Parents need to be concerned about the amount of time their children spend playing video games. Even though these games are beneficial, there should be a limit so that it does not get overboard.

Here are some negative effects of video gaming addiction on kids:

• Excessive stimulation of the child’s sensory system:

When your child plays video games, the screen visuals which typically have bright colors and fast-paced movements, transmit over-stimulating data to the nervous system. When this happens, a fight or flight response in the body is evoked due to the production of the adrenaline hormone.

If the child is not playing video games, the stimulation declines, and this causes sensory deprivation that leads to poor attention, irritability and the likes. This usually happens if the child is overly addicted to video games.

• Association with bad values:

Not all video games are good for your kids. Some of them encourage bad values which leads to moral decadence. And if care is not taken, your child will end up thinking that some of these values are not wrong.

Some studies have shown that some video games can cause a decrease in moral engagement and empathy, which is also known as psychosocial characteristics.

• Poor social skills:

Kids who spend too much time playing video games would have a poor social development. The reason for this is, these kids spend too much time in isolation playing these games, than they spend with their peers in real life.

Eventually, it would come to a point where they would consciously prefer to spend time alone with their video games than with their peers.

• Physical and Mental health issues:

There are a plethora of physical and mental health issues that can plague your kids if they are addicted to video games. And the worst part is, these issues can go all the way with them into adulthood. Some of these physical and mental health issues are: Obesity, nerve compression, musculoskeletal disorders, ADHD and the likes.

Here are some points that show the positive side of video gaming:

• Mood and Social Skills improvement

If you are always feeling signs of depression, you need to get your hands on video games and entertain yourself. Video games trigger the happy hormone in your brain known as dopamine, particularly when you win. And the amazing part is, video games take your mind off what is bothering you.

In addition, if you find it hard to improve your social skills, video games would help a lot. You can start by playing multiplayer games that help you build relationships.

• Creativity boost

Are you struggling with creativity? One of the best ways to help yourself is by playing video games. You have to be strategic about selecting the video games to play, as there are some that are quintessential to boosting creativity. With video games, you are able to think outside the box, which is needed in real life.

• Better problem-solving skills

This is similar to creativity boost. Video games helps to improve your problem-solving games. Typically, good video games presents you with tough challenges which must be solved before proceeding to the next stage.

When you are faced with tough issues in life, it would be easier to demystify them if you play good video games.

• Better attention and memory performance

When you are playing video games, you will be focused because you don’t want to fail. This is why 100% attention is needed when playing video games. If there is a slight distraction, you might mess things up immediately.

Similarly, better attention paves way for improved memory performance. It would be easier for you to remember things than before.  

Video games are great, and the benefits listed are just a tip of the iceberg. Also, it is important to be cautious while playing these games to ensure video gaming addiction does not creep in.

As paraphrased from the World Health Organization which recognizes video gaming addiction, it is defined as a pattern of incessant and continuous gaming behavior which takes place either offline or online.

This continuous gaming behavior is characterized by worsened control over gaming, which makes the individual to place more premium on video games, rather than also pay ample attention to other important aspects of their lives.

Around the world, billions of place play video games, but not everyone is addicted. The difference between video gaming addiction and a healthy fun gaming is the detrimental activity which it has in the life of a person.

The fundamental reason why video games were created, was to keep all players invested. Video games were produced with the integration of top-notch behavioral psychology which ensures you are hooked, thereby making you spend lots of hours on gameplay.

Video games provide a form of engrossing experience, that makes your brain to secrete dopamine, which is known as the pleasure hormone.

If you are always exposed to dopamine production, it becomes too much, and this can result in some structural modifications in your brain. Therefore, you begin to reside in a world where you anticipate prompt gratification for a good performance.

Video games are so captivating, that you can play for long hours on end without realizing that lots of hours have gone by. Video games prevent you from making ample progress.

They are social in nature, and they provide an environment where there is a falsehood of safety, and you feel you are in charge.

It is very easy to spot someone who is addicted to video games. First off, the individual would always be preoccupied with video games. They would always think about the past gaming activity, and they would look forward to the next.

In addition to this, they would also lose interest in other activities; their relationship with family and friends becomes strained because they have devoted their time to something else.

There are several adverse effects that comes with gaming addiction. Firstly, the most regular one is reduced performance in work or school. Staying long hours playing video games can negatively affect the performance of a person. There would be failure to work to an optimum and desirable level due to exhaustion or tiredness, from staying up over the night playing a video game. If a child or young one devotes too much time playing video games, issues such as insomnia could set in and also difficulty in paying rapt attention in class.

Also, there is a tendency for a person addicted to games to be psychologically affected. There are video games that display violent acts and scenes, and this may cause players to be insensitive to the act of violence. This has a negative impact on the players and may cause them to start developing and nursing aggressive and hostile thoughts and inclinations. In some rare cases, they become a nuisance and trouble to the society.

There are risks of encountering health problems when one gets too addicted playing games. If all the time a person has is spent on playing game and as a result misses meals or lose considerable amount of rest or sleep, there is a high tendency for such a person to encounter severe health problems. Gaming addiction can lead to medical and health issues such as backache, eye pain, headaches, mental health issues and also a feeling of numbness on the wrists or hands and shoulder due to staying long hours at a particular position or spot, playing games.

Keeping close relationships with friends and family may be on the line if all the time is spent on playing games, rather than interacting or relating with loved ones. Addiction to gaming adversely affects a person such that all he or she would be interested in discussing about, is the subject matter of the video game and nothing else. Arguments and unhelpful conversations would be prevalent.

Therefore, addiction to a video game would be harmful if the individual decides to neglect other activities and engagements, and focus entirely on just playing game. Abandoning other responsibilities that does not relate to playing of video games might have terrible consequences.