I have to say, BLESS THE DS! I have a very reluctant early reader who felt like a bit of a freak that he was reading and wouldn't perform. My parents bought him a DS for Christmas with a Pokemon game. The pokemon obsession ensued... as did a three year jump in reading level. Most DS games have quite a bit of reading in them. I simply told him "You can play but I"m not reading it to you." So he had to read it to himself. Then he read the strategy guide, the collectors guide and taught himself to play the card game- all at 5.
We also have a Wii. No Wii on school nights unless you've earned it. I have a sticker chart on the wall- 5 stickers means 30 min of Wii time on a school night. All 5 stickers come from "brain food" where he has to do some type of school work- handwriting, math, journal work, etc. Since is school is lame- this is our version of "unschooling". If he wants to play Wii, he'll have a snack afterschool then hit the table for about an hour of work. If not, then he doesn't. No pressure from me- no negotiations.
The DS is mostly in the car. We have a 30 min each way drive to school and we carpool with another boy. They play together etc. I can totally see how the DS is a social object- my kid has learned a lot of topics that help him chat with older kids. Most don't expect him to have 100 Pokemon characters in his head or to be able to give tips for Super Mario Galaxy. It works for a way in!
I've gone back and tried to find the study several times when this topic has been referenced. I'm not at my home computer but I know there is at least one study that HG+ children relate differently to the computer, get more information from television and just process the information differently. So in general, the "zombie" idea doesn't really hold the same weight for slightly older HG children.
