We live in the age of sophisticated technology. People are crazy about every new high-tech device: mobile phones, computers, satellite channel receivers, and video games. Children, and even some adults spend long hours in front of a screen playing video games. However, video games can do our children great harm on the physical, mental and social levels.
On the physical level, the children’s bodies can suffer great harms. The eyes are weakened because of the screen flicker or the long hours of concentration on fast movement. Children usually sit in uncomfortable positions while immersed in the game and end up harming their backbones. When children stay indoors, sitting down for long hours for many days, their natural growth is stunted.
Moreover, there is a mental and psychological drawback to video games. Children do not exert much mental effort in playing the games. Nothing is creative about them. They develop lazy mental habits. They also become impatient since life is not as fast as the games are. Some children get habituated to the violence of the games and they become violent themselves.
Furthermore, the social skills of the children are adversely affected. Children spend long hours and numerous days alone with their computers or video consoles away from family and friends. They live with their parents, brothers, and sisters, but rarely interact with them. They do not have friends or they stop making new friends or dealing with their society at large. They become introverts.
Therefore, video games can have bad effects on children. We should direct our children to use diverse means of entertainment that could also be useful. Some computer games are designed to mingle education and entertainment in one package. Children should also practice other outdoor activities and socialise