Video game study

Boys who received video systems immediately spend more time playing video games and less time engaged in after-school academic activities than comparison children. They also had lower reading and writing scores and greater teacher-reported academic problems at follow-up than comparison children. Amount of video-game play mediated the relationship between video-game ownership and academic outcomes. Results provide experimental evidence that video games may displace after-school activities that have educational value and may interfere with the development of reading and writing skills in some children.
Weis, R., and Cerankosky, B. (2010, March). Effects of Video-Game Ownership on Young Boys’ Academic and Behavioral Functioning. Psychological Science.