12+ Ways Video Games Are Ruining Children’s Lives

It's Ruining Their Sleep

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Playing video games can be the highlight of a child's day, especially after they've had to spend the day at school, a place basically all children grow up hating. Video games are their way to escape the stress of the school life and they can end up playing way later than they should. This can ruin their sleep schedule which can lead too...

They Feel Exhausted

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This comes hand in hand with their sleep being ruined; unsurprisingly, if aa child spends their whole night playing video games they're probably not going to be feeling particularly energised when it comes to their early morning wake up for school. Try and get them off a few hours before bed.

It's Ruining Their Body

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The less your child is moving around an exercising, the more likely they are to cause there body to start suffering. One of the most common is muscle atrophy. It sounds serious doesn't it? And that's because it can be! If your child only plays games and doesn't exercise they can essentially begin to lose muscle from their body.

Weight Gain

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Both a mix of a poor diet and a lack of exercise can both cause your child's body to begin putting on weight. It would have to get severe for the child to become obese, but apparently 1% of gamers find their weight increases with a direct correlation to their gaming habits. They need to try and find an inbetween.

Heart Problems

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Not only can the body end up suffering in the form of obesity, this issue might even eventually result in your child gaining some heart issues in the future. This can be incredibly dangerous for them as they grow older; as we all know, hear tissues can be the difference between life and death.

Stiff Joints

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The less that your child moves around as a result of their need to sit in the same position all day, the more likely they are to begin suffering from stiff and sore joints. This shouldn't be underestimated as it can lead to some more severe issues like arthritis and other issues that can cause lack of movement.

Poor Posture

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Another way that your body might end up suffering as a result of spending hours at the screen is by damaging your posture. You might find your child spending hours of their time hunched over which will do them no favours. You can look at getting them a gaming chair which will support them!

Dehydration

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One thing that can happen when someone begins playing video games for several hours at a time is that they forget to keep themselves hydrated. This might sound stupid, but they can become so focused and fixated on playing their games that they don't consume enough water.

Having A Poor Diet

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If someone, especially your child begins spending hours at a time at their desk or their chair playing video games then it can become easy for them to avoid eating properly. Although they should be able to rely on you at a younger age to make food you don't want them having a poor diet.

Becoming Overly Aggressive

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Typically, gaming doesn't have an impact on a person's hostility levels, nor do they tend to change a child's opinions on life. However, some studies have shown that if a person develops a gaming addiction then it can cause them to become more restless and a result of that, more aggressive.

They'll Get Headaches

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It's no surprise that spending hours on end at glaring at your TV screen can cause you some health issues. Having to keep your focus, especially when your child plays even after they become exhausted can cause your body to try and compensate for them. They might find themselves suffering from headaches.

Losing Their Motivation

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An addict might find it impossible to motivate themselves for anything that isn't spending another 6 hours playing their favourite video game. This actually has some scientific reasoning, as the human brain is known to release dopamine during game time. This lowers your reaction to dopamine release.

They Might Damage Their Eyes

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Spending hours staring at a screen is never doing going to be a positive when it comes to your eyes, and more importantly the health of your vision. I'm not suggesting that your child will blind themselves (although that is possible) but they might end up needing glasses earlier than they might.

Struggling To Control Their Emotions

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Someone who spends long periods of their day gaming might find it difficult to control their emotions properly. Essentially, they can struggle to regulate when they're feeling happy or when they're feeling sad. This can lead to issues that we'll get on to now...

Becoming Socially Anxious

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Social anxiety is something that people who game a lot end up suffering from. This happens especially in situations where the person isn't getting enough interaction away from their headset and screen. They could end up struggling to open up or communicate when it comes to the real world.

Feeling Depressed

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Some studies have shown that spending as little as 2 hours a day can actually rapidly increase the chances a gamer might develop symptoms of depression. In any form, if you neglect your own physical or mental health you'll always end up feeling depressed in some way or another.

Developing An Addiction

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Gaming can be addictive to everyone, it can be especially addictive towards children. A known phenomena recognised as pre-occupation suggests that gamers are constantly thinking about games and what they're going to play when they get home instead of focusing on the tasks they're actually completing at the time.

Losing Concentration

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If your child begins neglecting sleep then they might find themselves being unable to maintain their concentration whilst at school or even in general social situations with their friends and at home. This can cause a quite a few negative impacts, one of which we'll move on to next...

Falling Behind At School

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If there's one thing you don't want your child to do its fall behind at any point during their life in education. If they were to fall behind early in their education it could set the precedent for them to continue failing as they go on in life. Try and get the importance of school across to them.

Being Less Productive

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Thanks to the various issues that gaming can cause, like the depression or social anxiety, your child might end up being less productive than they were before. This is how they can fall behind at school and getting in to trouble with their teachers. They might be throwing their education away.

Crumbling Relationships

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It has been known that addictions in any form can be an issue when it comes to having a relationship. That goes for both friendships, relationships with family members or romantic relationships. They can struggle to maintain a focus with their personal life. It can be a true soul sapper.

A Numbed Sense Of Violence

One of the many issues that people have had with video games in the past is that they can be unnecessarily violent, and easy to reach for the younger generation. You've probably seen claims that violent games like Grand Theft Auto have caused people to commit crimes, although this is exaggerated.

They Can Encourage Violence

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Studies are often at war when it comes to deciding whether or not that video games are actually at fault for causing higher levels of violence in kids. SOME studies do however suggest that as a result of games usually encouraging the player to be violent by rewarding them, it can relate in to the real world.

A False Sense Of Success

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It might be nice for your child to spend time enjoying their games, and they probably enjoy getting that sense of success when they win a game of any variety whether that be on NBA or Call Of Duty. But how do you quantify this success against succeeding at school or in the real world?

Losing Interest In Other Things

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Gaming as an addiction can lead to the person suffering losing interest in things that they previously would have been all over. For example, your child might have been really interested in playing ball, but now they'd rather spend their day sat at a desk with a controller in their hands.

Lowered Personal Hygiene

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Not only might their general mental health worsen, but they might throw out any form of personal hygiene, even if they followed the social rules before the gaming. I'm talking about deciding not to shower or bathe in order to get in that extra small period of gaming instead.

Addiction Can Carry Over

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Studies have began to suggest that a child who plays an excessive amount of games a week and becomes addicted can be susceptible to further addictions later in life. These sorts of addictions include risky behaviour like taking narcotics or turning to alcohol later in life! Nip it in the bud early!

Increased Risk Of Brain Problems

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Although research into this hasn't been extensive so far, it's believed that excessive gaming can lead to an decreased area of grey matter in a part of your brain known as the hippocampus. Supposedly this lesser amount of grey matter is symptomatic of someone who has illnesses like schizophrenia and Alzheimer's.

Negatively Impact Their Future

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As a result of scoring lower grades thanks to their excessive game playing, your child might end up heading down a route that isn't financially positive for them; it isn't just financial either, they might end up in a job that isn't particularly pleasing. Instead, try and get them to knuckle down.

Increased Risk Of ADHD

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One of the negative affects in children who spend a lot of time on their games consoles can actually be at greater risk of developing ADHD symptoms. This is increased when we're talking about younger children who have a greater period of time to develop these issues.