Parents often worry about their teenage children who are addicted to computer games and spend a lot of time playing this activity.
At the very least, there is a suspicion that the games are causing addiction or other mental health problems that could impact academic performance.
Scientists are rushing to reassure worried parents. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have conducted a series of studies during the pandemic.
The results were published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Research details
Scientists selected 702 children who were observed from the age of four.
At the end of the study, the teenagers were 16-17 years old.
Every year they underwent examinations, tests and interviews with specialists.
All of them were tested for the development of gambling addiction and other addictions and deviations, including anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and other disorders.
Conclusion of scientists
The findings will surprise many parents, as no link was found between computer games and disorders.
However, it turned out that teenagers who played computer games were more mentally stable than their peers who did not play video games.
This phenomenon can be explained by the distracting effect of games, as well as the ability of gamers to communicate with each other online.
Earlier we talked about parental phrases that should not be heard at the dinner table .
