Are Video Games Really Worth It?

Have you ever began playing a game telling yourself that you will only play for 10, 20, 30 minutes and 3 hours later, you wonder how in the world time flew by so quick? Video games have this effect on you. It’s just so exciting. You get a thrill from passing a level, and after you pass, you want to now try and pass the next one. Or if you’re playing with other people, you want to beat them. You want to be the winner.

But is it really worth it? What benefit does all that time spent playing these games bring you? Not only is it easy, for us adults to get sucked in to this, can you imagine how much easier it is for kids, who have much less self control? What kind of childhood memories are they creating by spending all their free time at a computer or other screens. And its not just about the memories, but the negative effects on overall health and the quality of life are just not worth it.

Sure there could be a few good things about it, like fast thinking skills, multitasking skills, fitting in, challenging yourself, and being determined. But the risks far, and I mean far, outweigh the benefits.

Here’s a few negative effects of playing video games:

1. Becoming addicted: This is a big one. Kids get so into it that they want to do nothing else. All they want is to play and when they’re not playing, they think about the next time they will be. I played candy crush at one point and would use every free minute I had to try to pass a level.
2. Creates bad social skills: Kids don’t know how to interact well with humans, because there is no conversing going on when you’re playing a game. In my hygiene job, I’ve had many child/teen patients that I just couldn’t keep a conversation with. They just didn’t care to talk or everything was boring to them. And when I’d ask what they did on their free time, most of them say they play video games.
3. Becoming desensitized to violence: A lot of these games have so much violence in them and kids get used to seeing it all time and not just seeing but also participating that they no longer feel like its that bad. How scary is that?!
4. Constant state of stress: Games are especially thrilling when there’s action in them. Those are the ones kids are most drawn to. But with action comes stress. The feeling of being on edge. They always have to be on the lookout for a bad guy, or they have to run away from someone or hide and try not to be found. Do you honestly think this type of stuff is relaxing? Imagine yourself constantly trying to not get killed. And yes, it’s just a game, but kids get so into it, that it almost becomes real. Try to get them to turn away for a second while they’re in the middle. There is no way. They can’t get shot, they can’t lose.
5. Not doing good in school: The constant stress makes it hard to focus on schoolwork which leads to bad grades, which then leads to frustrated parents.
6. No desire for other things: Video games take away the opportunity to be creative. There is no requirement for you to come up with ideas of your own. Every option is laid out for you, you just need to chose. Therefore, when you ask kids to go do something fun, that does not involve a screen, they can’t come up with anything. They don’t know what kind of hands on things they like to do. Everything is boring. Nothing else is more fun for them. They get their rush from the games and they don’t know what else is out there, neither do they care.

Some other effects include

• Becoming more aggressive
• Having increased depression, anxiety, ADHD
• Having a warped sense of right and wrong
• Confusing reality vs fantasy
• Exposure to online dangers
• Taught wrong values
• Poor health

Yes, there are good games that are totally fine for kids to enjoy, like something educational or the exercise ones but these kind can easily be played in real life, hands on type of stuff, with real humans and are so much more beneficial. No screen can beat hands on activities and interaction with other people and especially you, the parent.

I’m not completely against video games. Some, yes, are terrible and disturbing with such gruesome images, that even I would be getting nightmares after, and there are a lot of them out there. Those I would absolutely not allow my kids to be exposed to. But even the good ones take away time and can easily be played for hours at a time.

So for me, I chose to just not have any of it. I don’t want that temptation and all the risks that come with it to be available. And because my kids don’t have that option, they actually have no other choice but to get creative and come up with something to do. Now my kids are home schooled. Which means they are home ALL DAY(most days, at least). Imagine how much time they have available in their day, way more than kids that go to school, to come up with something to do. Yet they still do! I joke around saying, “My kids are so busy, they don’t have time for video games.” But it’s true. And they are happy that way.

Worried about kids not fitting in with the other kids in school? Maybe they will be laughed at. Or maybe you will be known as the mean mom who doesn’t allow “fun”. Who cares about what those other kids think?! Those kids are not concerned about your child’s well being. And its okay if your child is different. You wouldn’t tell them to be dumber if they get bullied for being a “nerd”. You wouldn’t encourage them to not be so good if they’re being called a “goodie two shoes”. So don’t allow these games to affect the well being of your child just to fit in. It’s not worth it.