'Playing computer games is a waste of time. Children should not be allowed to play them.' To what extent to you agree or disagree with the statement?

In actuality,

computer

games

are the most popular leisure activity among youngsters. Obesity and a spike in depression cases in teenagers have brought to attention the debate of whether these should be restricted. From my viewpoint, gaming should not be prohibited for

children

, but rather it should be regulated by parents and guardians as they can be prejudicial in the long term.

Computer

games

can be beneficial for several reasons.

Firstly

, they should not be over generalised and in ,

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reality they come in a wide variety of categories. Some provide the opportunity to sharpen creative thinking and problem-solving skills in young users, for ,example puzzle and strategy

games

can be challenging and should be encouraged to be played regularly.

Secondly

, teenagers who have played online from an early age have proven to perform better at learning new languages. The cause lies in the multiple languages in which

games

are developed so they can target players from different nationalities. Despite these upsides, it is often argued that allowing

children

to play online

games

can threaten their physical and mental health. First of all, many young players have reported poor dietary habits leading to obesity, which has been reported a 12% increase in people aged 5 to 15 years old over the

last

decade. If

children

continue playing and eating on their computers,

this

proportion will rise to alarming levels in the next few years.

Moreover

,

computer

games

can isolate and disconnect teenagers from interacting with real people and affect their daily performance. As an example, some students who start to play online often lose motivation in academic and extracurricular activities reflecting poor results in their school grades. In conclusion,

computer

games

should not be prohibited for

children

but they must be regulated in frequency and quality. Personally,

games

that are based on violence and negative social messages should be restricted for young players, whilst those that can instigate cognitive skills are beneficial in a child's development.