Are video games making kids dumber Yes(pro) or No(con)

I will be arguing that there are numerous educational benefits within video games, as well as other cognitive and social benefits that will, overall, disprove the notion that video games make kids "dumber". I will then refute my opponent's arguments. To begin with, video games offer numerous educational benefits. A study conducted by the Educational Development Center (EDC) and the Ready To Learn Initiative (RTL) found that a curriculum that included video games lead to an improvement in early literacy skills(1). To quote directly, "the study focused on young children, and 4- and 5-year-olds who participated showed increases in letter recognition, sounds association with letters, and understanding basic concepts about stories and print. " This trend is also modeled in older students as well. College aged students in the Loyalist College in Ontario, after participating in a 3D virtual simulation of a US/Canada border crossing, where the students played the role of the guards, saw an increase of successful test scores from 56% to 95%(1). Ever going to need laparoscopic surgery? Better hope your surgeon is a gamer. To quote directly from the article: "A study published in the February edition of Archives of Surgery says that surgeons who regularly play video games are generally more skilled at performing laparoscopic surgery. "(1). Educational benefits aren't the only thing you gain from playing video games. A study done by the American Psychological Association (APA), shows that "playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. "(2). Also, to continue quoting from the same study, "The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children’s creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games"(2). To move on to my opponent's arguments, my opponent seems to be falling into the "they're not doing anything productive" mindset. To start with, refer back to my arguments about the numerous different educational and cognitive benefits that video gaming provides, meaning that playing video games can be really productive and beneficial. But secondly, since my opponent brought up the game "Clash of Clans" which is an online multiplayer game that you can play on your smart phone, these types of games also have various different social benefits that aid kids and adults in various aspects of life. "Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found. "(2). According to Ian Bogost, associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and founder of software maker Persuasive Games. “Look at ‘World of Warcraft’: You’ve got 11-year-olds who are learning to delegate responsibility, promote teamwork and steer groups of people toward a common goal. ”(1). These are hardly qualities of "dumb" people. Overall, video games offer many different benefits to gamers, some of which you can't find in books or the classroom. But the claim that video games make kids "dumber" is blatantly false. Sources:(1) - . http://abcnews.go.com...(2) - . http://www.apa.org...;