A week ago, the Education Select Committee met to consider evidence about the impact of screen time on young people’s education and wellbeing.

Among the ideas discussed was an excellent point made by Baroness Kidron that “children have a very low tolerance of adults who do not understand the digital world telling them how to be safe”.

While schools are increasingly well resourced and knowledgeable about guidance and safeguarding in relation to the use of IT on their premises, time spent on video games at home can be an unknown quantity for teachers.

This makes the recent research by the children’s commissioner, Digital playgrounds: Children’s views on video gaming, particularly useful reading for those working in schools, providing a direct insight into what children think about gaming - both its positives and pitfalls. Here are the important points for schools:

Pros and cons

There are clearly concerns about the amount of time some children spend gaming. One alarming statistic cited in the paper is that the NHS Centre for Internet and Gaming Disorders has treated 745 people since it opened in 2019, with an average age of 17.

However, it should be noted that many young people are aware of the risks. The report contains plenty of comments from children who recognise that addiction to games can be a problem that can distract them from school learning and other “positive activities”.

That said, about two-thirds of children viewed video games as beneficial to their health and wellbeing, and many were frustrated that adults did not see the positives.

This is a particularly important message for schools as well as parents, who can often see screen and computer games as the enemy. Even if there are downsides to screen use, it is important that we engage with, and understand, the broadly favourable view that most young people have of these games.

Indeed, a number of young people expressed a desire to be a professional gamer. Others mentioned the idea of working in the games industry. Given that these sectors generate huge revenue and that both are realistic career aspirations, it is important that the positive elements of a gaming lifestyle are acknowledged by adults and not simply dismissed.

Virtual worries

It is interesting that young people have a much less positive view of virtual reality games (only 44 per cent viewed them as good for wellbeing) compared with other game types.

Recent stories that have prompted safeguarding concerns around young people’s online avatars being “sexually assaulted” have made the issues about virtual reality gaming more widely known, but the report reveals that young people are already wary of these sorts of games.

Furthermore, it dispels the myth that boys have a much more favourable view of computer games in general. While girls, on average, do view video games less positively than boys, there is not that much difference when it comes to single-player games (70 per cent of boys said these games were good for wellbeing, with 65 per cent of girls agreeing).

It is important then that schools do not just view the issue of screen time as solely relating to boys, even if the stereotype is of the single male gamer or the group of boys playing Fifa or Fortnite.

Old problems in a new era

Some of the specific problems that children named with regard to gaming might surprise many adults. Issues such as social pressure to have “better gaming equipment” and “concern over paid loot boxes in games” were mentioned.

These show that, for young people, a lot of the anxiety and mental health concerns caused by gaming are not specific to the games but to the rather more old-fashioned problem of being embarrassed about not having enough money to keep up with their friends.

Knowing that children understand these risks but also that they largely enjoy gaming means that schools need to engage them from the point of moderate and sensible use being the key rather than looking to ban gaming or to see it as a wholly negative aspect of young people’s lives.

All told, the report is eye-opening for any teacher who worries about gaming among pupils. It shows that while some concerns may be founded, young people are well aware of the issues that gaming brings and may welcome knowledgeable guidance from schools rather than a simplistic instruction to turn off their screens.

Luke Ramsden is deputy head of an independent school and chair of trustees for the Schools Consent Project

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