Dangers of Video Games

The rise of video games over the past couple of decades has caused a lot of discussion and uncertainty regarding the damage that excessive gaming can cause.  Today, most children have games consoles and internet connectivity growing up and this has had a significant impact on the way the youth in general spend their time.  Children used to spend their time outside with their friends, playing sports and socialising and this has changed a lot over the years, which is an obvious cause for concern.

The games which are released today are effectively designed to be addictive, making consumers play them more and consequently spend more on the product.  Gaming addiction is undoubtedly a rising problem and has a number of major symptoms.

Video games can easily take over a child’s social life and lead to them becoming isolated from their peers.  There are also other effects which have been linked to video game addiction, such as mood swings, diminished imagination and an overly-heightened focus on in-game accomplishments, detaching them from real life.

There are a number of risks which can result from prolonged gaming sessions, such as repetitive strain injury, dehydration and eye strain.  Beyond these, there are longer term effects, such as obesity and deep vein thrombosis.

There has also been a lot of unanswered debate about how much video games depicting violence impact player’s real-life behaviour.  It seems logical that a player’s sensitivity to violent behaviour will reduce given a lot of exposure and that the criminal actions will become normalised.  In one of the most horrific genocides of recent years, it was found that the murderer was a regular player of many violent video games, including Mortal Kombat and Doom.

Online Casino Games

The rise of online casinos has caused a concern about the increasing negative effects of gambling.  Whereas people previously had to go to a brick and mortar casino venue to gamble with their cash, they can now do it from their computer or mobile device, meaning placing a bet is a much simpler procedure.  This has the obvious implications on gambling addiction, as people can now snowball their way into serious financial difficulties in the privacy and isolation of their own homes.  Additionally, the regular transfer of funds online opens up the risk of scamming and other forms of theft. There are a number of practices online players can employ to reduce their risk to such problems.

The first thing players should do when selecting an online casino is choosing one with a good reputation that is known to treat their players well.  This can be done by using review sites to find properly authorised and trusted casinos.  It is also essential to make sure the casino is properly licensed.

It is also very advisable to transfer money using the safer options available.  Most online casinos now offer a broad selection of deposit/withdraw processes to suit all players.  Using a PayPal casino is a recommended method of fund transfer, as PayPal acts as an intermediary in the process, providing a higher level of security.

Both video games and online casinos can cause issues if not approached properly.  There is no way these industries will simply disappear, so to minimise the issue, there must be more information available to ensure people are aware of the potential risks before getting involved.