I grew up in the 1980s and 90s, with parents who strictly controlled my “screen time,” which almost exclusively meant TV back then, as well as a pocket game that died when I was 10 and was never replaced. Like many in my generation, I absorbed a general sense that video games, like TV, were frivolous brain rot.
Now, my two boys, ages 12 and 13, are growing up in a digital world in a way I did not. Their generation lives online — spending more hours in virtual spaces since the pandemic began.
I’m lucky: My sons are hardworking and kind to their chronically frazzled single mother. They make raising them as easy and joyful as adolescence could possibly allow.
But still, our house rules about video games are arbitrary and our disputes over them constant. No amount of yelling “No games on school nights!” or “Not before dinner!” has worked, or inspired them to learn a new skill instead.
I feel like I’m flying blind when it comes to regulating their game use and I know I’m not alone. Many parents worry that they should be doing more to limit online play.
But as I learned from talking to numerous experts — psychologists, game designers and researchers — the impact of video games is more nuanced than that of other kinds of screen time, like social media. In fact, some research shows it can have positive effects, like promoting problem solving, or teamwork and communication.
Here are these experts’ insights and advice for how to optimize the upsides of gaming and protect kids from potential hazards.
Video games are different from other screen time in crucial ways — and have some benefits
“Screen time” is an outdated concept. Kids study, play…
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