by You may be concerned about the potential effects of video games on teenagers if you find your teen spending a good deal of time in front of a screen. Possibly, there isn’t a single teenager we know who doesn’t enjoy some video game.
As a result, research shows that nearly all American children and teenagers spend at least an hour per day playing video games. This article will cover the advantages and drawbacks of letting your teen play video games, the warning signs of video game addiction, and some strategies for dealing with the problem.
Positive Impacts of Online Games on Adolescents
When used responsibly, video games can have positive effects on kids. It’s okay if you’re surprised; we’ll explain why. Here are some positive aspects of playing video games virtually.
- The Ability to Coordinate Your Hands and Eyes
Shooting games, in particular, have been shown to improve teens’ spatial awareness, visual acuity, and hand-eye coordination. Some games place heavy emphasis on developing these abilities.
The players must monitor positions, velocities, aims, directions, and more. Since movements are performed with the keyboard or game controller, the brain processes this information and coordinates with the hands.
Previous studies have established the importance of spatial skills for success in STEM fields, which has significant implications for curriculum and professional development.
- Enhances Mental Performance
Contrary to popular belief, video gaming has been shown to improve a wide range of cognitive abilities, including focus, visual processing, memory, reasoning, and perception.
A meta-analysis of video games has led researchers to the conclusion that playing violent games can have positive effects, such as enhancing a player’s capacity for multidimensional thinking in the same way that some academic courses can.
- Solution-Finding Skills
Some studies have found that young adolescents who regularly engage in strategic video game play, such as role-playing games, improve their ability to identify and implement solutions to various problems. For some people, playing video games is a great way to relieve stress and lift their spirits.
Simple, quick, and fun, games like Angry Birds and Bejeweled II never fail to lift spirits. Scientist Granic refers to this as a “fundamental emotional benefit” that young people can gain from playing video games. Games can also help kids learn to bounce back from setbacks.
- Increase Awareness of the Incremental Intelligence
Teenagers praised for their efforts while solving a puzzle or playing a game is more likely to adopt the “progressive knowledge” philosophy, which holds that you can raise one’s IQ through dedicated study and practice. In this way, video games offer a fertile environment in which kids can learn to think critically.
- Cleverness and Pinpoint Accuracy
Video games train players to think quickly on their feet and make good choices under pressure. They must always pay close attention to respond quickly to game-changing events.
- Sharpen Your Dexterity
Using a mouse and keyboard is a skill that you can hone through online gaming. They become proficient at using keyboard shortcuts to answer questions quickly.
- Additional Advantages
The use of educational video games enhances interactive learning, and adolescent empathy is bolstered through the use of pro-social video games.
The benefits can vary widely depending on the games your teen plays. Playing violent or sexually explicit video games has more drawbacks than benefits.
The Downsides of Playing Online Games
The amount of time spent playing, and the nature of the games are the primary determinants of adverse outcomes.
- Violence Among Adolescents
Aggression is a severe problem in today’s youth, one of the most disturbing effects of playing violent video games. Vulnerability to violent video games is a causal risk factor for enhanced aggressive behavior, according to a meta-analysis of more than 100 studies.
Some studies have shown a correlation between playing violent video games and decreased pro-social behavior in kids.
- Harmful Repercussions on Health
Teens who spend too much time playing video games may neglect their physical health in favor of a sedentary lifestyle. Children are more likely to become overweight as a result of this practice. Addicting video games can cause children to neglect their basic needs, like eating and sleeping. The long-term effects of the screen’s glare on the child’s eyes are also concerning.
By keeping a close eye on your kids, you can prevent these consequences from happening to them.
- Trouble Controlling Your Urge to Play Video Games
Despite not being officially recognized as a mental illness, “pathological gaming” (also known as “video game addiction”) is a hot topic in the medical community (DSM).
- Anxiety, Insomnia, Social Isolation, and Depression Are Common in Compulsive Gamers
In addition, there is an interactive relationship between these factors, making them co-morbid. Depression, anxiety, and social phobia can all develop from excessive gaming, making the child more interested in and drawn to gaming.
- Underachieving in School
Adverse effects like this are typical of gaming among young people today. Your teen’s academic performance may decrease if they spend too much time playing video games. It has been shown through research that more time spent playing video games online is correlated with worse performance in the classroom.
Recent research indicates that while 23% of non-users outperformed 47% of heavy users, those who spent less time online fared better academically.
Video Game Addiction Symptoms
Do you worry that your kid spends too much time in front of a screen? Then, keep an eye on the following symptoms:
- Acts Defensively
They are unwilling to talk to you about their gaming addiction. When questioned about how much time they spend playing video games, they become irritable. This is a wake-up call, especially if they seem indifferent to their loved ones feeling excluded from their life.
- Excessively Distracted
A teen addicted to video games will be preoccupied with the game even when not playing it. Addiction to video games is dangerous, especially among adolescents.
- Overlooks Other Important Aspects of Life
Your adolescent would rather stay in and play video games than hang out with friends or go out. There’s also a chance they’d have a bad academic performance.
- Unable to Maintain Order
Addicts typically spend hours at a time in front of the screen and struggle to break the habit. They may set out to play for 20 minutes but spend several hours there. This affects their ability to focus on schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
- Eventually Turns Into a Spendthrift
They spend all their allowance or earnings on video games and related merchandise from side gigs. They routinely spend money upgrading expensive software, hardware, and add-ons.
Addiction can profoundly affect the development of a teen’s personality. You must take action if your adolescent displays two or three behaviours above.
Development of Video Game Addiction
Many kids hooked on video games lament that they have tried to find friends but have no one to talk to. They believe that the virtual reality provided by video games effectively relieves the stress they experience in daily life.
Addiction to video games among children is not an isolated phenomenon. Those with keen eyes can easily see the downsides of video game addiction. Teachers and parents may observe a decline in academic performance, including poor grades and repeated courses.
Addicts show exhaustion and frequently nod off in class due to excessive gaming. Sometimes, they might not even submit their work on time, let alone finish it. Addiction to video games causes a decline in participation in extracurricular such as sports and social groups. Addicts to video games may withdraw from social interactions in favor of playing their games.
How to Deal With Kids’ Video Game Addiction
Addiction to video games constitutes a mental health disorder and needs to be treated. Is there a place to start when attempting to overcome this dependency? Here are some approaches to dealing with the epidemic of adolescent video game addiction.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy, which aims to alter the child’s outlook and emotional state, may also be suggested. This method is by far the most widely used for treating compulsive gaming.
Reducing gaming time and replacing negative game-related thoughts with more positive ones are part of the process. You’ll need to take action, such as rewarding the teen for obeying new rules, reminding them frequently to stop playing, and getting the adolescent involved in other activities.
- Seek the Advice of a Counselor
Take them to a therapist or sign them up for a de-addiction program if your efforts at home have failed. With counseling, one can start down the road to healing.
- Discuss With Your Adolescent
Teach your adolescent to recognize the compulsive actions they’re taking. Don’t give up hope if they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that they have a problem. Tell them you’re concerned about how long they spend playing video games. Don’t be so quick to pass judgment. Perhaps they’re too shy to speak up.
- Time Constraints
Taking away their computer or game system will not help them overcome it. They could become defiant and insist on continuing their disruptive behavior outside your house. Instead, talk to your kid about it and establish limits together. Set aside regular game time so they can enjoy it regularly. You can reduce playtime from three hours per day to two, then one, and so on.
To help your child maintain discipline, you can set an example by putting away your electronics during the designated time.
Conclusion
Video games are fantastic. Their production requires a significant investment of time, labor, and effort. They also employ a large number of individuals.
If you’ve just come off of a long and taxing week and you want to kick back, take it easy, and have some enjoyable time on the long weekend when you don’t have anything else to do, then there is no better tool for you than video games to use in this situation.
But now, if the primary thing you think of when you have some free time is video games, and you can’t help but spend hours and hours together playing them when you have a lot of other important stuff to do, then video games become a curse and could end up having a significant negative impact on your career and your relationships with friends and family. If this is the case, video games become a problem for you and could have a significant adverse effect on both of these.
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