Ed-Tech Policy Report Roundup

Video Games

By Katie Ash — June 16, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

About 8 percent of 8- to 18-year-olds in the United States demonstrate pathological patterns of video-game play, according to a report published in the April 13 issue of Psychological Science.

Researcher Douglas Gentile, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University, in Ames, found that pathological gamers were more likely to report trouble paying attention at school, received lower grades in school, and had more health problems than nonpathological gamers.

Mr. Gentile defines pathological gamers as those who exhibited six or more of the 11 family, social, school, or psychological symptoms of damage identified in the report.

Nearly one-quarter of all the gamers surveyed admitted to skipping homework in order to spend more time playing video games, and 20 percent said they had done poorly on a school assignment or test as a result of spending too much time playing video games.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with the Minneapolis-based National Institute on Media and the Family, was based on results from a national sample of 1,178 youths.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the June 17, 2009 edition of Education Week

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Ed-Tech Policy Should More Schools Ban Cellphones? It's a Question U.S. Lawmakers Want Answered
A bipartisan push to study the impacts on student mental health and academics comes as more schools restrict their use.
3 min read
Image of cellphones.
RyanJLane/iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy FCC: Schools Can Use E-Rate Funds to Cover WiFi on Buses
The change will help students with long commutes to and from school study and complete homework, supporters say.
2 min read
Photograph of a school bus loading children on a busy road.
Greg Randles/iStock
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion Stop Blaming Ed Tech for Our Current Education Inequality
Technology didn't create student disengagement nor is it responsible for lengthy school closures, writes an industry leader.
Sari Factor
4 min read
Illustration of pointing hands and sad computer.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Ed-Tech Policy Proposal to Use E-Rate for Wi-Fi on School Buses and Hotspots Runs Into GOP Opposition
Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers asked the FCC to “rescind this unlawful plan to vastly expand the E-Rate program.”
5 min read
School kids looking at a girl's mobile phone across the aisle of a school bus.
iStock/Getty