Some of us here at HiTech Creations, makers of the combat simulator, Ace High, are parents, so we understand the concern many parents have over the length of time their children spend on video games. It is a valid concern. Too much gaming can be harmful. On the flip side of that discussion, a reasonable amount of gaming can actually be beneficial for children.
Let’s take it a step further.
The positive effects of gaming.
The main positives derived from playing video games are as follows:
- Improved cognitive abilities
- Improved problem-solving skills and logic
- Increased hand-to-eye coordination
- Greater multi-tasking ability
- Faster and more accurate decision-making
- Enhanced prosocial behaviors
- Better eyesight (attention to detail)
- More physical activity with games that promote physical activity (VR, mobile games)
The harmful effects of gaming.
We can summarize the negative effects of gaming, according to medical and psychological professionals, this way:
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Vision problems
- Sleep deprivation
- Depression
- Possible addiction
- Poor mental health
- Relationship issues
- Social disconnection
What the pros say.
We turn to the academics and medical professionals for their opinions:
- American Academy of Pediatrics: No more than two hours per day of screen-based entertainment.
- Oxford University: 1 hour of gaming every day is considered better than no gaming at all for personal well-being and mental health. Beyond 3 hours, the benefits don’t necessarily improve.
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Time allotted should be under 30 to 60 minutes per day on school days and 2 hours or less on non-school days.
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Children under 2 should have no screen time, and kids ages 2 to 5 should get an hour or less of screen time per weekday and three hours on the weekend days.
- San Diego State University: The safe limit for teens is one to two hours daily.
Obviously, there is a bit of disagreement about the length of time a child should spend gaming, the range being from one to three hours, with a low of thirty minutes on school nights.
Even though we have “a dog in this race” as a game designer, we really do not have the expertise to form an opinion. From the information above, we would err on the safe side and say one to two hours per day is a comfortable amount of time set aside for playing.
How do you, the parent, monitor it? That is a topic for another article on another day, but we definitely suggest, and endorse, some sort of parental guidance/control.
A final word about Aces High.
Back in 1999, we sat down and wrote out our mission statement. It said we wanted to create one game, and one game only, and we wanted that game to be a combat flight simulator. Here we are, twenty-four years after releasing Aces High, and we feel pretty darned good about the outcome and where we are at.
Have you played our flight simulator game? We offer a free two-week download of Aces High, a way for you to try it out before you pay for a monthly subscription. Strap on your flight helmet and fly the skies with Aces High, for free, for two weeks.
