Today many children spend a lot of time playing computer games and little time on sports. Why is it? Is it a positive or negative development?

These days, it is omnipresent that

children

are addicted to technology and tend to spend hours playing

computer

games

and sacrifice their

time

for doing

sports

. The reasons why

this

the phenomenon can be ascribed are manifold and I think it is a negative development. Of all the reasons why

children

spend so much

time

playing

computer

games

, probably the most significant reason is that they can enjoy the

excitement

.

Computer

games

have allowed

children

to get their pulse racing and their adrenaline pumping even when they are just sitting in front of the

computer

.

For example

, players are often required to complete some tasks within a certain

time

limit, where the

excitement

level is amplified by a

sense

of urgency. Another paramount factor is that

computer

games

can give

children

a

sense

of accomplishment and they become easily addicted to them. A lot of

computer

games

are equipped with the “level up” element, where they usually start off easy but

then

the difficulty gradually increases and players can earn “rewards”, like unlocking special elements and acquiring new skills, when they reach a certain level.

This

lures

children

to keep playing the

games

until they can reach the ultimate level. The

excitement

and

sense

of accomplishment drive

children

to splurge

time

on playing

computer

games

and ignore doing

sports

. In my opinion, the aforementioned trend is without a doubt a negative development.

Children

tend to sit in front of the

computer

all day long and are reluctant to get involved in other social or

sports

activities.

For example

,

children

rather glue their eyes to the

computer

screen than participate in outdoor

sports

– obesity and cardiovascular diseases among

children

are not uncommon due to the lack of exercise. Not only are

sports

indispensable to their physical health, but they are

also

a crucial element in developing

children

’s social skills. Many

sports

activities like football, basketball and volleyball involves teamwork and communication.

Children

’s social life will

also

be reduced when they spend too much

time

surfing the Internet because they are involved in less face-to-face direct communication with other people. Sacrificing exercise

time

for playing

computer

games

is detrimental to

children

’s health, both physically and mentally. Under

this

line of thinking, the main reasons why

children

are addicted to

computer

games

are they can bring about mental

excitement

and a

sense

of accomplishment.

However

,

this

has led to a decrease in exercise

time

among

children

, which is undoubtedly a negative trend and it is hoped that

children

can spend more

time

doing

sports

in the future.