Addiction to gaming

Photo: Contributed

One of the benefits of spending each day working with children, youth and families is, I have to be honest, the many different ways I am reminded of my own years growing up. Though much is of course different now from the 1980s, there are a surprising number of themes and challenges that have withstood the test of time. Having my own phone and number would have been completely unthinkable at that time, for example, as would semi-regular vacations to sunny climes like Mexico or Cuba. However there is one dominant theme today that was already present 30 years ago, that of the prevalence of video games and their strong allure for kids and teens alike.

Though I often hear through social media and parents the incredible degree to which their kids are "obsessed" with video gaming, it is easy to forget that this has been going on for a period that can now be measured in decades. Being so focused upon gaming so as to forget all about homework, chores, and even connecting with friends and family could in fact happen just as easily over hours of playing Centipede or Mario Brothers as when immersed in Halo or Game of Thrones today. In fact, I have not seen any long-term studies done that have concluded exposure to the content of video games themselves provides the primary negative effects on the development of young people, particularly when they lead otherwise healthy lives. As I have found however, there is also a significant difference between today's gaming and that of the 1980s and 90s that we need to be aware of.

The difference today is the ability to play with one's friends online, and how there is now an opportunity to attempt to have all one's needs for connecting with others met through one medium. This is a quantum shift in gaming, and one that affects the growth and development of young people much more than the actual content of any single game itself, I will argue. An example might be a 14 year old boy who loves to play Halo with a number of friends; some from school, and others he may never have met from places across the continent or even around the world. Suddenly his need for community is being met in a powerful and personalized way: he has a means through which to meet up with others having this similar interest, participate in adventure and action together (something boys usually crave), and create common experiences that potentially bring him closer together with others.

The need to connect should never be underestimated, and can help explain what many parents describe as a "gaming addiction". I would respond that indeed gaming can be a sort of addiction, though with a very clear cause and purpose that can be counter-balanced. Why would we want to provide such a counter-balance? Long hours of gaming, even with many others from school or the neighbourhood participating, seldom involve groups of friends getting together in the same physical space, and almost never seem to lead to discussions of non-gaming experiences and teenage life in general. In essence, when we allow this to become the de-facto method for creating community for a young person, we enable them to miss out on more and more in-person communication, and there is no substitute for this. To grow up in the healthiest way possible, we each need to be able to develop and practice social skills with others, and develop critical confidence in our ability to meet new people and conduct ourselves appropriately, whatever the situation.

How can parents encourage and create this healthier dynamic? Setting clear boundaries with gaming, such as hours per day and/or scheduled days for play, is usually an essential start. A conversation where boundaries are set, but the child or teen has a voice in creating these boundaries, can often lead to a sustainable hobby that everyone can live with. When time for playing video games has ended, there will also be needed time to create face-to-face experiences with friends and peers, such as going biking with a family member, or even heading down to Dairy Queen with friends! Video gaming can actually be a healthy part of a young person's world, as long as it has clear boundaries, and becomes only a part of their world of creating meaningful connections with others.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.