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Impact Of Excessive Gaming On Youngsters

Playing video games is not dangerous or bad for us (specifically for young individuals) if played within boundaries. However, excessive use of video games can keep young learners away from the academic and outside world.

There are reports that show more than 90% of youngsters and minors spend their time playing virtual games for more than an hour. This is the story of almost every kid today. The craze has gone so high that even there is a huge number of online tournaments always happening worldwide.

One such site is the LOL news giving daily updates about video game tournaments. Various genres, technological advancements, and mobile gaming apps have increased the gaming business. Some prominent games, such as Call of Duty, has sold more than 1.4 million copies globally. It shows how gaming has turned out to be a big business in today’s world. Reports from various Youth Studies bodies have investigated that kids aged 11 to 16 are more involved in video games. The main question is: in what methods do the virtual games impact youngsters? The effects can be categorized both in positive and negative aspects. Yes, it is true that video games can also have an optimistic impact on youth. Do not get surprised! You will find out about that in the below points.

Enhance cognitive functions

Opposing to the standard belief, video games can improve the cognitive skills of teenagers. For instance, better visual processing, increased memory, effective allocation of focus, and great perception. Even the reports from the American Psychological Association have confirmed these cognitive functions. Scholars have found out that a meta-analysis of video games can have optimistic effects on the youth. A child can have the effective ability of thinking in a different way, similar to the dimension as some academic courses do.

Eye and Hand coordination

Some surveys indicated that youngsters could have the ability of eye-hand, visual, and spatial coordination from playing video games. If you want to play like a pro, you really need to develop these skills to be successful. For instance, players are required to maintain speed, aim, position, and directions. For that, the mind analyzes all these information and coordinates with the eyes and hands. Most of the actions are done with the gaming controller or keyboard.

Problem-solving skills

Playing video games can help the young generation in developing problem-solving skills. Playing games in which you have to build strategies can sharpen the brain. It helps in boosting decision-making skills.

Virtual games can enhance moods and decrease anxiety

Some prominent games, such as Angry Birds, are straight-forward games. It can bring quick happiness and make you relax, resulting in positive moods. Some scholars term it as ‘essential emotional advantage.’ Also, kids can cope with their fear of failure by spending some time in playing such games.

Promote incremental intelligence

Youngsters who are good at solving puzzle games can have intense progressive knowledge. Such puzzle games can now be found online too. There is a bulk of that on the internet through which one can increase his or her learning curve. In this method, virtual games can offer an essential basis for kids to attain such ideas and knowledge.

Rapid thinking and accuracy

The ongoing action in video games can prepare the players to make smart decisions in a few seconds. Besides, utter attention is needed to deal with the unexpected happenings in the game.

Deftness in improved

Playing video games improves the mobility of the hand with a controller or keyboard or mouse. Players learn new shortcuts buttons and get quick responses.

However, apart from some of the positive effects, let’s have a look at the adverse side-effects of gaming on the teenagers:

Frustration in teenagers

One of the most adverse impacts of playing virtual games is high anger, frustration, and infuriation among teenagers. More than 60% of the kids in the United States alone are found to have increased aggression due to failure in video games. Some scholars have also stated that violent games can desensitize teenagers to ferocity. It can decrease the probability of pro-social behavior.

Getting addicted to video games

Video game addiction is common in every one out of five children. The term is known as ‘pathological gaming.’ Pathological players are mostly subjected to face insomnia, depression, anxiety, and social isolation. They stay awake late nights playing video games just to win the battle against their opponent. These elements can impact each other. Hence, pathological video games can lead to anxiety, depression, stress, or social phobia. In such a situation, a child is more involved in the gaming experience. Just like smoking, it is an addiction.

Worst academic performance

Poor academic results are the foremost negative effects of playing video games. Playing addictive for extensive hours can badly affect the academic results of the youngster in his school or college. Researches have investigated that spending long hours applying video games directly proportional to poor academic performance. More than 51% of the online players have got unexpected low grades.

The negative impact of health

Spending long hours playing virtual games can have a negative influence on mental as well as physical health. Sitting in one place for hours decreases one’s mobility. This causes a decrease in physical activities, such as playing football or swimming. Thus, there is a high risk of childhood obesity. Even there are times that kids skip their lunch or dinner trying to complete their battle in the video games. They have a fear that if they leave for a single second, their opponent will defeat them. Moreover, the consistent brightness from the screen can also impair the eyesight of the children. This is the reason why, in today’s era, we are seeing more minors wearing glasses.

The Final Thoughts

Parents are required to keep an eye on their children’s activities. They need to monitor and observe how much hours their kids are spending in front of the big screens. The elders must also realize their compulsive behavior. Do not act to be judgmental all the time and give your children warnings before taking some strict actions. Your minors might feel humiliated or embarrassed. That will result in more frustration and aggression. Do not just take away their gaming tools because that is not a solution. They might turn into adamant.

The best way is to sit with your kids and discuss with them, setting time limits of playing video games. Assign specific but limited time slots for them in which they can play the virtual games. Also, observe that they are not playing some extensive violent games. Moreover, if such steps still do not work, try taking them to a therapist.