The effects of video game overuse are similar to those of other proposed psychological addictions. Video game overuse may be like compulsive gambling, an impulse control disorder.
In this day and age parents and teachers need to sensitize themselves to the behaviour of learners. Researchers found evidence that video games do have addictive characteristics.
An MRI study found that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video game play.
“I have felt the wrath of video game addiction from age 19 onwards through to my mid twenties. My typical day would consist of waking up early in the morning at 6am playing right through to 11pm.No social life and no purpose in life as everyone else would say. PlayStation was my existence. This would not have ended if I did not experience seizures at the time,” said Vernon of KwaDukuza.
“I know of my friend who sat with “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” from 8pm the previous night to 5am the next morning. He had his cigarettes and beverages next to him to keep him from any hunger pangs.”
Signs of your child or person who is addicted to video games results in:
• He/ She being more concerned with their interactions in the game than in their broader lives,
• lack of needed social skills to progress in society,
• having late baths and regarding personal hygiene as a waste of time,
• standing in the middle of nowhere looking into space for a considerable amount of time and
• avoiding phone calls from friends and/or lying about play time.
Video Game addiction has claimed it’s share of fatalities:
• Gregg J. Kleinmark, 24, plead "guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He left his fraternal twins unattended in a bathtub for 30 minutes, in order to go and play on his “Game Boy Advance" while the two ten-month old kids drowned
• A teenager shot his parents, killing his mother, after they took away his copy of Halo 3. A woman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for shaking her baby to death. She told investigators that the baby boy's crying had interrupted her while she was playing a Facebook game called ‘FarmVille’.
• Kendall Anderson, 16, killed his mother for taking away his PlayStation by hitting her 20 times with a claw hammer while she slept.
"In the hypothetical world created by such games, they become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot get in the real world,” said a psychologist.
Parents and people of video game addicts are advised to contact their local psychologist and/or psychiatrist to help diagnose and prescribe the proper treatment.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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