Video and digital games: Historical controversies, benefits, and risks for children and adolescents

Abstract

Video and digital games have been the focus of sustained public and scientific debate since their commercial emergence in the late 1970s, particularly regarding their effects on children and adolescents. Early public and scientific discourse frequently portrayed gaming as a source of physical injury, addiction, aggression, social isolation, academic problems, and moral decline. However, subsequent empirical research has produced a substantially more differentiated picture of both the benefits and risks of gaming. This review examines the historical foundations of controversies surrounding video and digital games and synthesizes contemporary evidence concerning their cognitive, emotional, social, therapeutic, and physical effects. . Research indicates that moderate, purposeful gaming may improve visuospatial abilities, attentional control, problem-solving, mood regulation, social connection, and selected educational outcomes. Gaming-based interventions have also demonstrated therapeutic potential, particularly for depressive symptoms and attention-related difficulties among young people. At the same time, important risks remain, especially when gaming becomes excessive, compulsive, or disruptive to everyday functioning. These include repetitive-strain injuries, sleep disruption, problematic gaming, and adverse mental-health and academic outcomes. Evidence concerning violent games and serious real-world aggression remains more contested, with recent research emphasizing relatively small effects and the importance of individual and contextual factors. Overall, the evidence suggests that the developmental consequences of gaming for children and adolescents depend less on gaming itself than on the duration, content, context, and pattern of engagement.