People have mixed opinions about video games. Some people claim it’s beneficial whereas others absolutely despise the concept of video gaming. Video games get a lot of criticism from the media, but they do have some benefits. The main trick is to have the right balance of good content and maintain appropriate limits. Video games should benefit the child's life, not completely take over it.
Pros of video games:
Many video games teach kids good teamwork, and how to come up with different strategies. Online games that let kids play with their friends often require them to work as a team and divide the objective into individual tasks to beat whatever level they are supposed to beat.
Video games also help us improve our reasoning and ability to solve problems. They help us make split-second decisions, multitask, and process information more quickly.
Also, there are concerns about video games resulting in kids to stay indoors for the whole day. But there are some new games, Pokemon Go is one such example, which requires kids to go outdoors and find items in the game.
However, with video games having its benefits, there are a few harmful effects if proper caution is not taken.
Cons of video games:
World Health Organization added 'gaming disorder' in the list of International Classification of Diseases. This is because most of the games are addictive and playing them releases dopamine into our system, which gives the player a sense of pleasure, and as a result, he would want to keep on gaming.
Kids playing online games can easily spend time with their friends, after school, without even leaving their homes. But a virtual get together cannot act as a replacement for real-life interaction.
Signs of Video Game Abuse:
• Not sleeping enough, resulting in fatigue.
• Free time is fully used only for playing video games.
• Irritation and restlessness when not playing video games.
• Disinterest and lack of enthusiasm in other activities.
Role of parents in Video Games
Video games can play a positive role in children’s lives, but parents need to be there to help set limits.
If you’re tensed that your child might be a bit too obsessed with games, then you should talk to him/her. Being sensitive and nonjudgmental is the key to this solution. You should try to agree on a reasonable amount of time the child could play video games and the remaining time should be spent socializing and participating in family life. If reckless actions are taken (for example, immediately confiscating video games and grounding him/her), it might lead to an awfully bad situation
Keep one thing in mind, less time should be spent on video games than how much kids need to devote to exercising, socializing, studying, etc.
As a proper video-gamer myself, I too have faced some of the harmful symptoms of video game abuse as mentioned above, but that was only when I played for a huge amount of time. Later I started regulating the duration I played, and the situation automatically became appealing for both my parents and me.
The main trick is to play games as a source of entertainment and not to treat it as a source of life. In other words, it should not be a major necessity in the child’s life so that it does not take over him/her.
Are video games a headache or headache reliever? That is up to you to decide.