How videogames affect teenagers

Currently, the video game industry is one of the most prolific and with the highest income. However, these electronic games are considered even more addictive than television due to its reward system and its repetition structure, thus being able to create great dependence on children and adolescents . The fact of resorting to this method of entertainment in a continuous way can cause a drop in the production of the levels of dopamine, a hormone and neurotransmitter that promotes positive feelings and well-being. Regarding how video games affect teenagers, it shows you a series of factors that unleash during prolonged use.

Lack of attention

In the first place, one of the easily visible effects of playing video games in a prolonged way is an increase in the lack of attention and concentration when other tasks are carried out, such as homework, or during classes, which also it implies a decrease in school performance. However, adolescents and children are very focused during game hours, so that they seem imperturbable when others talk to them or give them some order.

The time is gold

On the other hand, the game involves a loss of time that is sometimes intolerable, since those hours dedicated to this type of leisure could be used in school activities, doing homework and studying, as well as in other productive activities and beneficial for the development of the teenager That is why specialists usually recommend less than one hour of video games per day to players, as well as we suggest you consult this information about how to know if my child is addicted to video games.

Adequate brain development

In addition, prolonged play can hinder the correct development of certain parts of the brain, since video games can only stimulate the areas that direct movement and vision. While it may favor the coordination of both activities, in the long run it harms the evolution of other brain areas.

Benefits of videogames

Despite the disadvantages that can cause in the behavior of the adolescent, the videojuegos also can contribute positive aspects to the players. Among them we find an improvement of the visual perception, as well as of the reflections, but also a versatility and quick adaptation to different tasks, and even contribute to process the received information more easily.

Real life vs. virtual life

Finally, the prolonged use of video games reveals a distancing of reality from the adolescent, stagnating in a fictional and addictive universe. In this way the player tends to enter a virtual world that although tangibly can not replace as his own, mentally can come to interpret it as such and confuse them, disregarding the activities and priorities that really matter.