The National Children's Bureau Northern Ireland (NCB NI), with the support of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) have conducted the first ever piece of longitudinal research in Northern Ireland, studying the link between young people's levels of access to, and usage of, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and how this subsequently impacts on GCSE attainment.

Playing video games is more likely to have a negative impact on a child's GCSE results than using social media, a study has found.

Around 77pc of 14 to 16 year-olds who play games rarely achieved five 'good' GCSE grades, compared to 41pc who play games twice a day, the report claimed.

Despite social media being a much more popular activity among those examined, with 81pc on young people using networks daily, no link was found between intensive social networking and poor exam performance.

The study, conducted on students within Northern Ireland by the National Children's Bureau, found than four in 10 spent four or more hours a day online during their GCSE year, with those who used a computer for three hours daily to complete homework obtaining the best GCSE results - with 79pc achieving A* to C grades.

vesti.ru