Forget the stereotype of video games melting young minds. Science now says they might actually sharpen them. Researchers B. Sauce et al. found that kids who spend more time gaming could see a surprising boost in intelligence. While parents often worry about screen time, this new research flips the script, revealing that not all screen time is created equal.
Rethinking Video Gaming: Video Games Show Positive Effect on the IQ of Children
Background
A comprehensive study published earlier in May 2022 in Scientific Reports revealed that playing video games may have a positive effect on the intelligence level of children. B. Sauce et al. found that video gaming was associated with cognitive gains over time. This provided a clearer picture of the influence of video games and other digital media content and products.
Data from 9855 U.S. children aged 9 to 10 were analyzed. This was part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development funded by the National Institutes of Health. The media usage included time spent watching television or videos, playing video games, and socializing online. Intelligence scores were measured at the beginning of the study and again after two years.
Note that the children spent around two and a half hours per day watching video content, one hour playing video games, and thirty minutes using social media or chatting online on average. The Researchers reviewed the cognitive development of more than 5000 of those children after two years to determine how different media habits impacted intelligence over time.
The analysis also employed multiple controls. These included socioeconomic status and a genetic measure called the cognitive polygenic score. These controls allowed researchers to isolate the specific effect of screen time on intelligence and reduce the influence of various external factors such as parental income, education, and inherited cognitive ability.
Key Findings
Video games showed the strongest positive association with cognitive gains among all types of digital media. Children who spent more time than average playing video games demonstrated an increase in intelligence above the expected developmental norm. This improvement spanned various cognitive domains or various tasks requiring thinking.
Specific improvements in key cognitive areas included better reading comprehension, enhanced visual‑spatial processing, stronger memory retention, greater cognitive flexibility, and improved self‑control. These skills are essential for problem-solving, learning, and everyday functioning. The following are the important findings from the study:
• Video Gaming Improves Intelligence: Children who played video games more than average showed an increase of about 2.5 IQ points over two years. This improvement held even after adjusting for genetics and socioeconomic status.
• Watching Videos Shows Limited Benefit: Watching television or online videos led to a small increase in intelligence of about 1.8 IQ points. This effect or the gains in intelligence level disappeared when parental education was taken into account.
• Online Socializing Has No Effect: Time spent chatting or using mainstream social media platforms to connect and socialize with people online did not lead to any measurable change in intelligence. This indicated no cognitive gain or harm.
• Sibling Analysis Weakens Causal Link: Comparing siblings in the same household showed no statistically significant relationship between screen time and changes in intelligence level. This suggests other shared factors may be involved.
Takeaways
Remember that there was no significant link between screen time and changes in intelligence. This suggests that shared household or family factors like home environment, parenting style, or values might influence cognitive development more than screen habits alone. This also raises the question about whether gaming directly causes the observed gains in intelligence.
The researchers maintain that the findings support the idea that intelligence is not fixed and can be influenced by environmental activities. The study emphasizes that video gaming, when used in balance, may support the cognitive growth of children, thereby challenging the long-standing concerns regarding screen time and mental development.
Other studies investigated and underscored the positive impact of video gaming on intelligence or cognition. An article by K. T. Simon, published on Profolus, enumerated cognitive gains from playing video games. These include enhanced social behavior, better perceptual abilities, faster decision-making processes, and better visual performance.
Video gaming appears to improve intelligence by engaging and strengthening various cognitive skills. These include visual-spatial processing, working memory, attention control, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation. Games often require players to solve problems, adapt strategies, remember complex instructions, and make quick decisions.
The cognitive engagement that occurs while playing video games helps in stimulating and developing further the executive functions of the brain. Several studies have suggested that this mental stimulation may contribute to measurable improvements in overall intelligence over time. This could be true when games are played in moderation and within a balanced lifestyle.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Sauce, B., Liebherr, M., Judd, N., and Klingberg, T. 2022. “The Impact of Digital Media on Children’s Intelligence While Controlling for Genetic Differences in Cognition and Socioeconomic Background.” Scientific Reports. 12(1). DOI: 1038/s41598-022-11341-2
- Simon, K. T. 23 June 2025. “Studies: Playing Video Games Can Make You Smarter.” Profolus. Available online