Are Video Games Bad for Me? (for Kids) (2024)

FAQs

Are video games unhealthy for kids? ›

Studies show playing video games can contribute to poor sleep and impact attention, academic performance, mood, and wellbeing. Exposure to violent video games can contribute to aggressive behaviors in kids. Playing video games for long periods of time has also been linked with developing obesity.

It's good to set video game time limits by age. For kids over the age of 6, the American Academy of Pediatrics says no more than 60 minutes on school days and 2 hours on non-school days. Kids under 6 should spend closer to 30 minutes.

To put it mildly, these games can have a marked effect on a child showing excessive violence and aggressive behavior, social anxiety, insomnia, hostility, the risk of neuropsychiatric illness, phobia, and even drug abuse along with Gaming addiction.

Contrary to popular belief, video games can have positive effects on children's brains. Studies have shown that playing video games can improve cognitive function, including memory, attention, and decision-making skills. In addition, video games can also enhance problem-solving abilities and promote creativity.

But is Roblox safe for kids? The unfortunate truth is: not always. Roblox allows players to create their own experiences — which means that secreted within the popular gaming platform is also inappropriate adult content, cyberbullies, scammers, hackers, and online predators.

Common Sense recommends Fortnite for teens 13 and up, primarily because of the action violence. But with the right controls and parental guidance, this can be a preteen-friendly alternative to violent first-person shooters.

This totals to about 18 hours per week.

15-20 hours every week is starting to overplay, and more than 21 hours every week(3hrs every day) is the type of gameplay that will start to have a detrimental impact on wellbeing according to this Oxford study. However that in itself isn't a gaming disorder.

And active, free playtime is essential for healthy development. Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Technology Review, says it can make sense to introduce a child to digital media at 2 1/2, although some kids aren't ready until they're older.

While research suggests that behavioral issues can start to appear with children who play more than nine hours of video games a day – one hour on weekdays, two on weekends – many parents look for common signals that their child is playing too many video games, including: Irritability when not allowed to play games.

A study of nearly 2,000 children found that children who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory than children who had never played video games.

How video games affect parents? ›

Gaming can cause problems in the parent-child, sibling, and marital relationship. Conflict may be high as families struggle to know how to talk to the individual about their gaming habit. Parents might feel completely overwhelmed, seeing a problem in their child, but not knowing what to do about it.

When the content of the video game is gory, competitive, or violent, it can over-stress a person's central nervous system and signal to the brain that they are in danger, triggering anxiety. Video games can also create pressure to achieve certain goals and cause a fear of failure, which can worsen anxiety.

Too much video game can lead to poor social skills, time away from family, school work and other hobbies, lower grades, reading less, exercising less, becoming overweight, and having aggressive thoughts and behaviors.

Studies of children exposed to violent media have shown that they may become numb to violence, imitate the violence, and show more aggressive behavior. Younger children and those with emotional, behavioral or learning problems may be more influenced by violent images.

Games can have educational benefits.

Video games can build on what kids are already learning and doing, from finding patterns to making artistic creations. Some educational video games promote memory or problem-solving skills. Other video games focus on creating and working together.

Excessive Video Gaming Can Be Bad for Mental Health

First, video games themselves are not necessarily good or bad for our mental health – it depends on how we use them. Unsurprisingly, excessive use of video games has been shown by some studies to have a connection to problems with sleep, depression and anxiety.

Twice as many parents also say their teen boy plays video games every day compared to parents of teen girls. Teen boys are also more likely to spend three or more hours gaming. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours per day of screen-based entertainment.

2-4 hours: Most adults can comfortably play 2-4 hours of video games a day with minimal eye strain. Children, however, will likely begin to experience some eye strain at this point. 4+ hours: Past the four-hour mark, both children and adults will likely begin to notice some eye strain, blurred vision, and headaches.