“Social development” refers to the unique psychological characteristics of an individual that are formed on a physiological basis as they participate in social life and interactions. This term encompasses adherence to societal norms, emotional stability, social awareness, familial bonds, and peer relationships [19]. Positive social development during childhood is correlated with favorable social adjustment, effective interpersonal interactions, academic success, and cognitive capacity in subsequent stages of life [20,21]. Thus, understanding the determinants influencing children’s social development is imperative. Extensive research underscores video games’ substantial influence on children’s social development [22,23].

The impact of video games on children’s social development is a topic of debate. Several studies have suggested that video games foster positive outcomes in children’s social growth. For example, Yilmaz and Griffiths posited that the diverse interactions facilitated by pro-social video games bolster the development of children’s peer relationships [24]. Concurrently, other scholars have emphasized the role of video games in enhancing social interaction and collaborative efforts [25]. Many of these games feature multiplayer functionality, fostering improved communication and cooperative skills among children [26]. In consonance with this view, Raventós and Belli indicated that gaming environments enable players to forge friendships and establish shared interests, catalyzing the genesis of novel social bonds [13]. Furthermore, certain video games are geared towards bolstering problem-solving abilities, analytical reasoning, and innovative cognition, all crucial for comprehensive social development [27].

Nonetheless, academic voices are concerned about the ramifications of heightened video game engagement on children’s social development [6]. Davis et al. asserted that children deeply immersed in video games often exhibit increased aggressive behaviors and notable social inadequacies [28]. The General Learning Model postulates that individuals deeply engrossed in video games might develop an addiction-like relationship with the medium, consequently impeding their social development [29]. This model suggests that children heavily involved with video games may consistently internalize the game’s content and mechanics, leading to cognitive and emotional disturbances, including hostility and indifference [30,31]. Further, Gentile et al., through a biennial longitudinal study, discerned that augmented social challenges and impulsivity were byproducts of children’s heightened video game engagement [32]. Thus, excessive video game engagement may negatively correlate with children’s social development.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic’s influence on individual social development warrants scholarly attention. To contain COVID-19, numerous governmental interventions, such as self-quarantine and social distancing, have been put into place [33,34]. However, the pandemic’s far-reaching implications for all demographics, including children, cannot be overlooked. Countries like Germany, China, and Bangladesh have reported increased psychological stress related to health concerns and economic instability [35,36,37], which inevitably has a downstream impact on children’s social development [38]. Additionally, the overwhelming influx of pandemic-related news has heightened anxiety, particularly among children [39]. Nevertheless, contrasting views exist; Allen et al. found minimal changes in children’s emotional well-being pre- and post-pandemic when assessed using Rumble’s Quest [40].

In this complex landscape, infants and young children born or raised during COVID-19 are of specific concern. Lockdown measures have curtailed their opportunities for conventional social interaction and development [41]. In this restricted environment, their engagement with video games becomes a salient point of inquiry. While some research suggests that video games can offer virtual interactions that teach pro-social behaviors like sharing and cooperation [42], others argue that excessive gaming could discourage real-world social engagement, thus impeding social development [43]. In light of this intricate and multifaceted context, it could be hypothesized that the surge in video game engagement, especially induced by the pandemic, may adversely affect children’s social development.

Executive function denotes a higher-order cognitive capacity, facilitating the cohesive and analytical regulation of an individual’s cognitive processes and behaviors. This capacity encompasses vital facets such as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility [44]. These components collectively constitute pivotal constituents within the scaffolding of intricate proficiencies and aptitudes in human development [45,46]. Inhibition is a sophisticated cognitive process that empowers individuals to quell predominant reactions and counteract extraneous interference [47]. Working memory pertains to an individual’s proficiency in continuously retaining, manipulating, and modifying the contents held in short-term memory [48]. Cognitive flexibility is the disposition to engage in creative ideation, adopt diverse perspectives, and promptly and adaptively respond to altered contexts [44]. The underpinning of executive function is closely intertwined with the prefrontal cortical region of the cerebral apparatus, proffering a substrate for the governance and impetus of human cognition and comportment. A robust executive function is a prerequisite for ensuring the progression of an individual’s mental well-being [49].

As children age and accumulate experience, their executive functions undergo rapid development. Inhibition, for instance, manifests as early as infancy, with its first significant leap occurring in the preschool years and continuing to improve throughout childhood [50]. Research indicated that infants could delay eating times, and the ability to delay eating increases with age. Specifically, 50% of two-year-olds could delay eating for 20 s, 85% of three-year-olds could inhibit the impulse to eat for one minute, and four-year-olds could delay eating for up to five minutes [51]. Luria’s tapping test revealed that children between the ages of four and four and a half showed marked improvements in inhibition, with most advances occurring before age six. Older children demonstrated faster response times and higher accuracy rates [52]. Concerning working memory, continuous improvements are observed from infancy through preschool. Perlman found that prefrontal cortex activation during a working memory task increased with age in children aged three to seven [53]. Best posited that individual working memory followed a linear trajectory from ages 4 to 14, stabilizing after 16 [50]. In a parallel vein, Ahmed utilized nationally representative data to exhibit nonlinear growth patterns in working memory performance from ages 3 to 19, with the most rapid growth occurring during childhood [54]. Research on cognitive flexibility suggests that this skill begins to emerge in children around the age of two and gradually develops between the ages of three and five [50]. Buttelmann et al.’s study supports this notion and indicates that cognitive flexibility develops rapidly in preschool and continues to increase into adolescence [55]. By age 12, children’s cognitive flexibility levels approximate those of adults [56].

电子游戏和执行功能之间的关系在心理学中是一个复杂而有争议的话题。一些研究认为，电子游戏可能对执行功能的特定方面产生积极影响。例如，惠特洛克等人发现，与大型多人角色扮演游戏“魔兽世界”的互动增强了斯特鲁普的性能[57]。同样，刘等人发现，电子游戏显着提高了儿童的抑制能力;接受过电子游戏训练的儿童在Go/No-Go任务中的表现优于未接受过训练的儿童[47]。即使不再从事游戏，青春期前的游戏玩家也表现出卓越的工作记忆表现、更高的注意力集中和增强的信息获取能力[58]。Glass等人的一项荟萃分析显示，强调多种信息和行动来源之间的维持和快速切换的游戏条件大大提高了认知灵活性[59]。进一步的研究表明，复杂的基于益智的视频游戏需要战略规划和重构，甚至可以增加玩家右背外侧前额叶皮层、右海马形成和双侧小脑皮层的厚度[60,61]，从而显着提高执行功能水平。

相反，研究阐明，不当接触电子游戏会对儿童的执行功能产生不利影响[62]。视频游戏中的认知参与是急性影响执行功能的机制[63]。Yang等人的一项研究揭示了视频游戏中动作导向内容的存在与儿童抑制相关的执行功能方面之间存在负相关关系[64]。相应地，学术探索表明，参与暴力电子游戏可以在进行认知抑制的同时调节前额叶皮质活动[65]。此外，对电子游戏的成瘾程度不断上升，与工作记忆任务的表现恶化相对应[66]。一项系统评价提供了经验证据，证明病理和/或过度使用电子游戏会对认知过程产生有害结局，包括抑制和决策[67]。同样，研究表明，与每天接触有限时间的视频游戏相比，每天暴露于视频游戏 3 小时的个体表现出抑制控制降低。过度暴露于电子游戏的患者腹侧内侧前额叶皮层灰质体积较小，皮质较薄，背外侧额叶沟较浅[68]。因此，从逻辑上可以推断，过度参与电子游戏可能会损害儿童的执行功能，这突出了进一步调查和潜在干预的关键领域。

经验证据表明，提高执行功能水平在儿童的社会发展中起着重要作用[69]。Hughes和Ensor的一项研究发现，抑制控制和工作记忆等执行功能技能与心理理论（ToM）能力呈正相关，后者涉及理解他人的想法和感受[70]。同样，Ming等人发现，更高水平的执行功能与儿童更强的社会能力有关[71]。相比之下，执行功能较差的儿童在操场上与同龄人的孤立感也越来越高，与同龄人的参与度也越来越低[72]。自我损耗理论认为，意志活动的表现——如控制过程、形成选择、启动行为和克服反应——需要消耗认知资源[73]。当孩子的执行功能衰弱时，自我控制和调节的任务需要非典型的丰富资源。随后这些资源的枯竭可能导致儿童攻击行为的升级。实证研究进一步证实，执行功能是儿童攻击性水平的重要预测指标，在这方面表现出缺陷的儿童更倾向于在社交互动中表现出攻击性[74]。鉴于这一证据，可以假设参与电子游戏通过执行功能机制与儿童的社会发展有关。

视频游戏参与与执行功能密切相关，研究可能调节视频游戏参与与执行功能之间关联的变量对增强儿童的认知发展具有重要价值。在这些调节变量中，年龄已被确定为可能影响这种关系的重要因素[50]。生态系统理论强调考虑影响儿童发展的系统和背景的重要性，包括年龄的作用。儿童年龄是一个时间系统，与其他生态系统相互作用以塑造其发育[75]。研究表明，儿童的年龄与其视频游戏参与度及其与执行功能的关系有关[76]。

最近的证据表明，电子游戏暴露呈发展趋势，年龄较大的儿童比年幼的儿童更频繁地玩电子游戏。一项研究表明，儿童在两岁之前很少接触电子游戏，2-3 岁儿童的平均游戏时间记录为每天约 20 分钟。这种暴露持续时间随年龄增长而逐渐增加，5-8岁儿童平均每天玩电子游戏40分钟，8-12岁患者平均每天约80分钟[76]。一致地，Gentile发现年龄较大的学生更容易报告过度玩电子游戏[77]。这些趋同的发现支持了年龄较大的儿童比年幼的孩子更多地参与电子游戏的观点，强调了调查对认知发展和执行功能的潜在影响的重要性。

除了视频游戏曝光的时间外，儿童游戏类型的偏好在其整个生命周期中也会发生变化。由于研究目标和目标人群的不同，视频游戏的分类因研究而异。传统的分类包括各种游戏类型，从策略和益智游戏到动作/冒险和模拟游戏[78]。然而，这些类别往往模糊不清，导致研究人员开发定制的类型学[79]。例如，Yu和Chan根据玩家的影响将游戏分为四种类型：传统游戏，运动游戏，认知训练和VR/模拟游戏[80]。Eichenbaum等人根据学龄儿童的需求进行了分类，确定了五种游戏类型：角色扮演，动作，策略，音乐和谜题[81]。本研究采用了独特的八种分类，专门设计与幼儿的年龄特征和游戏的普及程度保持一致。类别包括益智游戏、动作游戏、模拟游戏、艺术游戏、体育游戏、冒险游戏、角色扮演游戏和其他游戏。电子游戏致力于满足个人的需求，随着他们能力的成长，这些需求在整个发展阶段都会发生变化。例如，应对游戏挑战所需的认知技能取决于年龄;吸引年幼儿童的游戏类型可能会失去对青少年的吸引力[82]。研究发现，包含探索和决策元素的大脑游戏更受学龄前儿童的欢迎[81,83]。相反，动作冒险游戏往往会吸引学龄儿童[84]。一些研究得出的结论是，动作游戏要求玩家专注于快节奏、复杂的目标，而这样的要求对年幼的孩子来说可能要求太高[81]。

Childhood is the optimal time to examine whether and how screen time exposure (such as video gaming) affects executive function development [50,82]. Assessments grounded in cognitive and neurophysiological methodologies reveal that executive function, though initially emerging during the foundational years of life, exhibits a marked trend of continual strengthening and maturation throughout childhood and adolescence [50]. The development of executive function is a dynamic process influenced by both biological maturation and environmental factors [50]. Video game engagement, particularly during the sensitive and formative stages of childhood, introduces a multifaceted environmental factor that can interact with the biological maturation of executive function. As children grow older, their likelihood of engaging with video games tends to increase, introducing a variable that may exert both positive and negative influences on the development of executive function. On the one hand, select video games can pose cognitive challenges that stimulate problem-solving capabilities, potentially contributing to executive function development [83]. Concurrently, specific games—especially those equipped with educational components or engineered for collaborative gameplay—have been associated with enhancements in cognitive performance and the cultivation of social skills [1,85]. On the other hand, excessive exposure to video games, especially those lacking educational value, may be detrimental, hindering the natural progression of executive function [67]. Consequently, a child’s age can function as a moderating variable within the connection between video game engagement and executive function, signifying that age could potentially intensify this specific association.