Online games are a hot cake among youth these days with almost 81% of teenagers under 18s indulged. It is an emerging sector in India and has shown a robust increase in the number of gamers over the last few years. A substantial increase in gaming has been recorded in the year 2020 due to covid induced lockdown. The year 2020 has witnessed an investment of USD 544 million in India in the gaming sector.
As a result of the enhanced investment, more teenagers are recklessly running towards online gaming to have fun and connect socially and make new friends.
With the habit of online gaming comes many challenges including deterioration of the physical, emotional as well as social well being of youths.
Brains addicted to games are more likely to be dormant in the normal real world thereby reducing capacity towards work efficiency. Such Kids are prone to isolation much easier that leads to a decrease in academic excellence and withdrawal from educational institutions. Impaired posture is another danger of prolonged gaming and often result in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) causing numbness in fingers especially in the thumb and first three fingers. Apart from CTS, migraine, cervical problem, as well as impaired eyesight at a very young age, is another serious issue.
Moreover, finances linked to gaming is another major drawback of this sector. Kids hastily invest money to unlock succeeding states of games using parents or carers credit cards. Scammers use the malware to capture the detail of gamers online accounts and hack it which is why it is subject to friendly fraud than any other industry.
It’s not easy to quit the habit of gaming that’s why it is necessary to take steps at the very early stage. Quit all the gaming apps and try to uninstall it from system if possible.Try to find a competing interest to invest your time and mind that pulls you away from video games. At the least keep pushing yourself away by taking a little step every day as it’s never too late to begin.
Refrences: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/process-addiction/video-game-addiction/gaming-addiction-statistics/
https://m.timesofindia.com/life-style/health-fitness/de-stress/lockdown-loneliness-drives-up-gaming-addiction/amp_articleshow/78393084.cms
