Video gaming good for kids – really!

Well this is definitely a good story if you are having a hard time convinving your parent/relative/babysitter/other person-in-charge that you should spend more time in front of the TV with a controller in your hands:

Pew Internet & American Life Project has found nearly all American teens–97 percent–ages 12-17 play computer, Web, console, or mobile games. Teens are also playing these games with relative frequency and duration. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of teen gamers play games every day …. In a surprise twist, the study has found that video games are actually beneficial to teens …. the full report (PDF) shows that gaming and community helps kids become more civic minded, encourages interest in charity and politics, and increases socialization.

Yes yes yes! That’s what we want to hear! The media is often full of very negative reports about gaming (one particular story springs to mind from the last weeks worth of news), so it’s good to see research being done to show the benefits too – a balanced view is a wonderful thing.

Of course, some simulator games are a rather easy-sell for benefits to kids, since they are supposed to simulate reality. Button-mashing games have long been said to boost reflexes, but perhaps we should also be considering the social angle too – particularly with Mobile games, since the personalisation and connected-world is integrated in to the experience. The bottom line is that gaming ain’t all bad, despite what people think.

[Via: news.cnet.com]