Video games affect your health both positive and negative.
Today, children and teenagers love video games with all their heart.
They will do anything to be allowed to play their favorite games.
However, we are all concerned about the effects of gaming on our children’s health.
Do video games affect your health?
Too much of something is not good.
Many studies have shown that there are many benefits of playing video games.
Some of these benefits include improving hand-to-eye coordination, decision-making skills, problem-solving skills and much more.
The fact is that kids should not spend too much time playing video games.
Gaming without involving other activities such as exercises and active play can affect your health.
Children who spend all their free time gaming can gain a lot of weight which can affect their health.
Also, overdoing video games can affect areas such as friendship.
This is an important aspect of your children’s growth and development.
They also believe that kids who play violent games for a long time can act aggressively.
However , there are also many benefits of gaming.
Playing games for a few hours a day or several times a week can affect your health positively.
You need to choose quality games and limit screen time that includes a computer, TV, tablet, smartphone, video games and other devices.
The best duration to spend playing a digital game is from 2 to 3 hours per day.
Ways video games can affect your health
Since video games are everywhere, it is important for parents, teenagers, and children to understand how gaming can affect their health.
Today, children play simple video games when they are young.
And to many homes, the gaming addiction has become a big problem.
To help you understand the effects of gaming, here are ways how video games can affect your health.
Positive gaming
1. Escape from anxiety–Many people, children, and adults use their hobbies to escape life issues.
Happily, studies show that playing video games can help people suffering from mental issues such anxiety.
Gaming is a good mean of distraction that can help depressed people.
2. Improves general mood–according to research, playing games can enhance an individual’s overall mood.
Keep in mind that gaming is a fun activity that distracts players.
It gets people out of their pothole.
Apart from that, gaming can teach people how to cope with stress, depression, anger, and sadness.
3. Promotes motivation–another positive effect of gaming is that it promotes motivation and helps players maintain focus.
First, gaming is an activity that encourages people to keep ongoing even after losing.
There is also the social aspect where characters in the game can help one another, and can also experience a fantasy world.
Again, there are options of making their own choices, working together and developing their own strategies.
This motivation can also translate to real-world situations where students can approach their courses as they would in a video game.
4. Improves self-esteem–nowadays, many modern games allow players to be who or do whatever they want when playing.
This means gamers can be more like their game characters and do what they like.
This is so important as it can boost their self-esteem, confidence, and self-assurance.
5. Help to create relationships–today, the gaming community has grown to become one big family.
It has grown in size and there are many social online games that have thriving communities.
Online video games have allowed people from all over the world to come together to showcase their passion for the game.
Based on research, over 70 percent of players play games with friends, either competitively or cooperatively.
6. Promotes exercise–active video games particularly those that have motion control devices provide great opportunities for fitness.
Negative gaming
1. Muscle pain–Many game systems require gamers to sit in front of the screen for many hours.
This can lead to muscle pain, especially in the neck and shoulders.
2.Obesity–people of all ages who play video games sitting down for too long are at risk of being obese.
According to recent findings, around one-third of obese people in America have gained weight because of a poor lifestyle and diet.
Studies show that gaming is the number one cause of obesity in kids, aged between three and twelve.
3. Aggressive behavior–there has been a long debate whether playing violent video games can influence children to act aggressively.
Some findings have disputed while others show there is a relationship between gaming and real violence.
Young minds that are exposed to violent images for a long time may become aggressive.
This can be dangerous to the family, institutions, and society at large.
4. Lack of vitamin D–Based on health studies, seven out of ten kids are vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D is essential, and they absorb it from sunlight.
Unluckily, since most children spend a lot of time indoors playing games, they may lack this vital element.
This can also affect their growth and development.
5. Changes in physical appearance–gaming has been associated with changes in physical appearance.
According to doctors, kids who spend many hours playing video games are likely to develop black rings under their eyes.
They have also confirmed it that gamers can suffer from displacement of the shoulder blade from poor posture.
6. Sleeping deprivation–another negative effect of gaming is that hardcore players can spend many hours playing their favorite games.
And when people are addicted to gaming, one thing they ignore is sleep.
Instead of reducing the hours of playing games, they reduce their sleeping hours.
Lack of sleep can be bad for your health if it’s a continuous trend.
Summary
Video games can affect your health, but it really depends on the player.
For gaming and health, it’s not all that bad.
There are many positive effects of gaming for kids.
However, it all depends on the video games played and the amount of game time.
Also, there are many games that are educational and can help gamers improve various skills.
The most important thing is balance and moderation.
As a parent, always pay attention to the games your child plays.
Teach them to be responsible by assigning duties and limit their game time so they can focus on the important things in life.
External Resources
KidsHealth.org, Are Video Games Bad for Me? Retrieved on 8/17/2020.
Last Updated on August 17, 2020 by Tony