Overgaming can have a negative effect on your child’s mental and general health.

The gaming market experienced a surge because to the Covid-19 epidemic and the ensuing lockdowns. A recent report from the gaming-focused venture capital fund Lumikai states that with a record 15 billion downloads in FY22, India surpassed all other countries as the world’s largest mobile game consumer. Additionally, almost 900 gaming companies call it home.

According to another report, the gaming market in India is predicted to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28–30%, from $2.8 billion in 2022 to $5 billion in 2025. Additionally, it is anticipated that there will be 450 million players in the country by 2023 and 500 million by 2025.

Overgaming can have a negative effect on your child’s mental and general health.

 

In addition to being a fun and relaxing past time, playing video games has been demonstrated to improve a person’s cognitive abilities, creativity, reflexes, and communication. On the other hand, unhealthy lifestyles, suicidal thoughts, despair, loneliness, and isolation are all consequences of gaming addiction.

“As they get more and more cut off from their social lives and engrossed in the virtual gaming world, one of the most recent trends among teenagers is the development of video game addiction,” Sameer Malhotra, Director and Head of the Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, told IANS.

Similar to gambling

 

 

 

Similar to gambling, excessive gaming can activate certain brain reward centers, which makes children and teenagers addicted to their screens. The children may consequently experience a variety of behavioral, mental, and health problems,” said Shreya Dubey, a consultant in neonatology and pediatrics at the CK Birla Hospital in Gurugram.

Online gaming forces kids to lead sedentary lives by limiting their opportunities for physical activity, according to a 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) report. This makes online gaming one of the primary causes of obesity, which is a risk factor for a number of diseases, including cancer, Type-2 diabetes, heart issues, and lung disorders. According to the paper, it is also the primary cause of disability.

Real-world activities

 

 

According to Dubey, kids are playing video games more often than engaging in healthful, outdoor activities.

“Because they are so infatuated with gaming, there are several incidents of despair, anxiety, and kids turning melancholy, shy, angry, or violent. They get insufficient sleep and less physical activity, which contributes to their weight gain and increased risk of developing various health issues.

Except when they are in front of the screen, they do not feel vigilant, active, or alert. Their intense passion for gaming creates a continual craving for outside approval. It’s bad,” Dubey stated to IANS.

Healthy lifestyles

 

The physicians urged parents to encourage their kids to lead healthy lifestyles, supervise their online activity more closely, and spend more time with them.

Malhotra suggested a balanced diet, regular physical activity, creative hobbies, regular physical sports, and good sleep hygiene and sleep waking cycle management. He advised against playing violent video games on your phone while playing strategy, as well as using them in bed or during meals.

Children who don’t get enough sleep may grow weary, withdrawn, and reclusive. Therefore, parents must keep an eye on their schedule and spend more time with them. Parents who start spending more time with their children are less likely to indulge in such games, drugs, or other questionable behaviors, he told IANS.

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