According to Mark, D (2014), online video games crushed the world decades ago in many ways, and it is changing among the years. The first online video game was created in 1978. Online video games types are a lot, but the most common type or kind is the one that you can play with people around the world and make new friends online. By time the percent of addiction to online video games started to be less from adults and there was a balance between adults and adolescents or young teenagers.
There are many effects effects of online games addiction on teenager’s behavior and their academic income, there will be a lot of changes on them such as anxiety or depression and also declining performance in school or university and loss of control over time spent in playing. (Moberg,2020). Online games may be a major problem if it was used by a teenager in a large and frequent manner, as these games will be a motivation to neglect personal, family, or educational responsibilities, while the love of these electronic games may develop into addiction, when you try to stop the teenager and prevent them from using these , games they will be sad and they will feel that you are against them and you don’t want them to have fun , and they may want to spend more time playing these games, and they will lose interest in activities they was previously interested in and will find them not enjoyable at all, and they may have to lie about the amount of time they spent In playing these games, it can also cause loss of interpersonal relationships, school regression.
The concept of online video games has been linked to many health problems such as obesity, laziness, convergence, and social diseases, as it also affects physical and mental health, which occurs due to the frequent use of these games, and electronic games can cause pain in the joints of the player due to the continuous game periods That the player spends without a break, and playing these games can lead to a lack of vitamin D, due to the player not being exposed to sunlight, which makes him more susceptible to diseases.
A study was conducted on a group of teenagers between the ages of 14 to 17 years for a period of three years, and the results of this study indicated that violent electronic games stimulate aggressive behavior in children due to the large number of children witnessing violence, says video games violence expert and the owner of PhD in Evolutionary Psychology at Iowa State University, Dr. Douglas A. Gentile, that electronic games affect all people, whether they have aggressive behavior in their nature or not, and they affect females as well, not just males.
Recent studies indicate that electronic games may cause the body to be in a state of tension, which increases blood pressure and the number of heartbeat, as electronic games even if they were not violent games or movement games lead to an increase in the level of visual and cognitive stimulation, which places the brain and body in This state of tension, and thus the occurrence of problems in sleep, as playing electronic games may affect the primitive areas of the brain, and send signals that make the body in a state to be alert even while he sleeps.
Electronic games that incite violence, killing and suicide, and which are widespread among children and adolescents , and even countries, after the increasing number of killings and suicides in the world, which requires attention to the problem and address it resolutely and quickly, especially as it preys on the minds of its practitioners, children and adolescents.
At a time when many studies and researches from international and Arab institutions have warned about the dangers of electronic games on children, especially those that incite violence and killing,
What causes online games addiction? Have you ever asked yourself this question? well there are many such as:
The most important causes of addiction to electronic games that were monitored according to practical and realistic studies and statistics are:
First: the state of euphoria and a sense of the strength felt by the person in the space of electronic games, which he is actually missing.
Second: The success of electronic games in killing the state of material and personal void that many people may suffer, especially during adolescence.
Third: the unbridled desire to escape from the real world with its problems and concerns to the world of fun games.
Fourth: The constant renewal and motivation that the electronic games production companies master in addition to the state of feeling the team spirit and the communication that afflicts the person when he is playing electronic games.
Fifth: One of the most important causes of addiction to electronic games is the family’s failure to communicate positively and interactively with their children and children.
The most played online games according to statistics are:
- Minecraft
- Fortnite
- Grand theft auto v
- Overwatch
- Roblox
- Player unknown’s battleground’s (pubg)
- Call of duty
- Super Mario
- Skyrim
- Super mash
In order to succeed in treating electronic gaming addiction, we must follow the following steps and recommendations:
First: The child must be taught that there is a specific time spent in front of the game he is addicted to, so that we can gradually get rid of its addictive impact.
Second: The free time that the addict will feel will be compensated for by beneficial life activities such as sports or friendly family relations. Here, the family must come close to the addict at that point.
Third: It is not necessary to censure or distress with the addict so that he does not resort to other types of addictions that are more dangerous.
Finally, Prevention is always better than treatment. Watch your child and approach him and be a good friend to him until you always succeed in protecting him from all types of addiction.