Key points
- Study accounts for genetics, socio-economic factors
- TV and social media show no IQ impact
- Gaming boosts memory, reading, and flexible thinking skills
- Intelligence not fixed
- Screen time effects still debated
ISLAMABAD: A study has revealed that children who play more video games are likely to have a slight but quantifiable improvement in intelligence- a finding that challenges the conventional wisdom that video games are detrimental to the minds of children.
A study published in 2022 of nearly 10,000 children in the US aged nine or ten discovered that those who played more video games than average experienced an increase of 2.5 IQ points over two years. Notably, the research took into consideration other factors like socio-economic background and genetic differences, which are usually not considered in such studies.
Contrastingly, the research revealed that television and social media did not affect the intelligence of children in any way.
Playing Video Games Boosts Kids’ IQ, Study Finds
Kids playing video games over 5 hours weekly may gain a 2.5-point IQ increase, per a 2022 study. pic.twitter.com/bTspONFRtO
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) August 3, 2025
“Digital media defines modern childhood, but its cognitive effects are unclear and hotly debated,” the team from the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden writes in their published paper.
Role of genetic predispositions
“We believe that studies with genetic data could clarify causal claims and correct for the typically unaccounted role of genetic predispositions.”
The children who participated in the study, which is part of the larger Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, said they spent about 2.5 hours a day watching TV or online videos, one hour playing video games, and about 30 minutes chatting or browsing online.
When the same group of children was re-examined two years later, the children who had played video games more than the average child did improved more on tasks that required reading comprehension, visual-spatial skills, memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.
It is important to note that the study did not differentiate between the kind of games or devices, e.g., mobile games versus console gaming, and the results are only applicable to children in the US. However, researchers note that the findings can be used to conclude the impact of screen time on cognitive development.
Cognitive gain
“Our results support the claim that screen time generally doesn’t impair children’s cognitive abilities, and that playing video games can actually help boost intelligence,” neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said in 2022 when the study was published.
Prior research has also alluded to such a connection between gaming and cognitive benefits, but due to inconsistent research methods, small study populations, and the failure to consider the important background factors, previous research has been inconclusive. The authors of this new research claim that they wanted to address those limitations.
Impact on physical activity
Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that intelligence is not the only part of the puzzle.
“We didn’t examine the effects of screen behavior on physical activity, sleep, wellbeing, or school performance, so we can’t say anything about that,” said Klingberg.
“We’ll now be studying the effects of other environmental factors and how the cognitive effects relate to childhood brain development.”
The results are part of a growing body of research that indicates that intelligence is not predetermined at birth, and that not all screen time is bad, especially video games.
