Healthy Memphis

Video games cut into the time teenage girls spent on homework and teenage boys spent reading. But newly published research reports teen gamers spent just as much time as their non-gaming friends interacting with folks, including parents and friends.

The study is published in the July issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

It focused on a national sample of 1,491 10- to 19-year-olds. It included 534 teens who played video games. Girls reported playing an average of 44 minutes on weekdays and one hour and four minutes on weekends. Boys averaged 58 minutes on weekdays and one hour and 37 minutes on weekends.

Compared with non-players, the teenagers who played spent 30 percent less time reading and 34 percent less time doing homework.

The investigators noted more needs to be done to understand how video games influence a young person's academic success and social development.

Do you have experience as either a young video gamer or an adult who cares about one? What's been your experience with how the games affect school performance and social success?