Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast

Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast


Newly Recognized Dangers of Video Gaming for Your Children (Pedcast)

August 30, 2019

(Image by Pixabay)
 

According to the Wall Street Journal, there is a growing phenomenon on college campuses- video game addiction leading to college failure and other horrible consequences. And it is not rare! Stay tuned to learn just how dangerous video games can be for your college age children.

Musical intro

Playing Video Games Can Become an Addiction 

Childhood anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, depression, teen suicide, and acting on violent thoughts with a gun are all on the rise. Like with all sociologic phenomena the reasons for this are varied and complex but many experts think that video games use, and addiction is a definite contributor. And I don't use that word addiction lightly. It starts innocently enough-a gift at Xmas or a birthday present of a gaming platform to play on, usually bought by the child's parents! For some, playing video is just a relaxing activity, a diversion from the stress of life. But for others, especially boys, it morphs into an all-consuming activity that frequently goes on for 8-10 hours straight. Late night or even all-night gaming is not unusual either. That's when there is time to play. It is generally recognized by psychologists, mental health workers, psychiatrists, parents, and the gamers themselves, that some suffer from an addiction. Just ask them.  For some, it has all the features of an addiction-it is a compulsion somewhere deep in the child's brain that drives them to play, its very difficult for the gamer to stop, over time the gamer needs more and more gaming time to satisfy their craving, and finally, with withdrawal from gaming, the child experiences a very unpleasant sensation. Sounds like an addiction to me.

The Story of Jake and Many Others

OK, so back to the WSJ article that I referenced in the intro. The article tells the story of Jake, an insecure college student who gamed all through high school but, with the structure of his parents around him, managed to get by- functioning academically and otherwise. But then came college. Jake quickly learned that no one really cared if he didn't go to class, stayed up all night gaming, showered, or ate regularly. His parents didn't find out how bad things were until they saw him and realized that he was not bathing, sleeping very much, or eating enough to maintain his weight. Here is a description of Jake's life and many other college student's experience:

“The cycle works like this: Gamers develop a problem in high school, but they are able to get away with it. The transition to college is a different story,” said Cam Adair, founder of Game Quitters, an online support community for people with videogame addictions. “There’s less parental supervision, more independence, more responsibilities, a change in their social environment, more difficult classwork and they experience an increase in stress.”

“To deal with stress they play videogames, which causes them to get behind in class, which causes more stress, and they escape further into games to deal with it, perpetuating the problem. This creates a cycle of academic self-destruction,”

For Some, Gaming Has Serious Repercussions in College

For some, gaming has serious repercussions when they get to college. We already know that 50% of entering college freshman will fail to get a degree. There are many reasons that these young adults fail to graduate from college- the high tuition costs, homesickness, too much partying, too much alcohol, lack of seriousness about their education, and a need for more immediate income. These are just a few of the reasons young adults fail to graduate but as this WSJ article points out, videogame addiction is now being recognized as an important contributor to college failure.  If you have a college age student, especially a boy, who likes to game,