Study: Online Games & Social Networking R Good

Online social networks, games can be good for kids on the San Francisco
Chronicle reports some positivity about games from a new study sponsored by
the MacArthur
Foundation: "Rather than wasting their time, children who gab on Facebook or
play online games are gaining valuable social skills and learning some
technology basics, according to a study released Thursday. The report, sponsored
by the MacArthur Foundation, contradicts the idea held by many educators,
parents and policymakers that children should be blocked from online social
networks and video games like Halo, which allow users in different locations to
play together. Instead, children should be encouraged to use the technologies to
gain a certain level of digital literacy, the study said. Mizuko Ito, a research
scientist in UC Irvine's department of informatics and who led the study, said
that children who don't have access to some of today's most popular online
diversions risk being social outsiders lacking some of the basic skills
necessary to function in the Internet age."


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