cognitive development. I think letting your child play video games for some time, not too much, can actually do great things for the child and their brain. People often look at the negative effects of video games, but it is about time they start looking towards the positive.