How Video Games Influence Social Problems?

Video games have been with humanity as far back as early 1950. Believe it or not, they have played a considerable role in shaping and molding human interactions/relationships. However, there’s rarely anything these days with advantages that don’t have apparent disadvantages as well.

Addiction to video games, especially best online casino in canada games, is a real thing and is a global phenomenon that has been seen to cause students and working-class people to garner disappointing grades and underperform at work. Uncontrolled video-gaming and addictive gambling have been realized to be the cause of serious psychological problems that include panic, depression, and social phobia. It is noteworthy that this is not a mere claim but one supported with facts and figures which we can see in society every day.

Realities About Video Games Consumption

It is noteworthy that, more often than not, video games are created in a bid to serve as a form of recreation/relaxation for kids and adults alike. However, being kids, there’s a limit to how much one can discern between gaming reality and the real world. In fact, it is not only common amidst kids as some adults get carried away with the video games they play and hope to recreate the video games moves/action in their day-to-day activities forgetting that the games they play are just that, games and not the reality.

It is therefore not difficult to associate games played with characters exhibited by kids and some adults alike. In other words, there exists a clear link between the action of some people and the games they play. Children exposed to games containing a high level of violence tend to recreate the scenes they watch on their peers/contemporaries either as an innocent imitation or in a bid to control/subdue their mates.

Also, video games tend to have main actors/characters (especially the action/arcade games) around whom the game is centred. While these characters are usually admirable for their unique character traits and extraordinary strength and powers, some people (especially younger persons) might get carried away by this and hope to recreate the stunts they see in these video games in real life. Not only do they fail to realize it is unrealistic, but they also expose themselves to unnecessary and avoidable dangers and risks.

Another issue of concern that has been raised is the fact that many believe that video games make the players antisocial. This stems from the observation that active gamers tend to be loners as they’re solely in love with their games’ consoles and refuse to be drawn into any form of social interaction.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games

To proceed, one must not forget that uncontrolled/unrestricted use of video games would likely take its toll on the player in one way or another. Too much of everything is dangerous, and this is applied to video games as well. While it is undeniable that video games have their obvious benefits, especially in building social skills, mental stimulation, and could be the right way of enjoying one’s leisure time. Excessive playing time can cause some damaging side effects to the player – take, for example, problems with eyes due to long period strains. Asides from the toll it might have on the length and quality of sleep of active players, video games tend to be much more addictive.

It is easy to forget that not all video games fall into the combat/war/bloodshed categories, and there is a handful of games that have no iota of violence whatsoever in them. Nonetheless, these games still tend to be ever addictive and harmful to the players in the long run. In effect, they destroy the players’ social skills, make them oblivious of their surrounding reality, and even expose them to obvious health risks e.g. obesity, migraine, etc.

Play Video Games Safely

Although it would be a hasty generalization to conclude that video games are wholly or outright bad, yet, one can’t deny that if not properly controlled, the disadvantages tend to outnumber the advantages. Over the years, many habits, slang, culture and behaviours portrayed by kids and youth can be found in the movies they watch, the music they listen to, the things they see around them including the actions they see in the video games they play.

People who have tried to criticize these video games in times past might have done so with a monotonous belief of video games making kids insolent and addicts. However, this view is not correct as there are a lot of popular games that actually instill proper habits in the viewers. One cannot deny the existence of video games that instill admirable qualities in their viewers and are at the same time competitive and fun. And with technological advancements, games have emerged that are recreational as well as academic.

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