Sort of. In a fascinating article entitled “Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price,” The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the effects of multi-tasking and digital addiction on mental capacity. While not all of the finding are positive, among the most interesting are these two points:

Technology use can benefit the brain in some ways, researchers say. Imaging studies show the brains of Internet users become more efficient at finding information. And players of some video games develop better visual acuity.

At the University of Rochester, researchers found that players of some fast-paced video games can track the movement of a third more objects on a screen than nonplayers. They say the games can improve reaction and the ability to pick out details amid clutter.

The article also goes on to say that the use of Internet, mobile computing devices (think iPhone), and video games push us to consume so much information – about 3 times as much as the average person did in 1960 – that we may be growing our neural circuitry in a way that scientists thought to be impossible just 50 years ago.

So the next time someone gives you problems about your game playing, just let them know that you’re “growing your neural circuitry.”

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About This Author: Anthony Perez

Founder of SmashPad and former GameSpot freelancer, I love covering the gaming industry when it surprises me. Sometimes gaming gets a bit too stagnant, but when a game wows me like Scribblenauts, then I get excited again. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tonyp1222

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