Professionals have indicated that owning a computer game system may slow down the academic functioning in some kids.

Psychological researchers Robert Weis and Brittany C. Cerankosky of Denison University tried to find out temporary effects of video-game ownership on learning growth in boys.

The scientists discovered that the young boys who got the video-game system instantly spent extra time playing video games and fewer time engaged in after-school studious activities as compared to boys who got the computer game system at the end of the trial.

The boys who had the computer game system at the start of the research also experienced significantly lower reading and writing grades four months later as compared with the boys getting the computer game system later on, the study discovered.

The authors concluded, "Altogether, our findings suggest that video-game ownership may impair academic achievement for some boys in a manner that has real-world significance."

The results have been released in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. (With Input from Agencies)