Can Playing Video Games Like PUBG Make Your Child Hostile?

The author discusses the pros and cons of playing video games and how does it affect children in the long run.

Twenty years ago if someone asked me if I would want to play a video game, it would be an opportunity seized and conquered. But, what we played then is nothing compared to what children play these days.

Recently at a meeting, I was asked if social media was a natural occurrence in our lives. It took me a while to answer that question. I was torn between deciding whether it was really needed or we could do without it?

Imagine, people going for holistic experiences for their mental and spiritual health. Social Media is indeed a great platform to showcase your talent, learn things you haven’t learnt or want to learn but didn’t know how! Everything has its pros and cons. This article isn’t about the pros and consof technology.

Coming back to video games. I was recently asked to play PUBG. Woah!! I can almost hear the sigh of exhilaration some of you just took. Yes, the insanity for PUBG is humongous. The reason I say insanity is because people derive fun and pleasure out of being in an unknown battleground and killing others.

I know this post may receive a lot of flak for even penning down this article, however it needs to be said.

I know of many parents who talk about their kids being aggressive, short tempered, ill mannered, secluded, sometimes even socially withdrawn. They have, at some point or the other mentioned that their children play a lot of video games, especially the ones that involve violence. Playing online games is something that I believe is a permissible act, as long as your child is having fun and sometimes learning too.

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I would like to quote something I read off the internet-

“Video games change your brain,” according to University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn Green. Playing games alter the brain’s physiological structure in the same manner as do learning to read, navigating using a map, or playing the piano. Much like exercise can build muscle, the effective combination of concentration and rewarding surges of neurotransmitters like dopamine strengthen neural circuits which can build the brain.

This can happen if your activity is moderated just the way a certain amount of exercise is good for your body in a day. However, like anything done in excess is harmful similarly, playing too much PUBG can have the following negative effects.

Make you violent and aggressive – Playing violent video games can hamper your mood and emotional stability and make you aggressive, violent and can cause problems with your behavior.

Cause Vision Problems – Now since this game is available on the phone too, it can have some serious repercussions on your eye sight and can also lead to problems like headaches, vertigo etc.

Social Withdrawal – Every person who is engrossed in an activity longer than they should be, can eventually withdraw themselves from the social circuit. They want to ensure that they are ahead of the other players and don’t get killed. They may even want to collect some awards while playing the game. This can make them withdraw from their daily rituals too.

Time Imbalance – Since it requires you to constantly fight for survival, it is bound to be time consuming and may cause havoc to your work and personal life schedules.

Addictive – Anything in proportion is good however when the proportion disrupts, it can cause addiction. If you have played this game once, you cannot stop at just one game! You would want to play multiple times. All you need to do is strike a balance.

Technology, I believe has advanced for our development and not destruction. Let’s use it wisely and for our benefits.

Image Source: Pexels

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