Parents these days often worry about their children’s addiction to games on smartphones or computers. Such addiction, it is said, often leads kids to develop Asperger’s Syndrome type traits. This is a developmental disorder characterised by difficulties in social interaction along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interest. Though there are some smart monitoring apps and software available to curb the gaming habit, ‘tech savvy’ kids in many cases beat these systems. The children start skipping classes, avoiding homework and show little interest in other extracurricular activities if asked to stay away from mobile or computer games. Orissa POST spoke to a few youngsters who managed to overcome the game addiction.
Abhishek Samantray, a Class XI student of DAV School at CDA, Cuttack said, “I started playing cricket on my mobile and this turned into an addiction. I attempted many times to withdraw from the game but could not do so. I realised that the game was making me lazy and preventing me from playing outdoor games.”
“I discussed the problem with my teacher (PET) who suggested that I should practice yoga during my free time and get involved in some physical activities in school. That helped me overcome on my addiction,” he added.
Priyanshu Mohanty, a Class VIII student of DAV Pokhariput of Bhubaneswar, said that he realised in time that he was becoming addicted to games. “On my last birthday, I got a GTA IV DVD from one my uncles. Initially, the game was difficult to play but later I found it more interesting than the computer games I had earlier. Slowly I got into the habit of playing the game during my holidays and, recently, ahead of my final examinations, I realised that I was becoming addicted to the game and instantly wanted to quit. One morning, I uninstalled the game and started focusing on my studies. Although it was not easy but to have a good future, we have to sacrifice some things in our daily life.”
Anshuman Debasis Mishra, a Class VIII student of Guru Nanak Public School, said, “It was a habit with me to grab my mother’s cell phone and start playing my favourite video game ‘Temple Run’ after returning from school. Sometimes, I skipped my meal to play the game without my mother’s knowledge. Though my parents had warned me about the adverse impact of playing such games a number of times, I never paid heed to them. I would spend upto four hours a day playing video games on the cell phone. Recently, I realised that I have become a game addict who cannot go through a single day without playing video games. That apart, I started scoring poor marks in my examinations.”
“After I failed to meet my parents’ expectations in the examinations, I have now started concentrating on studies. My mother helped me a lot to overcome this bad habit,” added Anshuman.
Anwesh Anshutam Bhanja, a Class II student of Carmel School, said, “I started playing video games after I saw my mother playing these games with much interest. If parents have their eyes on a screen all the time, kids too will emulate them. After learning about the ill-effects of playing such games all the time from newspaper articles, my mother tried her best to dissuade me. With her support, I replaced my computer time with more productive activities. I started doing exercise and joined outdoor games which helped me a lot. Besides, my mother encourages me these days to go out with my friends and to interact with them. Also, she makes sure to put her phone or tablet down during meals or when she is with us.”
SOYONG, OP