Spending hours of playing shooting and racing games, wasting the precious study
time
, suffering from impaired vision and hearing loss at an early age, developing concentration difficulties are some of the ill effects that children these days suffer because they are so glued to playing games on the
computer
. The effect of playing
computer
games might have some advantages, but the long list of disadvantages and negative consequences outweighs the positive side and it cannot be ignored.
Firstly
, kids these days are highly addicted to online games and the harm caused is immense. They aren't only spending hours and sleepless nights, but
also
develop bad lifestyle and food habits due to
this
. The World Health Organization in June 2018 declared gaming addiction as a mental health disorder. Video games can be addictive for kids, and the kids’ addiction to video games increases their depression and anxiety levels. Addicted kids
also
exhibit social phobias.The addiction has serious harmful effects, especially on a
child
's memory, concentration power, learning abilities and food habit. Playing games for long hours, mainly cause lots of stress and impairs the power of judgement.
Secondly
, children and naive and gullible. They easily fall prey to these giant
game
marketing industries and harm themselves. Certain games have been banned in different countries after children died by playing those.
For example
, recently a
game
launched by a Russian company called ''Blue Whale'' has caused death of teenagers in many different parts of the world. Children were hypnotised while playing, and were forced into believing the commands of the animation
game
character.
Initially
the commands involved completing simple tasks, but slowly over the days, the tasks became more and more dangerous and final task pressured the
child
into committing suicide.
This
game
caused an uproar not only in Russia, but
also
in Mexico, China, India, America and Europe.
Finally
the
game
designer was arrested, but many innocent lives were already lost before the
game
was internationally banned. The American Psychological Association (APA) concluded that there is a “consistent correlation” between violent
game
use and aggression. The effects of playing games on a young mind can be extremely dangerous and life threatening at times.
Thirdly
, while some games can prove life threatening, there are other games which have caused accidents as well as other complications. We all must have heard of the famous Japanese
game
, Pokemon Go. Soon after its release,
this
game
achieved huge popularity internationally. Even though it was super entertaining and safe to play, but it
also
caused a lot of chaos and accidents. Bringing the virtual and the real world together, Pokemon Go was the
first
of its kind. There were several instances of car accidents, people tripping and falling down, kids getting knocked over, children boarding trains, buses and ending up in unknown places just by chasing a virtual character called Pokemon.
For example
, a few months ago a young boy in the city of Peru, boarded a long distance bus and ended up in some different unknown town, because he was super engrossed in chasing a virtual cartoon character. After a lot of hassle and complaints, he was safely brought home by the police.
Such
grave are the effects of games on the naive minds of children.
While it is
also
true that not all games are bad. Some games like Puzzle solving, Soduku, Chess, helps in sharpening the intellect, multitasking ability and encourages the thinking power of the kids. Kids can come up with creative ideas and ways to solve the puzzle.
Nevertheless
, we do need to realize that these games are not that popular among children who mostly opt for shooting, racing, cooking and other meaningless games which stresses the eyes and minds.
Finally
, to conclude, I totally agree and acknowledge the harmful effects that
computer
games have on children. At the same
time
, I believe not all games have the same detrimental outcomes. There are games which are helpful and helps in building cognitive thinking and intellectual abilities. Children are gullible and easily believe what their brains are fed, so it is very important that parents monitor their
child
all the
time
. It is on adults to make the decision of selecting the right
game
and discouraging the
child
from spending excessive
time
on computers. While playing
computer
games can have bad consequences on children, but if parents take care of the matter and supervise their children at all times, the situation can improve.