Is Social Gaming Bad for You?

Social Gaming
Social Gaming
Photo by Jamie McInall from Pexels.

The highly contested view that social gaming is bad for your health has been receiving a lot of press of late with some mental-health experts and parents whose concerns have risen after witnessing their what to them are seemingly endless gaming sessions.

This has resulted in the finger being pointed at those game developers who have, over the years, constantly tweaked their creations not only in looks and sound but also in the way that they operate, making their creations more exciting, enthralling and in some cases pervasive.

In fact. In June of this year the World Health Organization add ‘gaming disorder’ to an updated version of its @International Classification of Diseases’. Gaming disorder is a condition which results when people give up their usual activities and interests to indulge in their favorite game, even though doing so would have negative consequences, and this new addition is expected to be formally classified in 2022. Whether it be a gaming system or fun online games like SlotsUK.co.uk.

There are many games that can be played today over multiple platforms with many of those games being free, you can finda list of pay by mobile slots websites here and it’s not a secret that games are designed to keep players engaged as well as hit the pleasure centres of the brain in much the same way as gambling can.

Highlighting one aspect of our society like this can lead to all types of negativity and we must never forget to look at the bigger picture.

There will always be those that have an addictive personality no matter what that addiction is. Be it alcohol, overeating, smoking, there will always be those that simply cannot stop their cravings from taking over.

However, this does not mean that everyone who picks up the latest social game is going to become addicted. Throughout time there have been different trends towards differing activities and currently we are living in a culture where gaming and the playing of games is not only exceptionally entertaining it is also very lucrative for some gamers that play in tournaments and competitions where wagering on certain outcomes is allowed.

Society as a whole has always frowned upon things that it does not understand but if we look at the latest statistics, young adults are going out less, working longer hours and using their computers and mobile devices to source their entertainment online, and there is nothing wrong with this, it’s just different.

Monitoring the hours playing is a wise thing that any parent can do for their younger children, and perhaps the hours spent on games should be agreed upon beforehand. No one wants to think that video gaming is going to have a detrimental effect on anyone so being able to recognise any signs or symptoms that gaming is getting out of hand will help enormously.