Online gaming has become a popular pastime for children of all ages in recent years. Children are spending an increasing amount of time playing online games.
While video games can provide entertainment and socialisation opportunities, concerns have been raised about their potential impact on children’s behaviour, especially aggressive behaviour.
In this article, we will explore some of the impacts of online gaming on children’s behaviour, including both positive and negative effects.
By examining both sides of the issue, this article aims to provide a balanced perspective on the effects that online gaming can have on children’s behaviour.
Positive Impacts of Online Gaming
Online gaming may not always always be a culprit. There are many positive impacts of online gaming, too. Some of these are discussed below:
Improvement in cognitive skills and social interaction
Children’s behaviour is a reflection of their cognitive abilities and social interactions. Online gaming has become a popular pastime among children, raising concerns about its potential effects on their behaviour. However, studies have shown that playing online games can improve cognitive skills such as problem-solving, decision-making and spatial reasoning.
Moreover, online gaming allows children to interact in a virtual community setting. This helps build social skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership. Through these interactions, children can learn to navigate complex social situations and build meaningful relationships with their peers.
While excessive screen time can be detrimental to a child’s development, online gaming can provide an engaging platform for improving cognitive skills and social interaction when monitored appropriately. Parents should set clear boundaries around screen time usage and encourage their children to engage in other activities that promote physical activity and face-to-face social interaction.
Learning from positive gaming characters and storylines
Children’s lives can be profoundly influenced by the presence of positive characters and narratives in video games. Kids can take cues from these characters’ doggedness, collaboration, and generosity, all of which they portray. Games like Minecraft teach users to cooperate to accomplish difficult goals, such as the construction of elaborate structures or the resolution of perplexing puzzles.
Positive gaming characters serve as role models for kids with low self-esteem or confidence and teach them useful life skills. Overwatch and other games with diverse casts highlight individuals from various backgrounds, giving them distinct abilities and personalities to which kids can relate. Children can develop a healthy self-image and an appreciation for variety through role-playing with these characters.
Emotional Intelligence
Children’s emotional intelligence can benefit greatly from their time spent gaming online. Kids who play video games online develop a more nuanced awareness of their own and others’ feelings. This is because completing missions in many games calls on players to work together and communicate efficiently. Children gain self-awareness and compassion as a result of these experiences.
Another way that video games can assist children in building their emotional intelligence is by providing them with something to improve upon in the area of problem-solving. Games that promote strategic thinking and rapid decision-making are excellent for developing children’s resiliency and perseverance. They can apply these skills outside of the game and use them to better manage real-life challenges.
Empowering children to manage their emotions better
Youngsters can learn to manage their emotions more effectively with the assistance of online gaming because it provides them with a neutral platform where they can do so. Virtual worlds and avatars offer a secure space for children to experiment with new personas and feel a broad spectrum of emotions without the risk of ridicule.
The social interactions that occur during internet gaming can also positively affect children’s psychological growth. Children learn to deal with disagreements and conflicts by interacting with players worldwide and hearing their opinions. This fosters growth in areas such as empathy, communication, and resiliency.
Negative Impacts of Online Gaming on Children
Studies have shown that this trend is not without its downsides. Research has revealed that excessive exposure to online games can negatively impact children’s behaviour. Let’s find out the negative impacts of online gaming on young children’s behaviour:
Addiction and aggressive behaviour
Addiction to online games can result in violent behavior among children. Children who play online games for extended periods of time tend to become irritable, short-tempered, and easily frustrated when they are unable to play. This frustration can soon turn into aggression and can result in verbal or physical attacks on others. Moreover, online gaming addiction has been found to affect the social skills of a child as it tends to keep them isolated from actual interactions and in place of virtual interactions. This isolation leads to inadequate communication skills and the inability to cope with emotions in a healthy way.
Parents must take care to monitor their children’s online gaming activity and place rational limits on screen time. Other activities like outdoor play and hobbies that enhance socialization can also assist in decreasing the likelihood of addictive behavior and aggressive tendencies due to overexposure to online gaming.
Impact on academic performance
Online gaming has become a popular pastime among children worldwide. While it may provide entertainment and opportunities to socialise with peers, online gaming can significantly impact academic performance. Studies have shown that excessive online gaming can lead to poor academic performance, including lower grades and decreased motivation to complete assignments. Children who spend more time playing games may also experience difficulties with time management, leading them to prioritise gaming over studying or completing schoolwork.
Moreover, the content of some online games may negatively impact children’s behaviour and attitudes towards learning. Violent video games have been linked to aggressive behaviour in children, which can create a hostile learning environment for both the child and their classmates.
Additionally, there are some games that foster a self-centered attitude that is geared towards personal advancement at the expense of collective learning and group cooperation. This will interfere with a child’s capacity to work cooperatively with others on class assignments or during group discussions. Parents need to watch their children’s online game use closely and create positive guidelines for game use throughout the school week. Restricting gaming time and promoting other sources of leisure or activities may enhance school performance and improve learning attitudes among young gamers.
Lower grades and decreased focus
Online gaming has become a popular form of entertainment among children, but it can negatively impact their academic performance and focus. Research has shown that excessive online gaming can lead to lower grades, decreased attention span, and poor time management skills. This is because online games offer instant gratification and reward systems, which may cause children to prioritise playing games over studying or completing homework.
Moreover, the constant stimulation of online games can also lead to addiction-like behaviour in children. They may find it difficult to step away from the game, even when they know they should focus on other tasks or responsibilities. This can result in decreased motivation towards schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
Conclusion
Indeed, online gaming helps develop some of the skills such as attention, focus, strategy development, and decision-making. At the same time, there are several negative aspects of online gaming. They are wasting a significant amount of time playing these games. Further, games based on violence lead to aggressive behaviour. Bullying is also a matter of great concern in online gaming.
Parents need to monitor their children’s online gaming habits and set boundaries for screen time usage. Encouraging outdoor activities or hobbies that foster creativity and critical thinking can also help balance out the negative effects of excessive online gaming on a child’s behaviour.
