Video games: good, bad, or other?

Abstract

Video games are a pervasive pastime among children and adolescents. The growing popularity of video games has instigated a debate among parents, researchers, video game producers, and policymakers concerning potential harmful and helpful effects of video games on children. This article provides an overview of research findings on the positive and negative effects of video games, thus providing an empirical answer to the question, are video games good or bad? The article also provides some guidelines to help pediatricians, parents, and other caregivers protect children from negative effects and to maximize positive effects of video games.