Exploring the Detrimental Effects of Gaming Addiction on Children

This essay delves into the pervasive issue of gaming addiction, specifically focusing on its detrimental effects on children and adolescents. Drawing on research from various scholars, the essay highlights the potential for addiction, the negative impacts on mental and physical health, and the risks associated with excessive gaming. The analysis includes discussions on the influence of consumer culture, the role of parental control, and the potential for real-world problems such as gambling addiction. The essay emphasizes the importance of recognizing the signs of addiction and the need for limitations on gaming time to mitigate these risks. It provides a comprehensive overview of the issue, supported by references to key research articles, and underscores the urgent need for awareness and responsible gaming habits.

Impact of Gaming Addiction in Children or Adults
The consumerist culture that enshrouds and envelopes the mainstream U.S society has
infused a new deadly habit among the American children. Consumerism has instigated the rise of
the virtual and this has paved the way for the emergence of computer games as one of the
primary choices of today’s American children. Though some scholars have argued that computer
gaming can improve a child’s intelligence; the series of negative impacts that gaming addiction
can bring upon children is a pointer to the fact that rather than being beneficial, computer gaming
has actually emerged as a bane for children and adolescents.
Emphasizing the negative impact of gaming addiction on both children and adults, in the
research article, “Addiction of Electronic Media in Children: A Major Problem,” Yadav and
Kaur (2016) has suggested that over indulgence in computer gaming can actually become an
addiction which becomes hard for an individual to give up in adulthood too. The researchers
have said that excessive use of technology in daily life in the form of virtual entertainment has
also contributed to the rise in the rate of female victimization. From the opinion of Yadav and
Kaur (2016) one might draw a conclusion that computer gaming promotes many of those wrong
habits in a male child which, in the long-run, can become harmful for the female population.
Hence, considering such an important fact it can be said that gaming addiction can render
disastrous impacts on children.
In another research article, “Regulating Video Games: Must Government Mind Our
Children?,” Thierer (2003), the director of telecommunication studies at Cato Institute, declared
that government regulation of video games (infused with violence) can only be a success if
parents take the control of the gaming choice of their children. Even though government
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regulation might draw a thin line between gaming and addiction; ultimately it is the parents’
responsibility to keep vigilance on what the child is playing and if it is turning towards addiction.
Hence, it can be said that the fact that computer gaming can turn into a dangerous addiction is
undeniable and almost universally accepted. Moreover, in another important research article,
“Psychiatric Impacts of Video Games, Internet Addiction on Children,” Dingle and Kothari
(2015) referring to a real-life case has strived to depict the severely negative impact of computer
gaming addiction on the victim. The researchers have conveyed that the rate of use of internet-
based gaming by young males have risen over the past few years and such a rise can be
disastrous for the society as this would tend to impact negatively on the psychology of those
young men who are continuously exposed to violent computer games.
Conveying the negative impacts of computer game addiction, in the article, “Identifying
Video Game Addiction in Adolescents and Children,” Fisher (1994) has suggested that some
arcade video games have the potential to make the players addicted to real-life gambling, putting
their social and financial wellbeing at stake. What Fisher (1994) has opined is that; unrestrained
access to Internet makes children and young adults more prone to arcade game exposures, and
exposures to games like gambling eventually infuse in the addicts an urge to employ the gaming
strategies in real-life. Hence, one can see quite clearly why computer game addiction is gradually
emerging as a menace to the American society. Furthermore, in the article, “Effect of addiction
to Computer Gamers on Physical and Mental health of Female and Male Students of Guidance
School in city of Isfahan,” Zamani, Chashmi, and Hedayati (2009) have pointed out that there is
an intricate relationship between computer gaming addiction and deterioration in the physical
and psychological health of the addicts. What the researchers have claimed is that; computer
game addiction makes children more alienated and isolated from the mainstream society making
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them more prone to insomnia and different other related ailments (Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati,
2009).
In conclusion, several research studies have pointed out that there is an intricate
relationship between computer/video game addiction and deterioration in the psychological and
physical health of children and adolescents. Though many people have argued that computer
gaming can be fun in moderation; the series of negative impacts that gaming addiction can bring
upon children is critical. As a computer gamer myself, I believe that computer games should be
enjoyed either by yourself or with a group of friends, yet there should be limitations to how
much of your time is spent on this activity.
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References
Dingle D Arden & Kothari Jay, (2015), “Psychiatric Impacts of Video Games, Internet Addiction
on Children.” Psychiatry Advisor, Retrieved from:
http://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/childadolescent-psychiatry/psychiatric-impacts-of-
video-games-internet-addiction-on-children/article/396984/
Fisher, Sue, (1994), “Identifying Video Game Addiction in Adolescents and Children.”
Pergamon, Addictive Behaviors, 19. Retrieved from:
http://scholar.google.co.in/scholar_url?url=
http://docshare01.docshare.tips/files/18995/189950789.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=
AAGBfm3TFTojPX1DekC58cAfFNo4Y9UOcw&nossl=1&oi=scholarr&ved=0ahUKEw
jX j_rhl9jUAhXFgI8KHXQ1DPEQgAMIIygBMAA
Thierer, D Adam, (2003), “Regulating Video Games: Must Government Mind Our Children?”
Cato Institute, Retrieved from:
https://www.cato.org/publications/techknowledge/regulating-video-games-must-
government-mind-our-children
Yadav J S & Kaur S, (2016), “Addiction of Electronic Media in Children: A Major Problem”.
Indian Psychological Foundation, Retrieved from: http://www.ipsf.in/ADDICTION
%20OF%20ELECTRONIC%20MEDIA%20IN%20CHILDREN.php
Zamani E, Chashmi M, Hedayati N. (2009), “ Effect of addiction to Computer Games on
Physical and Mental health of Female and Male Students of Guidance School in city of
Isfahan. “ Addict Health, 1, 98–104, PMC, Retrieved from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905489/
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