A survey of seventh- and eighth-grade children at seven primary schools examined possible positive and negative effects of video games. The analysis suggested that gaming did not appear to displace other activities, including social integration and school performance. Boys spent more time playing than girls.
No significant relationship was found between time spent playing and aggressive behavior. A negative relationship was found between gaming time and antisocial behavior, but it did not appear in separate analyses of boys and girls. A positive relationship was also found between gaming time and children’s intelligence.
The growing popularity of video games appears to have been accompanied by increasing debate about their positive and negative effects. The source ends with the incomplete phrase, “Some pointed out…”