Perhaps the false dichotomy of electrical/paper is obscuring the very real one of video games/not video games.
Playing XBox is a waste of time in any generation.
Playing XBox is a waste of time in any generation.
And even if it is superficial awareness, those kinds of games exercise the fantasy-making faculties that make history itself interesting to learn about, even later as an adult.
Another example. There was this flop of a game in the early 90s, called SimEarth, that I have very fond memories of. It taught me about the Gaia hypothesis and the carbon cycle and stuff. Gameplay was pretty wacky though.
Agree a modern SimEarth would be awesome.
With respect to using paper and pencil for math there is still no contest between doing math on paper and doing it with your finger on an iPad.