Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion When Gaming Is Good for You

As an additional note, I didn't actually care about college or really want to be in college.

I honestly had no idea what to go do with myself once I got there, I just knew that I had to go there and I had collected enough scholarships to generate a financial profit my first year.

It didn't help that I had absolutely no interest in engineering, which is what my parents decided I should pursue for scholarship purposes. So, I spent five years studying something I actually didn't care about and had no interest in doing as a career. But, it was free and I was expected to be there.

I was bullied there, too, which didn't help anything, but made the entire experience feel more like being in prison. I was really too emotionally immature to be there. That was certainly part of my issue.

So, I agree that it's important to find something you care about more than computer games.

With my son, I have only noticed the positive benefits that were mentioned. He didn't have behavior problems, he did not seem addicted to the games except possibly the first day or two after he gets a really good game. He goes through games quickly and since we use Gamefly he can afford to do this. I think playing lots of different kinds of games is good for the brain. He often tells me about things he learned (history, geography, culture, kinds of things) through video games he played. I think it might even help him make decisions on online multiple choice tests. When I watch him take online tests I notice he can read faster and get the answer before I have finished reading all the choices. He flies through online multiple choice questions as if he is playing a game and he will get a higher score if he finishes fast, even though there is no bonus for finishing quickly. I think tests are something he sees as a game. I think he gamifies things as much as he can.

When he wakes up in the morning, instead of wanting to play games, before he even gets out of bed, he reads the news on his iPhone and then reads things that are humorous that he shares with me and his adult sister. He always has interesting things to talk about and he still laughs and makes jokes.

He would rather go out and do things but unfortunately he can't because of where we live and because he has to wear a brace that limits his activities.

It seems to me that GTA games don't offer the challenge of perfection. With a racing game, you may be inclined to achieve the fastest possible time on a track with a given vehicle, and "go fast" actually implies the following: modulate the throttle or brake perfectly at every given moment for the duration of the race. Be in the right gear at all times (dependent on speed and engine power curves). Follow the ideal line, setting up for the entrance to every new turn when exiting the previous. Maintain the maximum amount of speed over elevation changes while keeping the suspension loaded in order to maintain control (unless the it's OK to take air, in which case you still have to take the "right" amount of air). When you seek perfection, you are forced to consider a number of subtleties that you can otherwise ignore. I think a good racer is constantly considering things that are probably not even included in the physics model of games like GTA. In short, I think racing is as complicated as the driver (gamer) wants it to be. For you it may be simple, probably because your interests lie elsewhere.

Additionally, you can race online against other people to add an unpredictable element to your experience.

Reality is going to intrude on his life at some point, so Bostonian's advice is something to consider.

I guess I was just hoping for a magic bullet. And, alas, as usual, there is none. He'll either find the fortitude within or he won't. And then he'll live with the consequences either way.

Another recent study may be of interest: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/ppm-1-1-62.pdf

The researchers found that, over three years, those who spent more time playing video games subsequently had more attention problems, even after controlling for earlier attention problems, age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Although violent content impacted attention problems and impulsiveness, the total time spent playing games was a more robust predictor. Individuals with attention problems or who were more impulsive spent more time playing video games, even after controlling for initial video game playing.

"These findings provide evidence for bidirectional causality: children with greater impulsiveness and attention problems spend more time playing video games, which in turn increases subsequent attention problems and impulsiveness. This finding does not alter the cause for concern about the potential for video games to contribute to the development of attention problems," the authors write....

As with all nature–nurture questions, the answer
ultimately is that both matter. For the
past 30 years, most of the research on attention
problems has focused on biological and genetic
factors rather than on environmental factors.
This allowed for rapid advances in drug therapies,
but has also caused many researchers and
members of the general public to assume that
impulsivity and attention problems were not
modifiable by experience. This is unfortunate,
as it means we have only focused on part of the
solution. Furthermore, many problems with genetic
bases are clearly enhanced by environmental
triggers. By understanding some of the
environmental influences, we can develop more
effective solutions for children and parents.
More research is clearly needed on the environmental
factors, especially factors that are easily
modified by parents, such as screen time.