The Health Risks of Gaming

By Sherine Chan

Although video games are fun, we can’t overplay. Why? Parents will always step in and say, ‘That’s enough for one day.’ The real question is: What are the risks of video gaming?

Health and Personality Effects: Let’s take a look at what makes a video game so bad for health and your personality. Gaming can bring you many bad impacts, like obesity or health problems such as headaches and tired eyes. Some of the most mentioned ones are trouble sleeping, getting lower grades in school, aggression, and anxiety! Beyond physical effects, there may also be personality changes, including turning aggressive, addiction to the internet and sleeping disorders. Also, it will harm social connections and the development of communication. According to a website named Addiction Help, ”Video game addiction is said to affect between 1.7% and 10% of the American population, according to the most recent research. Addiction to video games or internet gaming disorder isn't extremely common, but research around excessive gaming is constantly improving.”

Tips: If you want to make a change but don’t know how, here are some tips. First, try joining different clubs at school. This helps you meet new friends and stay active. Then, don’t lie down until you’re really tired. That way, you won’t spend too much time inside. Finally, play a maximum of 30 minutes, then look away for 5-10 minutes, it will help prevent eye strain.

Therefore, overplaying will cause unusual behaviour, addiction to technology or start health issues. Instead of playing online, try some social activities like sports or board games. Sometimes, simple activities are the best, like just talking to friends!