July 2, 2007 (Insidermedicine)  Teens who play video games tend to spend about a third less time reading and doing homework than their non-video game-playing peers, according to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

It is estimated that 90% of US households with children have rented or owned a video or computer game. There is concern that video games interfere with the development of skills needed to make a successful transition to adulthood. This is especially true during adolescence, when social interactions and academic success lay the groundwork for health in adulthood.

Although it is generally assumed that most American teens play video games, and that game playing interferes with social and academic activities, there are limited data to support this.

To better understand how video game playing affects teens, researchers collected survey data from close to 1,500 teens during one school year. The teens were asked to record their time spent playing video games, and time spent with parents and friends, reading and doing homework, and participating in sports and active leisure.

They found only 36% of adolescents played video games, the majority being boys. Those who did, played for one to one and a half hours on average – a third of the time that is spent by the average teen watching TV. Video gamers did not spend less time than non-gamers interacting with parents and friends. These findings do not support the notion that teens who play video games are socially isolated.  But those who regularly used video games, unfortunately, spent 30% less time reading and 34% less time doing homework.

Further study is needed to better understand how video games affect social interactions and how they impact users long-term academic results.