Is Gaming bad for you? Gaming and social media addiction problems in 2022?
Updated: Sep 8, 2022
In 2022, video game and social media addiction are a real and very big problem. Every other person in this modern online era is familiar with and is a consumer of video games and social media. Gaming and video gaming addiction is becoming a very big problem and is causing major physical and mental issues in the younger generation.
Video games have been available for kids for a very long time and have developed a lot since the 20th century. But the problem of gaming addiction has risen up within the last decade along with social media. With this trend, the depression rate has also increased quite heavily. In 2019, World Health Organisation recognized “Gaming Disorder” as a mental health condition. During the pandemic, problem gaming addiction got skyrocketed.
Table of content-
Why video games are addictive?
Video games affect the brain in the same way as addictive drugs: they trigger the release of dopamine, a chemical that reinforces the behavior.
Video games generally revolve around character development, progression, competition and winning. These characteristics provide the sense of temporary accomplishment in virtual world, which essentially burns the will and determination to permanently accomplish in the real world.
Problems caused by Video Game Addiction
Depression
Health problems
Social underdevelopment
Academic problems
Anxiety
Mental health issues
Insomnia and bad sleep cycle
Video Games: A very big reason for depression in youth
The issue of 'Depression' has been rising among teenagers from a very young age and one of the main reasons for that is extensive gaming and social media. Depression is caused due to the feeling of lacking behind or not progressing in life, it is caused due to inaction while the time is always moving. Gaming is not an action that affects your real-life situation positively unless you are making money with it.
Gaming is a very big reason for the unhealthy young adults in today's world, it is the main reason for the lack of physical activities. Wrist pain, neck pain, back pain, bad posture, weight problems, mental health issues, unhealthy sleep cycles, eyesight problems are some of the common health issues faced by gamers. Almost every professional esports player has suffered from some of these health issues on a regular basis and that's why were forced to leave the esports world at a young age, the age of 26-27 is considered relatively older in the esports world.
Video Games and Social Media make people more Lonely
The common argument people make is that video games help them make friends online, but they don't realize that maybe that is the exact reason that they were feeling lonely in the first place. Today's youth are lacking highly in social intelligence which is a very big and important part of human life. Extensive time spent online makes them socially awkward and disconnected from reality, a very trending term used by people today is ' ESCAPING REALITY', which is very bad for living.
Gamers waste their energy and peak years
Excessive video gaming is an issue mainly in the late teens and early 20s, these are the most energetic and peak years of a human to develop a strong base of life. These are the years that can essentially define your entire path ahead, but sadly these are years in which people are highly susceptible to sedation due to drinking, drugs, video games, social media etc.
People think that gaming helps them relax, but the main thing you should ask yourself is -
"Why you are even thinking of relaxing in the most energetic years of your life?"
How to overcome video game Addiction
In a video game, you build the strongest possible character while grinding hard. From physical strength to mental strength to intelligence you try to maximize every stat of your character and complete the game. This sense of progression and accomplishment keeps you hooked on to a game, but remember that these are the things you can achieve in real life-
'World's best and hardest game is REAL LIFE'
Whether the gaming disorder is a real mental issue or not is a different problem, but the gaming addiction is a real and very big problem. Reasons may be lack of- self-control, awareness, discipline, hard work in real life, success in the real world or just a bad habit from a young age.
As cliché as may it sounds, working hard in real life is the best advice to overcome gaming addiction. Keep yourself busy with the things that matter.
Develop discipline in every aspect of your life and eventually, it will lead to controlling your media consumption.
If you are a parent, try to limit the media consumption of your child from a very young age.
Create real-life friends, and start doing physical activities.
Develop healthy competition in real life.
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