How Far Into the World Of Online Gaming…?

When Karl’s parents approached me , he had already been spending over 12 hours a day, playing video games.

Sitting there between his parents, fighting the gaming fatigue written all over his face, Karl is one of the many teens I have been meeting in the last few months, who refuse to be parted from his gaming console.

‘Not sure how it gotten so bad, he’s become irritable; yells at us if we insist he shut off the game and gets frequently pulled up by his teachers for poor attendance’. His father spoke quietly as he put an arm around his son. ‘We are clueless how to handle this, ‘ he adds.

The Covid crisis, and the subsequent ‘stay at home’ ruling began a mass exodus onto online gaming portals

Amidst all the anxiety and uncertainty that the corona virus brought along, parents did not have the mental bandwidth to regulate the time spent by kids online. Video games became a pleasant distraction for many teens who were otherwise cooped up at home with nothing to do; Also the wide array of games available and ample free time at their disposal drove these youngsters to gradually spend longer hours on their devices, either gaming, or on other online platforms like You Tube , Netflix and the likes.

Prior to this, teens were busy in schools and colleges for most of the day, but now they were spending all their vacant hours online. If they weren’t actively playing, then they were watching gaming tournaments on various you tube channels.

The question here is — Is gaming all bad? If not, then how much gaming is too much ?

Gaming responsibly is known to have various cognitive benefits — like improving coordination, concentration and problem solving in children and adults.

The problem arises when gaming begins to interfere with the child’s daily life. When he/she begins to prioritize gaming over all other activities and interests, so much so that, school, friends and all other relationships get neglected, and attempts by parents to keep the child away from his console is met with irritation, anger or sadness.

It has been observed, that when kids spend a lot of time online, their behavior goes through subtle yet distinct changes. The child gets quieter, prefers to be left alone and most of his interactions are with the others in the gaming circuit rather than real friends who he can meet . In multiplayer games, the attention they receive from other online players makes them feel accepted and gives them a sense of belonging.

One of the kids I had met had gotten very skilled in the game; the confidence and admiration he got through this portal made him not want to attend school. ‘What’s the necessity to pursue school when I can earn well and stand out as a gamer’ he argues

Many games are designed to keep the child immersed in playing them. Achievements that take them to different levels makes it difficult for them to switch off ,thus they end up playing for hours without realising. Besides this, I’ve observed in these kids, a feeling of overwhelm by normal routine work- The time spent in school work shrinks ;Their grades begin to slip; assignments are not turned in on time and they exhibit disinterest in all other activities except online entertainment.

Considering that online gaming is one of the fastest growing trend among teens all over the world, it’s not possible nor advisable to keep kids away from their digital devices

To deter kids from compulsively spending most of their waking hours gaming, one needs to help them create a balance between their online and offline activities

A few tips to consider

Monitor and Watch your child play. It would be great if you could join in and ask him/her to help you learn the game. Be a part of his gaming world just like you are a part of his other sports. This way you learn about the games they play, who they play with, thus building an atmosphere of trust and positivity with respect to his/her online activities.

Check the ratings of the games they play, making sure they are age appropriate.

Talk about what kind of information can and cannot be shared online. Help them understand the dangers of sharing personal details like age, name, location with strangers.

Help them set healthy limits. Discuss how much time he/she would engage in online gaming so that the child doesn’t stray from enjoying a game to being obsessed by the game.

Involve the child in other activities around the house. As a family spend time together doing fun activities like board games or even scheduling a video call with some cousins etc.

Screen time late into the evening can contribute to not getting enough of consistent and restorative sleep. Discuss with your child habits that improve his/her sleep hygiene, keeping in mind the importance of having 7–8 hours of undisturbed sleep daily.

Make exercising a priority — outdoor activities for at least 30mins a day should be encouraged. Join in, thus having some exclusive time with him/her.

If all this doesn’t help, talk to a mental health professional to help you help your child.