Videogames and their affects on younger children: is it bad?

[Steven2839]

Personally, I remember when i was young and loved to play videogames. They were a great pass time and very fun. After only a few weeks of gaming, however, my performance at school had begun to suffer. I wasn't doing as well in class and PE was becoming more of a challenge. Obviously it's ok to game, but I stopped and quite quickly my performance at school had gotten better. Other children in my class who more or less only played videogames did terribly in tests and got very low scores in their GCSEs. I'm glad I quit when I did.

[BCA6010]

I would generally disagree based on when I was your age and younger, but gaming has also changed quite a bit to be a lot less engaging and more of a time-consumer, which in turn believably numbs the brain. It's also much less social than it used to be, which is partially due to other factors, but it matters. Back in the N64 and first generation Xbox days for example, you'd still have to go over to friends' houses to play games together, and more often than not, you'd end up doing other stuff too. However, even my most cynical takedown of what gaming does to young minds isn't even in the same league as how bad social media is.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I think it might have been a bit difference in my generation since we played video games on Nintendo, but generally more socially (playing at each other's houses) and often balanced that out with study and playing sports outside.

The video games back then were relatively simple though like Super Mario. They weren't the types of games you could invest hundreds or thousands of hours into and get extremely addicted.

I suspect there just needs to be more focus on balance though since we have so many distractions these days with endless streaming content, the most sophisticated video games, social media, etc.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

* different, sorry

[michael3478]

The worst thing i can think of is siting for hours is terrible for your physical health. Sitting for hours can cause the blood in your legs to pool making you more susceptible to blood clots. But gaming is fine as long as you are at a healthy weight, exercise every day, and take frequent breaks in between gaming sessions. That being said, i don't think it has much impact on your mental health other then losing valuable time focusing on more important things in life like education and building wealth. Although a short gaming session can certainly be a good antidepressant. So firing up a game once in a while is fine but don't get addicted to it.

[normalice]

I think leaving the impression that entertainment and validation can be coupled is the biggest risk they pose, but that damage is already done. The entire republican party seems to be taken in by the idea that the narrarive of grievance that was sold to them for entertainment purposes must be validated with real legislative policy changes and, failing that (or perhaps especially if it succeds?), political violence.

[Anonymous]

Of course to fly their drones. Of course they are all so desensitised from violence in movies and video games as well as drugged up on ritalin and antidepressants that they will have no problem dropping bombs from a drone flying at 50,000ft on a school with no guilty conscience.

[BoopBoopBeep]

studies show increased eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and problem solving skills as a result of playing video games... so then it comes down to time management

[RebelinSteel]

I’ve played since really young and still do, if anything they let me chill out going through uni and also chill out time after a hard day or so at work. It will vary between people.

[SotiCoto]

You didn't set your age when you set up your profile, did you?

Anyway... no. Games don't necessarily have a negative effect on children, nor any other age group. That is just a you-problem.

[ItsMariusz]

It's really beneficial if you control your children, like their screen time and what they actually do in those video games.

[handsomelad70]

Video games shouldn't be a child's (or anyone's) sole focus. Parents must set limits on their minor children's gaming time and sites.

[argot]

Maybe you're mentally handicapped.

[MaterialisticMember]

yes heard some bad stories