Do video games make kids more creative? 

As usual, the comments section is full of the people who have no idea what they are talking about regarding video games. Just because the media has made games seem like the devil doesn't mean they really are. It has been proven time and time again that playing video games has many positive effects on the human mind.

What I believe most of these negative comments are originating from, which I would agree with, is that these kids need to compliment this game-playing with other activities. For example, if someone is really into playing soccer, and plays on some outdoor/indoor teams, there is nothing wrong with him/her playing Fifa on the xbox. It is something they have an interest in, is educational, sharpens reaction time, and raises critical thinking skills.

That goes with all games. Playing games makes you think. It is up to the PARENTS to regulate what games their children are playing, and therefore the content to which they are subjected to/learning. If a parent is stupid enough to buy her 12 year old son Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, that is THEIR FAULT. Stop blaming games for bad parenting. These games are rated Mature for a reason. It is intended for a mature audience that can distinguish the game from reality. Further, laws are in place that don't allow anyone under the age of 17 to buy these games. Therefore, when mommy goes and buys "junior" his beloved copy of Modern Warfare 3, there is no one to blame but the parent.

And if you want a waste of time, look no farther than watching TV. No interaction whatsoever. No thinking or decisions being made. As for people complaining about spelling, that falls on the parents too. How about actually checking up on your sons and daughter and taking a proactive role in their education?

I am an avid gamer, since my teenage years. I have gone on to be a nuclear engineer and Nato-seasparrow missile technician.

Video games are the best thing since anything.

More studies of the benefits of video games also demonstrated the following: Improved vision, hand-eye coordination, better drivers, better problem solving skills, etc.
But like everything else, all things in moderation...

I beg to differ, more creative well maybe but too much video games makes them loose focus

video games are a great way to excercise the mind,
it just depends what games you are playing.
I'm a halo freak.
i love the mentality of online gaming,
playing head to head against other people, not computers,
and destroying them lol
video gaming brings you into another world if you allow it to.

ooooo another study trying to pin video games as useless tools of the devil.... #$%$ guys cant u get it though your thick skulls that video games ARE NOT REAL and are not tools of the devil, they are for entertainment purposes and becuase i kid plays a gun game doesnt mean there going to grow up to kill people, IF YOU ABUSE YOU CHILD they become vunrable to different things, so if you mistreat you kid the game is gonna impact there behavior, if you see a little kid going "pew pew :D" you dont freak out call the police and put you kid in the consulors office, you idiots, What im trying to say is if your kid is hurting people and its caused bye a video game you probably didnt raise them right and its your fault

Cuz some parents adicate their parental responsibilities and have their kids raised by the game system doesnt make the game system the devil.
.
video game systems dont kill people's minds, parents who dont parent kill kid's minds with game systems.

Misleading title. Some video games for sure do not make kids more creative, game where one task is repeated over and over to collect some random points, will not make anyone more creative. Games against other human players, that allow complexity, will force players to be more creative as the game is studied and new strategies are imagined. The best of these is supcom FA. Here is proof: watch?v=DXRG975rkIg

another figment of psychologists' imagination.

I wouldn't recomend playing with your wii all day. You'll just get sore and splotchy.

interesting how this article about the study slides in right before christmas time....it's interesting to me why they would conduct this study in the first place....someone must be really bored in that research department...."and the nobel prize goes to...." ha!

well, if you equate "creative" with "loss of reality" then yes, they are becoming way more creative with being unable to focus on what's real.....this increases lying, denial and a general inability to deal with social norms and conditions. i would project this to become an even broader delima in that their expectations will fall short of what society gives back to them.....hmmmm.....sounds like what's happening with the "occupy space" movement.....no real focus and unrealistic expectations....hahaha! my theory is proven....

What we are really seeing from kids who spend most of their free time with gizmos and gadgets are kids that can't read, spell, write, or communicate by looking you eye to eye. Video games create fat, lazy kids who would rather sit at their computer than be outside playing or working.

I started teaching high school in 1978 and have worked with teenagers my entire professional life. When students are NOT playing a game devised and marketed for them, they must create their own games, devise their own rules, and improvise to improve the games they themselves create and enjoy. Plugging into addictive video games has NOT
enhanced creative thinking, at least in my 33 years' experience as an educator.

There are some videos, not all. For example, I discovered what God of War only works to improve the reflexes of the player given the cinematic sequences while Kratos is killing a monster and you must see what button appear and push them, otherwise you will end stomped by the creature. But, in strategy games like the immortal Age of Empires or the renamed Civilization teach you to learn with the economy and also to plan strategies to face the enemy, useful for the brain apart what you’re learning History and Assassin’s Creed improves your senses, because you must be stealthy to win the game. Other games like Prince of Persia don’t work anything, and the games of racing are only pastime.But to be more creative, there are the board-games, #$%$ At the time what you learn to play the game and every time you grow more cunning and powerful in the game, you can create more “mods” for the same game or directly, you can made your own game using some rules of the other games what you have seen and it’s lucrative if you have lucky to patent it. Look at Risk, from the Avalon Hill’s game come the Argentinian TEG and Crisis, they are the same thing- in certain terms.

Do we really want to create a future generation whose greatest skill is the ability to lie more "creatively?" Not to mention that creativity is only productive when coupled with knowledge and motivation. Both of which are sadly lacking in today's students.

It makes them more creative at committing crimes maybe.