In the modern world filled with digital technologies, many parents watch with concern as their children spend hours “stuck” to gadgets and online games. Psychologists have been studying the phenomenon of internet addiction and dependence on virtual games for several years now, trying to understand the reasons behind such behavior in children and adolescents. According to experts, the problem lies not only in the children themselves, but also in the characteristics of modern technologies, which are deliberately designed to engage and retain users to the maximum extent. However, there are other important factors influencing this phenomenon – lack of real-life communication, absence of engaging real activities, and role models in the child’s environment.
Psychology Of Problematic Internet Use
People use the internet in different ways: for work, communication, creativity, and solving various tasks. However, there is a special type of internet use – for stress relief and distraction from the surrounding reality, which is most often observed not when working on a computer, but when using a smartphone or tablet. Unconsciously, a person scrolls through social media feeds or watches videos, not remembering their content, but merely trying to “escape” from reality for a while. If adults sometimes find it difficult to control such behavior, then what can we say about children whose self-control mechanisms are still in the process of formation. It is important to distinguish between productive and unproductive use of gadgets and the internet, as constant aimless “hanging out” online can become a problem, hindering the child’s development.
Signs Of Internet Addiction In Children
To determine whether the use of the internet and gadgets is a problem for a child, it is necessary to pay attention to what exactly they are doing online and how often it happens. If a child uses the internet for productive purposes – for reading, viewing educational content, creativity, then this is most likely not an addiction. However, if their only activity becomes aimlessly watching videos, endless scrolling through social media feeds, playing games without achieving any results, then there is reason for concern.
A dangerous sign is when, besides gadgets, there is practically nothing left in the child’s life – no real friends, no hobbies, no cultural development. In this case, it is necessary to change the situation urgently, otherwise internet addiction can lead to serious problems.
How To Counter Internet Addiction
Prohibitions and restrictions will not solve the problem of internet addiction, as the child needs to have their own personal space and boundaries. Instead, parents should set a personal example by showing that there are more useful and interesting activities than aimlessly spending time online. It is important to instill in the child a love for culture – watching good movies together and discussing them, organizing virtual tours of museums, reading books aloud. It is necessary to teach them to appreciate live communication by organizing joint activities and hobbies. If the child has a rich real life, including various hobbies and achievements, then the virtual world will not be able to completely absorb them.
Special attention should be paid to forming a system of role models and “significant others” for the child in reality. Teenagers tend to listen more to the opinions of peers rather than parents, so it is important to build strong relationships based on mutual trust and respect in advance. If the child sees successful and authoritative people in their parents, whom they can turn to for advice, then virtual characters will cease to be so attractive to them.
Esports As A Legal Alternative
It is worth noting that fascination with computer games is not always a negative and useless activity for a child. In recent years, the esports industry has been actively developing – competitions in various computer and video games at a professional level. Many modern children and adolescents dream of becoming successful esports players, earning hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars, participating in prestigious tournaments in popular disciplines such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant, and others.
Esports has already been recognized as an official sport in many countries around the world, and participation in it involves not only excellent gaming skills, but also serious physical and psychological training, high concentration, stress resistance, and teamwork. Therefore, for young gamers, it can become an exciting and promising career of the future.
In addition to professional esports players, commentators, analysts, streamers, and bookmakers involved in this industry. Some experienced players who are well-versed in esports earn money from betting, using the services of bookmakers like Melbet. All you need for this is simply to Melbet login download. By the way, the company offers a generous welcome bonus for new users.
Our super author here at Famous Parenting and an absolute wealth of knowledge. She has studied many topics including creative writing, psychology and journalism but her real passion lies in raising her 3 children. Between working from home, homeschooling her youngest 2 children and navigating the world of teenagers she is a guru for parents.
