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It highlights limited direct research for this age group and instead draws evidence from television viewing in younger children and digital media use among adolescents and young adults. Findings describe links between educational games and executive functions, mental rotation, math understanding, and problem-solving, with practice implications for parents, under-resourced schools, teachers, and federal policy funding priorities.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/social-policy-report-brief-understanding-and-addressing-the-effect-of-digital-games-on-cognitive-development-in-middle-childhood-issue-1/586526/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/social-policy-report-brief-understanding-and-addressing-the-effect-of-digital-games-on-cognitive-development-in-middle-childhood-issue-1/586526.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Quinn Holloway","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why does the brief focus on middle childhood rather than younger children or adolescents?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Effects of interactive media are well studied for younger children and adolescents, but remain understudied for ages 6–12. This period includes much of the pre-adult population that uses digital games and apps.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What does the research suggest about educational digital games for cognitive skills?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Educationally oriented digital games are linked to stronger executive functions, mental rotation abilities, basic math understanding, and improved problem-solving. They may also enhance selective attention and skills needed to acquire academic content.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What policy and practice implications does the brief recommend?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Parents need research-based guidelines for supporting learning while using digital media. Under-resourced schools require digital media and high-speed Internet, teacher training should include developmentally appropriate practices, and federal agencies should fund technology and app/game development tied to cognitive-development research.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},586526,1792172466,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":14,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":24,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Volume 32, Number 1 | April 2019  \n Social Policy Report Brief   \nUnderstanding and Addressing the Effect of Digital Games on Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood  \nThe Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) is an international, interdisciplinary organization of scientists, established in 1933 by the National Academy of Sciences.  \nEDITORIAL TEAM Lead Editor  \nEllen Wartella, PhD [ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu](ellen-wartella@northwestern.edu)  \nAssistant Editor  \nFashina Aladé, PhD [alade@u.northwestern.edu](alade@u.northwestern.edu)  \nEditorial Board  \nP. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD Sandra Waxman, PhD David Figlio, PhD Craig Garfield, MD Neil Jordan, PhD Terri Sabol, PhD David Uttal, PhD Diane Schanzenbach, PhD Dedre Gentner, PhD Matthew M. Davis, MD Amelie Petitclerc, PhD Rachel Flynn, PhD  \nSRCD Policy Staff  \nMartha Zaslow, PhD Patricia Barton, MPP Anna Kimura  \nScience Writer  \nAnne Bridgman  \nThe brief summarizes a longer Social Policy Report: Blumberg, F. C. , Deater-Deckard, K. , Calvert, S. L. , Flynn, R. M. , Green, C. S. , Arnold, D. , & Brooks, P. J. (2019) . Digital Games as a Context for Children’s Cognitive Development: Research Recommendations and Policy Considerations.  \nSocial Policy Report 32(1) .  \nView the full Social Policy Report  and References.  \nWhy Does This Matter?  \nThe effects of using interactive media have been well studied among young children and adolescents but remain understudied for middle childhood (ages 6-12 years) . Children and youth of this age comprise much of the pre-adult population that uses digital games and apps. The Every Student Succeeds Act says that states must give students access to technology and use evidence-based methods of incorporating technology into curricula and instruction, but doesn’t speak to digital games directly. Research on digital games in middle childhood can inform the design of games that teach tech-savvy skills and promote cognitive development.  \nBackground  \nSix-to 12-year-olds are exposed to digital media extensively1 :  \n• In 64% of the 4,000 U.S. households sampled recently, at least one person played video games three or more hours a week and nearly 30% of these players were 18 years and under.  \n• Two-thirds of parents in that survey said they played video games with their children weekly and perceived the games as beneficial.  \n• In a survey of U.S. children under 8, on average, children used interactive games about 25 minutes daily, with little use before age 2. In another survey, interactive game play for children ages 8 to 18 averaged 1 hour, 20 minutes daily.  \nDigital games and apps are used increasingly in both formal and informal education settings, yet guidance is lacking on what comprises a high-quality game or app that supports children’s cognitive development and learning.  \nBackground (continued)  \n• In a survey of K-8 teachers, 74% reported using digital games for instruction, with 80% indicating that they primarily used educational games and apps.  \nYet little research has studied the effects of digital media at these ages:  \n• Much of what is known about the impact of media on children’s development is drawn from research on television-viewing behaviors.  \n• In two meta-analyses examining the impact of commercial video game use on information processing, only a few of the studies focused on children and youth from 3 to 17 years.  \nWhat the Research Says  \nGiven the limited research on digital media use in middle childhood, we turn to evidence on television viewing in young children and digital media use among older youth:  \n• From research on young children’s television viewing:  \n• Content matters, with educational television but not violent or solely entertaining TV associated positively with academic outcomes.  \n• Learning from media appears to be related to the emotional ties young children form with media characters.  \n• Research on adolescents’ and young adults’ use of digital media:  \n• Studies of young adu","cbCaiqCdMGwYpj0I","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqCdMGwYpj0I","pdf",426210,"English","# Why Does This Matter?\n# Background\n# What the Research Says\n# Implications for Policy and Practice\n## Implications for Practice\n## Implications for Policy","[{\"question\":\"Why does the brief focus on middle childhood rather than younger children or adolescents?\",\"answer\":\"Effects of interactive media are well studied for younger children and adolescents, but remain understudied for ages 6–12. This period includes much of the pre-adult population that uses digital games and apps.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the research suggest about educational digital games for cognitive skills?\",\"answer\":\"Educationally oriented digital games are linked to stronger executive functions, mental rotation abilities, basic math understanding, and improved problem-solving. They may also enhance selective attention and skills needed to acquire academic content.\"},{\"question\":\"What policy and practice implications does the brief recommend?\",\"answer\":\"Parents need research-based guidelines for supporting learning while using digital media. Under-resourced schools require digital media and high-speed Internet, teacher training should include developmentally appropriate practices, and federal agencies should fund technology and app/game development tied to cognitive-development research.\"}]","Social Policy Report Brief - Understanding and Addressing the Effect of Digital Games on Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood - Issue 1 | PDF",1792058246]