The Foundations and Frontiers of Research on the Effect of Video Games on Child Development

Abstract

AbstractIn this media-rich world, video games have become almost ubiquitous in children’s lives. Therefore, researchers have shown increased interest in the relationship between video gaming and child development (VGCD). Despite the considerable amount of publications in this area, there have been few attempts to take a macro- and multi-disciplinary approach to synthesizing this literature. To understand the evolution of and trends in VGCD research, we conducted a scientometrics and knowledge-mapping analysis with the aid of CiteSpace. The analysis was based on 3,541 publications retrieved from the Web of Science database. The results showed that: (1) The past 37 years have witnessed dramatic progress in VGCD research, with the number of annual publications and citations following cubic accelerating curves; (2) The United States is at the center of the global research network; (3) Psychology plays a pivotal role among all the disciplines; (4) Reference co-citation analysis yielded 10 large clusters that can be grouped into three categories: video games and psychological development, video games and physical health, and video games and education; (5) Nowadays, the most active research themes in VGCD studies are serious games, autism spectrum disorder, virtual reality, internet gaming disorder, and effect sizes. The results of this study indicate that VGCD has received greater attention across a number of disciplines in recent years. The existing research recognizes that video games are a double-edged sword with respect to child development. At present, experiments, interventions, and educational research that draw on the benefits of video games have become the mainstream of research.KeywordsVideo gamesElectronic gamesChild developmentCiteSpaceScientometricsKnowledge mapping