All is 'not' well

One of the countless problems with this generation is that they are aggressively hooked to their playstations, arcade consoles and PCs playing anything from a simple FIFA to a violent Grand Theft Auto. The increasingly high number of crimes by young boys under the age of 18 is enough proof that the young brood is not in a good mood.

This could be attributed to the fact that spending long hours glued to the screens and concentrating on violent games like Half Life or Hitman can lead to ‘mental fatigue’, which is a term used to describe the tiredness of brain due to no-work or overwork. Mental fatigue gives rise to headache, mood swings, sleep disorder and pain around the eyes. If the problems persist, it may also lead to one of the many forms of lunacy.

When the mental fatigue starts to settle in, it demands that the person suffering should vent out the tension. This leads the person towards things that are immoral, opposed to public policy and even illegal. Thus young children try to emulate what they play on their consoles. They drive their vehicles at breakneck speeds, enter into a fight for any reason, disregard their own parents, steal, smoke, consume alcohol and slowly they deteriorate into humans lacking any productive aims or objectives

With the rise of competitiveness within the society, parents want their children to grow up as fast as possible. I admit that the weight of the school bag too should share the blame but in the end that is education. The desire of the parents to see their children excel over others forces them to pressurize their young ones into doing things they might not want to. This leads to forming of a rebellious nature in a child’s character and the video game thus becomes the perfect place where he can vent out his frustration. To the children, the virtual world of the game gives them satisfaction and confidence which they fail to achieve in their real lives. This makes them play for longer durations and they become addicts.

Countries like China, USA and Australia are already facing unprecedented social problems due to game addiction. The problems in India have not reached that stage but with the rise in the number of PCs and internet users, we can see the signs of the coming scenario. Now, it is up to the parents to decide the fate of their children because a mere good schooling cannot ensure a good character.