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Drink_in_Philly t1_ix4gc1s wrote

Reply to comment by doctoreldritch in Survey on 12,000 secondary school-aged students (12-18Y) shows that although many adolescents are spending considerable time gaming (at least 3.5hours/day),it is not having a negative impact on the wellbeing and 44% of ‘heavy’ gamers reported higher wellbeing than those who play less or don’t play by giuliomagnifico

Also, people who can escape the stresses of life by hiding in videogames where they don't have to deal with their problems and life's challenges would seem happier, at this time and in a snapshot. But as life goes on, hiding from your issues and escapism in general can lead to much worse problems down the road.

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doctoreldritch t1_ix4kef8 wrote

Eh, imo this perspective is overblown and a symptom of societal dysfunction. Kids playing games is not escapism, it's (socially) normal behavior and (evolutionarily) a safe way to learn and practice basic skills (motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, basic logic, etc).

The quality of the specific games they play should be under scrutiny, certainly--most mobile games for example don't teach anything beyond addictive compulsions--and they should be accompanied by physical play behaviors as well (eg sports), but there's nothing inherently wrong with even fairly heavy gaming.

Plus, leisure is an important facet of human psychology and you could conversely argue that gamers are more happy simply because any leisure activity improves mental well-being. You might even argue further that these leisure activities are especially critical during childhood, because the minor dysfunctions of having no leisure time compound throughout childhood and produce a very dysfunctional adult. Top this all of with the fact that the most antisocial thing any child can do by definition is simply to not fit in, and consider the fact that gaming is an extremely popular leisure activity.

My point here of course is not that gaming should be especially encouraged or anything, but that human psychology is not simple and children are not made of glass, so until the science is in on the lifetime harm/benefit ratio, parents should drop the hubris and focus on gaming (or whatever else the kids enjoy doing) with their kids (even if that sometimes just means watching them fall off the same ledge 500 times in a row).

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