ADHD and video games.....?

I'm not sure if this theory is accurate because I don't know where to begin to verify dates but:
It appears to me that ADHD/ADD seemed to appear around the time video games starting hitting it big. If my assumption is correct would it be accurate to say that maybe ADHD/ADD may not necessarily exist if it were not for video games? If parents did not allow their children to live off video games would they burn off more energy doing typical childhood activities as well as learning through experience to focus on tasks?


No nasty comments, this is all theory which has not been researched thoroughly just yet, just seeking POLITE opinions on the matter to help me decide whether or not further research should be considered. Also, if it is considered assistance where to look.

Honestly, I don't think they have a connection in all cases.
My best friend growing up was a boy with severe ADHD. He didn't even own a television or video games. He had a single mother, multiple siblings, and they couldn't afford luxuries. Yet he had ADHD.
He had very hard times in school to stay sitting in his chair, it was that bad. He himself wasn't a bad kid, he had a heart of gold. He just couldn't control himself.
But, I do agree that excessive use of television and video games can aggravate children with ADHD and worsen their symptoms.

I don't think you can blame it on video games necessarily.
I think that people just began to notice ADHD and diagnose it and stuff when video games came around.

I've been playing video games since I was like 6 and I don't have ADHD and its the same for a lot of my friends.

This would be a subject worth researching.

I think while the theory is intresting, I feel it's a bit simplistic. They aren't sure what causes ADD/ADHD and some doctors even consider them on the Autism Spectrum.
Some think it has to do with the sugar intake of these kids, it's a very intresting and complex disorder and I think mulitple factors cause it.

adhd is not caused by video games it is something your born with it is in 70% of birth that you get a kid wirth ahdh or add and 30%is the kind that needs specail help i have it and i am fine i play video game and i manage it with medication (im 14)and video ga,e has nothing to do to cuase it but they say kid with adhd are more skilled at video games thhan kid with out is a thorie)

I dont think so..i think kids are kids.some people may have adhd/add but i think alot of it are LAZY doctors who dont try to do nothing,just like to diagnose it because its quick and easy.they can pump meds in your kids and make them like zombies.they did that with my step-son...i took him off the meds..he gained wieght and is doing better without it!!!!!!!!!!!

i would think that the amount of sugar intake gives people add and adhd as there is many forms of sugar in many foods and it is usually hidden,and maybe video games do contribute as it is like tv and it memorises peoples brains.take care

Well, I don't know much about this 'ADHD' stuff but I think that It would've exisited even if there were no video games, cuz they would've found another use for it.

Nice theory, but to ever rule there are exceptions. My husband and I both have played video games since super nitendo. Neither of us have ADHD.

I think video games r for lazy ppl and that ppl who play video games deserve what they get.

Absolutley not!

i know someone who is better when there mom takes there video games away this maymbe true

ADHD has probably like many other disorders been around for as long as humans have been here but we just now are seeing it more diagnosed. It use to be that if a kid was hyper he was just beat or whatever. They didn't look at kids back then like they may have a problem. Just like children that were abused that became violent weren't looked at like abused children just bad children. It is just a matter of it being more known now. Looking back at my family history and stuff i can tell you that when my grandma was young (she is 76 now) that her siblings were very hyper and what would be considered out of control now and they probably would have been diagnosed with ADHD or something along those lines but they didn't have such things back then. Autism wasn't even looked at it then like it is now.

video games do not require eye contact or verbal communication. children who have ADD or other autistic spectrum disorders often have poor social skills to begin with and find making eye contact and normal conversation more difficult than other children. they often find social situations cause great anxiety, and find it easier to amuse themselves in solitary pursuits such as computer games.

in these cases it is entirely possible that where before boredom would drive children to be more sociable and form more cooperative habits, they are now not getting the level of interaction they would have in the past, and are therefore not developing the level of social skills which would prevent them being diagnosed with ADD. It would be difficult, therfore, to determine whether ADD tendencies cause video game use, or video game use causes ADD.

proper research of this study would involve a large-scale study comparing the levels of video game use between children with ADD/ADHD and those without.