A study conducted by Robert Weis, a psychologist at Denison University in Ohio has discovered that boys owning a game system would have slower academic development;

The results show that boys given a PlayStation II are slower to progress in their reading and writing skills and have more learning problems reported by their teachers than those not given a system.

The study is the first controlled trial to look at the effects of playing video games on learning in young boys. That is to say, the findings aren’t based on survey data of kids’ game habits, but instead on a specific group of children that were randomly assigned to receive a PlayStation or not, and followed up for a certain period of time.

Before parents go out and throw the Playstation away Robert Weis has some sound advice;

“There’s nothing evil about video games per se,” “It’s just that we need to monitor kids’ usage of these games and to urge moderation in the amount that kids play these games.”

The gaming aspect seemed to have no effect on the children the only reason grades suffered is because the children played to much, taking away time from their studies.

While several studies have found an association between playing video games and poor academic performance, they don’t reveal which direction the cause-effect arrow points. For instance, it could be that children who struggle academically turn to video games, because they enjoy it more than homework, Weis said.

Weis’ new study involved 64 boys aged 6 to 9 who didn’t currently own a video game system, but whose parents were thinking of buying one. The boys did not have previous learning or behavioral problems. The parents were told this was a study looking at child development, and they would get a video game system for participating. The scientists chose not to include girls, because they wanted to look at the effects of playing video games, and they were worried that girls might not play as much as boys would, according to Weis.

Source Live Science