Remember The Last Starfighter from 1984? In that movie a trailer-park kid with limited prospects spends his time on an arcade-style video game, Starfighter. He plays the game so much that he beats the final level, and it turns out he is the first person to ever do so. He is heavily criticized for spending so much time playing a game, which is seen as a sign of boredom and lack of ambition – a waste of time. The twist (42 year old spoiler incoming) is that the game was actually a test (the Excalibur test – a deliberate reference to King Arthur) to find a skilled pilot for an actual real-life starfighter. He goes on to save the galaxy from invasion.

The interesting premise of the movie is that playing a video game is not only a test of real-life skill, but can be used to train such skill. In 1984 this was  kind of a new idea, and appealing to a generation of kids newly hooked on video games. Video games have been significantly mainstreamed over the last half century, but there is still a bit of a cultural stigma attached to them – they are seen as the realm of dorks and geeks, with inevitable jokes about how avid video gamers with “never get laid” (or something to that effect). Since the beginning of their popularity parents have worried, with such worry being fed by a sensationalist media, that video games were going to “rot” their kids’ brains, turn them into losers who can never get a skilled job, and might even cause violent behavior. Every mass shooting someone brings up violent video games.

But the evidence simply does not support these concerns. One big problem with the research is that it shows correlation only, not causation. Sure, people who play aggressive video games tend to be more aggressive, but that doesn’t mean the game is the cause. Further, there are many confounding factors, and more recent research shows that violence in the game is not the key feature. It has more to do with the level of difficulty and the resulting frustration that seems to raise aggression, not violence in the game. More competitive and difficult games tend to be more stimulating, regardless of the level of violence. The bottom line – after decades of research, systematic reviews conclude: “There is insufficient scientific evidence to support a causal link between violent video games and violent behavior.”

Now we seem to be going through the same cycle again, but this time with anxiety and depression. It is also not just video games being criticized, but social media and any screen time. And again there is evidence of some correlation, but without showing causation. It is very likely that people who feel socially isolated or depressed might seek out video games and social media as a distraction or to have some social connection. Taking away those outlets out of fear they are causing the symptoms can easily be counterproductive. A recent systematic review found:

“Scientific research investigating social media’s impact on adolescent mental health has failed to provide clarity. There is converging evidence for a small negative cross-sectional association between time spent on social media and well-being. However, longitudinal studies and those measuring social media use beyond time spent or mental health beyond general well-being show diverging results.”

In short, the evidence is weak and mixed, while better studies designed to control for likely confounding variables do not show any consistent effect. This does not mean there are no potential issues with excessive video-game use or social media use. It is one variable that we need to consider and carefully research, and there are likely some individuals in some contexts where is does exacerbate or cause problems. But are video games and social media the “one true cause” of all adolescent current ills, and basically responsible for the recent increase in mental health diagnoses? Probably not.

The current best inference is that video games and social media are filling a void of social support structures of various kinds, and that the solution is not to simply restrict or take away screens. Rather, we should be filling the void with more diverse support and activities.

On the flip side, there is evidence that video games and other interactions with digital technology increase some skills (just like in Starfighter). What we are seeing is not an atrophy of skills, but a shifting of skills from more analog to more digital activity. Since the industrial revolution it seems that each generation laments the fact that “these kids today” lack the skills that we older folks developed, while missing the fact that they are developing new skills for a new world. We may not get this new world they are creating, but they are not creating it for us. This is part of the reason it is difficult to predict the future use of technology, because we keep trying to imagine ourselves in this future. But we will not be in that future – new generations of people will, and they will be different in ways we cannot predict. To some extent, we have to trust that new generations will find their own way.

Meanwhile, it turns out that video games are a really good way to train certain skills. If anything, the technology is under-leveraged. Video gamers are better at endoscopic surgery, because certain kinds of games develop psychomotor skills like those used in this kind of surgery. Video games can cause more general cognitive skills as well: “Findings indicate that higher levels of videogaming proficiency are linked to improvements in visuospatial short-term and working memory, psychomotor speed, and attention.” Some of this data is correlational, but a lot of it is experimental, showing a causal effect with a dose-response.

But also, video games can train specific skill, not just improve cognitive function. They are great at keeping the level of difficulty just ahead of the user, and advancing them at their own pace. You can also simulate situations that you cannot recreate in the physical world. The FAA is even trying to get in on the “Starfighter effect” – they are specifically recruiting video game players for jobs in air traffic control.

Video games definitely do not have the stigma they did when I was younger, but it is not gone completely, and much of the same instincts have migrated over to screen-time in general and social media specifically. I do think we need to resist the temptation to simplistically blame the latest new technology our kids are using for whatever societal ills we are worried about. This does not mean we should not carefully consider and research the effects of new technology on society, especially to identity vulnerable individuals or potentials for abuse. But don’t panic or overreact. Just taking away screens is likely to be counterproductive. It’s better to fill kids’ lives with diverse experiences and opportunities (which is a lot more work than just demonizing video games and screens). Also we risk losing out on the potential benefits of new technologies. Video games can build cognitive ability and are great at training specific skills, and there are many potential upsides to social media.