The gaming industry is more prevalent in children’s lives than ever before, while some argue that it’s a good educational leisure activity, others hold the belief that they could cause serious harm to the users.
There are numerous benefits associated with video games, one of the most important ones is the life lessons these games offer. Recently, there has been a growing trend of strong story telling in modern video games that focus on teaching users through imaginative experiences, tackling topics the likes of the importance of family, environmental impact, friendship and personal growth. To illustrate this with the game God of war, it depicts a journey of a father trying to protect his son, eventually learning how to show him love and allow him to grow.
While there are clear benefits, it is also important to consider the potential drawbacks. Mainly the highly addictive nature of gaming in general. Due to the design of video games, it is made to pull users in as much as possible with a constant dopamine rush. Consequently, this leads a lot of gamers to lose track of time during their sessions. For example, studies in elementary schools showed that almost 30% of students lack retention in their classes as a direct cause of staying up late to play video games.
To summarize, I strongly believe the upsides of video games greatly outweigh their downsides. However, it is critical to moderate video game use especially for developing children to ensure their mental and physical wellbeing.