Parents, pay attention before it's too late!

Video game addiction is a growing problem globally. It is estimated that two billion people play video games worldwide, and as many as 4 percent of them are addicts. In 2018, the World Health Organization classified video game addiction as an addiction. Every year, 20 to 30 children are hospitalized at the Institute for Mental Illnesses in Belgrade due to video games, and in 90% of cases, these are boys. The problem of video game addiction occurs from an early age. From the age of two or three, children are very good at mobile phones and computers. It starts from just watching at first, and then at the age of seven, eight or even earlier they get involved in interactive video games that involve more players and are popular from children to middle-aged people.

What is the difference between video game enthusiasts and addicts who need professional help? An addict is, by definition, a person who is occupied with video games to such an extent that he cannot perform daily activities normally. All segments of life are endangered and neglected, because priority is given to playing games, regardless of the negative consequences it brings. Parents do not take care of their children enough. They often think that a child is safer at home than on the street, which is justified, but on the other hand, an ideal predisposition for these types of addictions is created. One third of students in Serbia have problems due to the amount of time they spend on the Internet and because of that they get into conflicts with family or friends. Slightly less than half unsuccessfully try to spend less time online and neglect socializing and commitments, feel bad when they can't be online, and nearly a fifth neglect basic biological needs such as food needs because of the Internet, mostly video games. or sleep. Addiction to video games leaves many on the physical health of addicts. There are problems with vision, pain in the cervical spine, curvature of the entire musculature due to incorrect body position for several hours. Insufficient movement and sitting at the computer for too long can also cause clots in the legs. Many negative consequences are also reflected on the psyche of addicts. They are often desocialized, isolated from the rest of society, without the ability to empathize and self-control. If the treatment does not start on time, there are thoughts of suicide, and often patients try to harm others. The treatment of video game addiction is similar to the treatment of gambling addicts in many respects. The addict loses awareness of real time and tries to spend every moment playing. Initially, games are played only on weekends, when a person has the most leisure.

Over time, playing will become daily, but at shorter intervals, for example two hours during the day. As psychological dependence increases, the time spent playing plays will increase to a dozen or more hours during each day. A worrying fact is that several deaths were registered in people who played video games continuously for more than 20 hours. Loss of interest in work, school, assignments, hobbies, the previous routine. The person initially denies the existence of the problem, trying to minimize it. When a person realizes that he has a problem, he will seek help from people around him. In the case of minors, sometimes the problem will not be perceived. Then the parents or guardians of the addict are taken to an expert on their own initiative. When he is deprived of the opportunity to play games, the addict faces a feeling of suffering and boredom, he feels sad because of the loss of something important. This affects behavior that becomes irritable and nervous. Until then, calm and withdrawn, the patient becomes aggressive towards others and towards himself. He blames his neighbors for denying him a source of pleasure.

We cannot rely on these young people, they are immature, they do not have enough experience, they do not have their own personality. So they need family support. In the situation when the scenario "either he buys me a mobile phone that supports this and that or I kill myself" comes to an end. That means the story was missed five to ten years ago. Now, here is a very important story about prevention. We have two types of prevention - specific and general. Specific prevention in this context would be a ban, censorship of a video game that has aggressive content. The second part is related to something that is general prevention. General prevention in this case would mean that if you take away a video game, a tablet, you have to give something in return. - If you don't give it to him, a very big problem will arise because you took away part of his identity, and you didn't give him anything. The question is what can be given. And always the only answer is warmth, friendship, humanity, that is, family.