This is how Kids Are Getting Addicted to Mobile Games in 2021

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Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

This article has been updated recently for the new year 2021

What do you do when boredom strikes?

What do you do when you are waiting for your flight at the airport?  

You might be aware that many people surf through their phones to pass their time. Adults may surf through social media, but children and teenagers prefer to play mobile games to entertain themselves when they are bored. 

Game development companies understand that and thus take special care of such things, which balances everything. Just like software development company Riseup Labs has many games in its name. 

Most of the kids are taken up by mobile gaming. You can see most children and teenagers playing mobile games whether they are having dinner, in their free time, or while they are in the queue. 

You may even hear many parents complaining about their kids’ mobile gaming obsession. Many children are ignoring their studies and spending more of the time playing mobile games. 

Children these days do not want to socialize or go out and play in the fresh air. All they do is lock themselves and play mobile games. 

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Positive Impact of Mobile Gaming

Relax and Lighten Mood

Mobile gaming is a great way to lighten your mood and relax whenever you have a hectic schedule. It helps to generate positive energy when you are exhausted. 

When you have a long day and do your work without any break, you can feel monotonous after some time. At this time, mobile gaming can help you a lot to relax your mind and energize you. 

Also, video gaming helps you to overcome tension and reduces your daily stress. Mobile gamings are great solutions to overcome any dull and tedious situation. 

Sharpen Minds

Mobile games usually need a significant amount of attention and your brain abilities. Tricky games and mind games provide the best for exercising your brain as you know that you need to do some brain exercise to improve your memory power. 

There are many brain games that you can download on your mobile phone, which helps to improve your memory power, improve reasoning skills, improve logical skills, and so on. 

Some brain games have levels that make you familiar with the game, and it slowly helps to exercise your brain. 

Brings People Together

In this digital age, mobile games provide you a digital platform to socialize. Most parents want their children to go out and socialize with people. However, they are unaware that their children are socializing through video games. 

Kids play online games and connect their games with their peers and sometimes even with strangers and socialize via games and enjoy themselves. 

Children who love to play multiplayer games online can easily develop new relationships and friendships. They tend to be more friendly than the kids who do not play games at all.

For example: When children of the class play PUBG together, they discuss their game during free time in their school, and this helps children to get closer. 

Develops Problem Solving Technique

You may be well aware that all the games are developed to solve problems, which eventually improves children’s problem-solving skills.

While playing games, you may not be able to accomplish your game at once; sometimes, you fail at the game, and after trying for much time, you will be able to complete your game. Hence, mobile games help you to learn from your mistakes. 

When you fail at your game, you try a newer technique each time to accomplish the game level. Mobile games help to improve children’s creativity and improve problem-solving techniques. 

Improves Decision-Making Skills

Another positive impact of mobile gaming is that it helps to improve decision-making skills among the players. 

While playing games, there are many situations where you need to take specific situations promptly, and if you take the wrong decision, you may fail the game. This helps you to make prompt decisions.

You may have experienced that if your friend is a gamer, they are better at making prompt decisions. They can make decisions even when they are in any noisy situation, which makes them able to make decisions in their personal life no matter what the situation is.

Negative Impact of Mobile Gaming

Anger and Aggressive Behaviour

Some games contain violence and action, which can make kids aggressive. Not just violent games make kids aggressive, sometimes games like puzzles and other peaceful games also make them aggressive and angry.

When your kids play games peacefully, and when you call them to study or help you, they get angry as they get distracted by your talk. Children usually get impulsive and impatient when they are playing mobile games. 

Moreover, when they become unsuccessful in completing their level on the game, they can even get aggressive and even get angry at you if you disturb them. 

Lower Academic Scores

Children these days are spending more time on their mobile phones playing games rather than studying. 

If your kids are gamers, then on average, they spend 2 hours on gaming. They give more priority to their game rather than their studies, because of which their academic scores decrease. 

Also, at school, children can discuss games and give less attention to what their teachers are saying. Even during their free time, instead of doing group studies, children prefer to play games. 

Hence, gaming can reduce children’s academic scores if they get obsessed with mobile games. 

Exposure to Mature Contents

Nowadays, many games contain violence, adult content, nudity, language, racism, etc. Being exposed to such types of content at an early age might not be appropriate and can harm their psychology.

Kids may not be able to identify things shown in the video games that are wrong and right. And most of the time, they may consider everything shown on the game is right. Due to which kids may start to show aggressive behavior. 

Increases Health Problem

You may be cognizant that spending too much time on devices can weaken your eyesight, can cause back problems, muscular and bones disorder, obesity, and many more. 

When kids play games continuously, they need to bend all the time, due to which they can have problems with their body posture. Also, they need to sit in one place continuously and can lead to muscle dislocations. 

You can also see kids who are gamers usually face eyesight problems as they need to look at their devices continuously. Kids can be sluggish; they prefer to sit or sleep on their couch and play games instead of going out to do some physical exercise, resulting in obesity. 

Children can Isolate Themselves

Children can play online games with their friends, and it may look like they are socializing. Yes, they may be socializing virtually, but is that socializing effective like you socialize personally?

Indeed, communicating in person is not like communicating virtually. When children communicate virtually, they lack socializing skills in their real life. 

When children are too addicted to games, they can feel bored in social gatherings. And, they may not know how to start communication leading to depression and anxiety.

Sleep Issues

Has it ever happened to you where you think this is the last game and will go to bed but end up playing the game all night? 

If you do not watch kids’ screen time or use any parental controlling apps, you can play mobile games all night. Their sleep pattern can get disturbed. And they may play the game all night and sleep for a few hours. Most kids try to compromise their sleep and give more time to their games. 

Sleep is the most important element for everyone, especially for kids. When children do not get enough sleep, their health starts to degrade; they are less focused on their studies and can feel sleepiness during day time.

How to know if Your kids are Addicted to Mobile Games?

Sometimes parents may not be aware that their kids are getting addicted to mobile games addiction. Children show many signs of being addicted to mobile games; some of the sign are:

Having Mood Swing

Children who are addicted to mobile games can have serious mood swings. Children can get angry and upset with anyone and anytime. 

When children win their games, they can feel happy and treat everyone around them with good behavior. They try to create a positive environment, and they are in a good mood. 

But if they cannot win the game, they get upset, and small things can make them angry. 

Children try to relate everything to their game, and their moods are also based on their games. 

Decline in Academic Scores

If your kids prioritize the game over their studies, there are high chances of kids becoming obsessed with their mobile game. This is an early sign for you to minimize their mobile usages.

Your kid’s academic score can also show kids’ addiction to mobile games. They show less interest in school activities, and their grades start to decline. Many kids even try to skip school and stay the whole day in their room playing games.

Moreover, even during their lunch break in school, children play mobile games instead of physically playing games. 

Lack of Interest in Other Aspect of Life

When kids are addicted to games, they are less interested in other aspects of their life like socializing, reading, doing exercise, traveling, etc. 

When your kids are hooked to playing mobile games, it won’t help, even if you bribe them. Children prefer their mobile games over any other activities in their life. 

Likewise, your kids will also start to ignore personal hygiene when addicted to mobile games. You may have seen many gamers who just lock themselves in their room and do not care about personal hygiene and room cleanliness.

Wanting to Stay Alone

Another sign that your kids are addicted to mobile games is when they prefer to stay alone playing mobile games instead of participating in other activities. 

Suppose your kids like to stay in their room even when there are guests in your home. Or even when there is some party going on, your kids do not want to go to the party; then it is a signal that your kids are obsessed with gaming. 

When they isolate themselves, one of the significant problems is that they can be victims of depression and other emotional issues. 

Not Wanting to Accept Failure

When your kids are addicted to mobile games, they want to win all the time. They play their game until they pass the level or win the game, which shows their addiction to the game. 

Even when they are playing some physical games or in any event, they want to win. They never want to accept their failure and show aggressive behavior when they lose the game.  Children can be angry and frustrated when they lose games. 

These are some common signs that your kids show when they are hooked to mobile games. 

Solutions and Tips for Reducing Mobile Games Addiction

Mobile games are fun and exciting; not just children, adults also equally enjoy playing mobile games. Adults can somehow control themselves from playing games all the time, but children cannot control themselves from controlling playing games. 

As a parent, you can apply some solutions by setting rules to reduce mobile game addiction. Here are some tips and solution to reduce mobile games addiction:

Set Rules

As a parent, you need to set rules for your kids to play games a lot. Rules keep children disciplined and teach them a sense of responsibility. When your kids follow the rules at home, they will know the importance of rules, and they follow the rules anywhere they go, which makes them disciplined. 

Setting rules like giving children specific hours to play games and use their devices will reduce mobile game addiction. You can even set rules like not downloading mobile games that are addictive and download only educational apps and games. 

You know that children can easily break rules that you set for them. Hence to make your rules more effective, you can even set some consequences to make your rules more effective.

Monitor Your Kid’s Device

One more effective solution that you can use to solve mobile game addiction is monitoring your kids’ devices. Using parental control apps, you can view what your kids are viewing at the moment.

Parental control apps also show you your kids’ screen time, apps that they downloaded on their phone, browser history, and many more. 

There are some parental control apps that you can use to monitor your kids’ devices. These apps provide you with all the features you need to monitor your kids’ devices and keep them disciplined.  

Give Them Some Extra Activities

Do your kids always use their phones when they are free? 

You can give your kids some extra work or duties to keep them busy, and kids will have very few hours to spend on their phones.  

During the weekend, you can give your kids extra activities like painting, doing some handwriting practices, some scientific experiments, or any other fun activities that help kids stay busy. You can organize friendly challenges among your kids, which makes the activities more fun.

For example, organizing flower pots, painting challenges during the weekend, and challenging who can paint more pots.

Giving extra activities instead of mobile phones will not just help to keep children away from mobile games; it also lightens children’s mood, and kids can be more creative. 

Give Them Reward 

Sometimes, your kids might negotiate with you regarding the perks and rewards they want after obeying you. Providing rewards is also a great way to make your children follow the rules you set for them. 

When your kids obey the rules you set for them, you can reward them with video games; this will help kids know the importance of rules. They will even prioritize the time and activities you allow them to do. 

This makes kids understand that having to play video games is not their necessities but a privilege. 

Many kids think playing mobile games is their basic right, and many even argue with their parents on this subject matter. But when you set it as a reward, they will take playing mobile games as secondary activities. 

Communicate Them About Gaming Negative Side

Many kids start to play mobile games at a very young age when they do not know how to speak properly. Even parents give their toddlers games to keep them busy when they are doing some work. When children start to play games at a young age, it becomes their habit. 

Children may not know the negative aspect of gaming; hence, parents should communicate with their kids about mobile gaming’s negative aspects. Parents’ responsibility is to teach kids about the negative aspects of gaming and how much time they should spend on mobile games.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion 

To conclude, mobile gaming has been a serious problem among children these days. Mobile gamings have both positive and negative impacts on children. 

When kids give more importance to the mobile game, you can assume that your kids are addicted to their mobile games.

Here, I have mentioned the positive and negative aspects of mobile gaming and its solution.

To have a good view of different mobile gaming and game application development, you can check out the latest portfolio of a software development company.