VIDEOGAME PLAYING, CELL PHONE USE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: SOME GOOD NEWS
Author(s):
Linda A. Jackson,
Alexander Von Eye,
Hiram E. Fitzgerald,
Edward A. Witt,
Yong Zhao
Paper abstract: In this research we examined the effects of children’s videogame playing and cell phone use on their
academic performance. Gender, race and family income were also considered. Academic performance
was measured in terms of grade point averages (GPAs), self-reported grades in school, and scores on
standardized tests of reading, mathematics and visual-spatial skills. Participants were 482 children whose
average age was 12 years old. One third were African American and two thirds were Caucasian
American. All measures were completed twice, with a one-year interval between them. Results for Year
1 indicated that greater videogame playing was associated with better visual-spatial skills but lower
GPAs. Additional analyses revealed that videogame playing contributed to visual-spatial skills only for
children initially low in these skills. Videogame playing was associated with lower GPA only for
children with average GPAs. Cell phone use, a relatively infrequent activity in this sample of 12 yearolds,
had no effects on any measure of academic performance in Year 1. However, in Year 2, average
cell phone users had lower GPAs than below or above average users. Gender, race and income played
important roles in videogame playing, cell phone use and academic performance. Boys played
videogames more than did girls, and girls used cell phones more than did boys Implications of
videogame playing and cell phone use for the academic performance of children who are average, above
average and below average in academic performance are discussed. Included in the discussion is the
development of more “edutaining” videogames that appeal to all youth, regardless of gender or race.
