My child plays too much? About playing in questions and answers

"Games". One word and a thousand thoughts. For players, these are rather good thoughts, and for non-players - often quite the opposite. No wonder: we are not afraid of the unknown from today. Especially if we think that something is having a negative effect on our own children. So a lot of myths have arisen around video games, and the growing interest of kids in titles such as Minecraft, Fortnite or even GTA makes parents completely cope with the topic completely. Hence the idea for this guide was born. It is informative in nature, collecting (I hope) useful content that may appear in the Internet search engine when parents seeking help enter the phrase "my child plays too much".

Many parents have doubts as to whether their children should play video games for this long, whether they provoke aggression, and what games are appropriate at a given age. Let's try to systematize the knowledge and views on this issue in this guide.

How popular are computer games today?

We may pretend to be deaf to the facts, but the facts are as follows: Playing computer games is one of the most popular forms of entertainment these days, if not the most popular. Suffice it to mention that the value of the global gaming market in 2019 reached $ 149 billion, which means a seven percent increase compared to the previous year. To be even more precise, it is worth adding that mobile games enjoyed the greatest increase in interest, i.e. all those that we play on smartphones or tablets. The company Newzoo, which deals with statistics on gaming and e-sports, estimates that in 2022, the entire gaming market will be worth as much as 190 billion dollars. To further emphasize how much the gaming market has grown, I will only add that last year it brought as much profit as Hollywood in the United States alone.

So if it was once said that television would lose young people who are unable to detach themselves from the screens, today a computer, console or smartphone is a kind of "scapegoat", so everything that can only be played on. Times change and so do the form of entertainment and we have to stop deluding ourselves that the child will suddenly grow out of playing games, because although this may of course happen, you also have to pay attention to statistics. And these say clearly: there are as many players in the world under the age of 18 as there are in the range of 18-35. Staying with the statistics for a while, ESA (Entertainment Software Associacion) estimated the average age of a male and female player based on surveys. The results may be surprising, because they show that most men playing are 33 years old, and women - 37 years old (in this case the statistics strongly indicate mobile gaming).

Therefore, it is necessary to stop attacking playing children and adolescents, and find out what exactly is the so-called gaming, which risks and educate yourself in the subject (if we have not already done so), familiarizing yourself with, for example, PEGI markings, i.e. icons on game boxes, which will indicate whether a given production is appropriate, e.g. to the age of our child. I trust that there will always be something interesting in it, because that is also how I wanted to make it. However, the main task of this article is to reach out to those parents who do not necessarily cope with the issue, and who still have more questions than answers in their heads. So let's start (maybe a bit banal, but this is a more complex topic) with the impact of playing on health.

Does playing spoil your eyesight?

First of all, let's take the topic of sight, which is one of the most debatable. While one side of the conflict argues that prolonged sitting in front of the monitor undoubtedly damages eyesight, the other side (led by Canadian scientists) claims quite perversely that playing games not only does not damage the eyes, but can also heal them! But let's look at the dark side of the coin first. To do this, however, it is worth first looking at the structure of the eye and what basically affects the deterioration of eyesight. One thing is certain about this debatable topic: the primary cause of visual acuity defects is the congenital shortening or lengthening of the eyeball, which makes the eye unable to adequately accommodate (sharpen the image). Therefore, people with myopia or farsightedness put glasses on their nose so that the lenses used in them do the "dirty work" and support the impaired work of our own focusing lens. At this point, the question arises, how can sitting in front of the computer physically change the shape of the eyeball?

Well, it just can't. This does not mean, however, that sitting in front of the screen does not impair your eyesight. It certainly tires him, because when the ciliary muscle accommodates for many hours to nearness, he starts to tire. Without looking into the distance, we do not allow him to relax. It is as if we were flexing any of our muscles for several hours - sooner or later he would get tired and fail to obey. Although many ophthalmologists and optometrists ultimately do not believe that sitting in front of a monitor has any effect on visual impairment, others argue that long-term continuous tension of the ciliary muscle (i.e. long "staring" at the screen) strains the muscular system enough that ultimately leads to visual impairment that must be corrected with glasses. However, the problem does not arise in a straight line through the computer, but through the state of tension in the eye, and is no different than reading a book for hours. As you can see - we still do not have a clear answer, no unambiguous research confirming that "computers harm the eyes". Nevertheless, it is worth being safe than sorry and after each hour of work in front of the monitor, give yourself a few minutes' break to relax, looking into the distance, e.g. outside the window.

Returning, however, to the already mentioned surprising thesis that computer games improve eyesight: scientists not only from Canada have discovered this trail. Research on the above phenomenon has already been carried out all over the world. Researchers from the American University of Rochester have found that popular "shooters" that require the player's perceptiveness as well as the dexterity of aiming and finding virtual targets on the computer screen can sharpen the ability to see in low light by up to 58%. What was the research like? The test team consisted of 22 students who were divided into 2 groups. The first of them played typical action games - Unreal Tournament 2004 and Call from Duty 2. The second group faced The Sims 2, a popular title that does not require the player to have such great skill in dexterity as in the case of the first two titles.

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Volunteers played for 50 hours during the 9-week test. Then their eyesight was checked again. People who struggled with action games during the test improved their ability to recognize shapes in low light by 43%. The contrast of their eyesight was much better than that of the group spending time with a less eye-catching game - The Sims 2. Scientists say that with proper training at the games, positive effects can remain up to 2 years after the end of exercise. The above results can be believed or not, I personally doubt whether 50 hours of playing is enough time for something to change in the matter of vision. After all, as a longtime player, I can boast of an extraordinary field of view, confirmed by a specialist. Not to mention the reflexes that I definitely owe to games.

Is a gaming chair needed?

Going further on the "trail of health" we must mention a comfortable computer station. Rather, let's not fall for fancy gaming desks, but it's definitely worth looking for a good chair. It must be functional, and thus ergonomic. Remember that it is not "cool look and lots of LEDs" that make the equipment good, but elements such as the possibility of adjusting the height of the armrests, support for the lumbar spine or the appropriate height of the chair to the child's height. For details on the selection of a comfortable armchair. In my brief opinion, it is worth buying an armchair that will allow us to adjust the armrests not only vertically (up-down), but also on the front-back plane (below I present a preview of possible adjustments that can be found in computer chairs on the market) ). A badly fitted chair may not make itself felt immediately, but it will certainly take your revenge over time. I can testify to this personally: after exhausting myself for 2 months with an excessively high chair, with my feet hanging 2 cm above the ground, my knees started to feel like a pensioner after removing both menisci. Of course, laughter is laughter, but in my opinion, the legitimacy of ergonomic seats should not be underestimated, even (and perhaps especially) in the case of children.

How many hours a day should a child play?

Now let's move on to the answer to probably the most bothering question for parents: how many hours a day can a child spend in front of the computer? Unfortunately, there is no satisfactory answer here. If the child does not neglect school and home duties, and also if it does not show excessively outsider features (that is, if it has suddenly not given up personal contacts with peers), it seems that it is possible to give it a free hand. Here, however, common sense comes into play again. Even if a child brings home highs and sixes and neglects sleep in favor of games, giving them this "free hand" will not be the best decision. Okay, but what do specialists say about this? According to scientists from around the world, children aged 11-13 should sleep between 9 and 10 hours. They should be encouraged to exercise for at least an hour a day, and they should sit in front of a screen for a maximum of ... 1 hour. Where did the ellipsis come from? Well, as a child and a teenager, I spent up to 16 hours in a row before games, and I could turn off the computer only when the first rays of the sun fell through the window. Today, however, I have the courage to admit that it did not have a positive effect on interpersonal contacts. Maybe it wasn't the games actually, but the lack of sleep or exercise. The issue of aggression is a different story and I will discuss it in the following paragraphs, and now let me make some recommendations for children using the computer:

Time of using the computer:

• 4“6 years - maximum 30 minutes a day
• 7-10 years old - 45 minutes maximum a day
• 11“13 years old - maximum 1 hour daily
• from 14 years old - maximum 1.5 hours daily

Internet chats and social networks:

• 4-6 years - no
• 7-10 years - from 8 years old, but under control, only in chat rooms suitable for children
• Age 11-13 - yes, but there are some rules to be established - like chat topics
• From 14 years old - yes, but in accordance with the adopted rules (topics, chat portals, etc.)

Standalone online game:

• 4-6 years - no
• 7-10 years - from 8 years, but under control
• 11-13 years - from 12 years old with clearly defined rules in advance - for example, what games the child is not allowed to use (violence, sex)
• from 14 years old - yes

Computer in the child's room:

• 4-6 years - no
• 7-10 years - no
• Age 11“13 - for 12 years, but cannot play at night, let alone use the internet, for example
• from 14 years old - yes

Using the Internet:

• 4-6 years - no
• 7-10 years old - from 8 years old, but only on websites suitable for children, under parental supervision
• 11“13 years old - from 12 years of age independently, but a blockade of undesirable websites is needed
• from 14 years old - yes

Do computer games provoke aggression?

Let's move on to the issue of games and the allegedly associated aggression. At the beginning, I will put forward my own thesis, supported by personal experiences and observations. So in my opinion, aggression in children and teenagers who play computer games for many hours does not result from the subject of these games (violence, etc.), but often from exhaustion of the body. Nervousness, depression, disturbed thoughts and attention, anxiety, irritability, sleep problems and the aforementioned aggression are nothing more than excessive being on the Internet (yes, a smartphone also matters). So it's not just the games that are to blame. Naturally, bearing in mind that each child develops differently and has a different threshold of sensitivity, I will nevertheless defend the position that violent games do not affect the behavior of children and adolescents. But I repeat once again: there are exceptions to every rule.

However, this "experiment" two years ago was actually the first to show that prolonged playing of violent video games is not related to an increase in aggression. Previous experiments have shown that a few minutes after the end of the game, there was a temporary increase in the tendency to aggressive behavior and refusing to help those in need. However, recent research has shown that gaming violence does not permanently affect the human psyche in the long run. And although it was one of the first such studies (the first with such positive conclusions for players), it was not the last. The thesis that dealing with violent content in games does not affect the player's behavior, has also been confirmed by research from the English University of York. Despite the latest results, the world still tends to blame the violence that comes from monitors (and so did the television). However, one cannot be ruled out: if the viewer is susceptible to the content watched, and even more so if he or she exhibits some mental disorders - the risk of imitating brutal behavior is undoubtedly dangerously increased.

Game addiction - where to get help?

When slowly ending this guide-column, it is impossible to ignore the issue of computer addiction. Regardless of whether the child is constantly on Facebook, another social networking site or generally on the Internet, this phenomenon has been classified as an addiction. So if we have suspicions that our child cannot cope with balancing life outside the computer, and our efforts to chase them away from the screen are failing, it is definitely worth consulting specialists. By entering, for example, the phrase 'addiction to games help' in the search engine .