When I was growing up, playing video games was a big part of my world. It started with Lego Video Games about my favorite worlds, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. It was wonderful and amazing for me as a small child to dive into those worlds and to relive my most loved stories. All due to the existence and joy of video games. But as they can bring you joy and fun they also can lead to depression, mental illnesses and addiction. Is it worth to play those games or is it better to stay away to prevent any of those negative possibilities, also referred to as “downs of video gaming”?
As the world has numerous kinds of things, so has the world of video gaming. Nearly endless variations of games and genres, play styles, histories and ages to explore, to try out and to experience. You can choose between various styles of shooters, strategy games, adventure games, role games and slice of life games. Some games are made to be played alone, others are to be enjoyed with friends or other people world wide, playing the same choice of game. The social aspect of video gaming is surely a pro for video games, for it can connect people and create friendships. But with the social side, there also comes the negative side of social interaction, that can show up in the internet and especially in video games. Online gaming and online competing sounds nice at the start. You can proof your skill and rise to the top of in-game leader boards with practice and talent, compete against the best and maybe make a living out of your talent.
But with winners there always come losers. And some people are just sorry losers. So with the anonymity of the internet and the protection of a gamer name they insult the winners or blame teammates for the loss, completely forgetting that it all is just a game. This hate in video games can lead to bad feelings or even to depression, that can peak in suicide. To summarize it the social aspect of video games comes with great advantages like a online community and a lot of equal people, but also with enormous platforms and possibilities for hate and cyber bullying.
As video games can help you to forget about your world and your problems for a while, they also can fully consume you and control your life. Known as addiction. Too much of anything is never good for yourself, say alcohol, smoking or video gaming. Too much video gaming lets you forget about your normal life, your duties, your people and consumes you. This will do nothing for you but cause problems with your family, your friends or your obligation. You will not move from your couch, your chair, your bed all day long, for weeks, what will no doubt cause you health problems. As with everything, the amount makes the poison.
In the end I can only recommend you to try video gaming out for yourself, because I honestly wouldn’t want to miss it, if you haven’t already tried it. Only watch over yourself to not overdo it.