Teens’ gaming time may boost certain skills, but addiction harms cognition

Austrian researchers studied 3,854 adolescents and found that longer daily gaming time is not inherently harmful to cognitive abilities and may relate to better visual-spatial, reasoning, and memory skills, while higher Internet Gaming Disorder (gaming addiction) scores are linked to lower performance across cognitive domains and minor motor declines. When separating heavy gaming from addiction, time spent gaming shows positive associations, and game type also matters, with strategy/role-playing games linked to stronger skills and competitive shooters linked to higher addiction and weaker scores. The study notes limitations like its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported playtime, and calls for more research on game mechanics and broader populations.