It infuriates me when I see articles that claim video games are harmful, such as this latest survey of 300 parents with children aged 6 - 18 by YouGov. Of the survey respondents "28% said they thought [playing games] probably was harmful."

Balderdash!

I have played games every single week since the age of nine. I play games for roughly 2 - 15 hours per week instead of watching Eastenders and have done so for over two decades. Yet despite this terrible affliction I am highly social, have a good set of friends, a good career, a wonderful family, a long-term relationship and an incredibly fluffy cat. As far as I am aware, video games have not damaged me.

Just as well because according to our recent Gaming Britain research, almost 33 million people in the UK play games, eight out of ten 8 - 65 year olds. If we look specifically at children aged 8 - 15 years old, 98% play games - almost every single child in the UK. 

A BBC study way back in 2005 found that 100% of the children aged 6 - 10 play games. Six years later and these children will now be aged 12 - 16. Not accounting for all of the people who have been playing games for the decades prior to this. If video games genuinely are harmful, there are a lot of damaged people out there.

Games are the opposite of harmful. They can be hyper social, pull families and friends together, build problem solving skills, teach patience, encourage practice, strengthen memory, demonstrate spacial awareness, improve reflexes, tell stories and so on. 

Hopefully next time someone considers crying "Danger!" about video games eating our brains they will consider these stats showing mainstream consumption. If not we should recommend a dose of video games to sharpen their analytical skills.