Exposure to video games shortens simple visual reaction time – a study in Indian school children

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground: Electronic gaming media has become an integral part of the lives of school children. Previous research suggested that action video game playing improves cognitive performance, leading to better visual and attentional skills. On the contrary, other studies have concluded that such gaming activities are more likely to have multiple ill effects on the psychological and physical health of young adults. Visual reaction time has already served to be a good indicator of aptitude in sports involving quick reflexes. However, there is insufficient knowledge about the effects of gaming media exposure on cognitive patterns, as assessed by visual reaction time, especially in Indians. Hence this study was undertaken to estimate the effect of the usage of electronic gaming media on the simple visual reaction time of Indian school children.Methods: Healthy male school-going children in the age group 9-12 years, who were frequently exposed to electronic gaming media for not less than 7-9 hours per week along with children who did not play video games but had normal physical activity (n=38 in each group) were included in this study. Visual reaction time, using a red light, was estimated in the participants.Result: Visual reaction time was found to be significantly decreased in children who played computer games regularly, as compared to controls. A significant negative correlation was also seen, in the study group, between visual reaction time and duration of hours of playing games. Conclusion:Thus, this study concludes that video game playing improves performance in tasks involving hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes.