Online games pull children into a world of bright seductive images and casual violence. Parents can worry that poor social skills or addiction may follow. Katy Gosset asks: how concerned should we be?
Online video games have pulled many children into a world of bright seductive images and sometimes casual violence. Some parents are concerned that poor social skills or addiction may follow. Katy Gosset asks: how worried do we need to be?
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"A darkened room with maybe one teenager or small child, just playing for hours on end ..."
It's a vivid picture Anna* paints of the world inhabited by many young people.
"They'd be having lots of fun but time would slip away so you'd say, 'Yes, you can have an hour and then, three hours later, they would emerge.'"
Rhonda* has also seen her sons spend up to six hours a day fixated on games.
"If I knew then what I know now, they wouldn't be in the house."
Online gaming has become a big part of many children's lives and many parents are naturally concerned about its impact on family life and socialisation.
For clinical psychologist, Catherine Gallagher, gaming is neither good or bad: what matters is how it's used.
"It's about the context around it and it's about how much it's used. So for me it's all about moderation."
But the online world was one that needed an adult guide, she said, and parents shouldn't 'just let it be'.
"So you don't always have to looking over their shoulder but you have to be engaged and help them navigate through this experience because to leave it up to them is asking for trouble."
Gaming should happen in a family room or, if in a bedroom, with the doors open so parents could see what was being watched.
"It's saying 'Well, if you want to play that, I'm going to have to observe you playing it to start with just so I can be aware of what's going on.'"
"They might say 'Oh Mum!" and you say 'Well, if you want to play it, this is the contract.'"
Part of the problem was that, when parents got busy, it was easy to allow the online world to babysit their children.
"If children are happy and entertained, well, one hour can very easily become four, as things slide."
Ms Gallagher said some parents believed their children should be able to self-manage but she argued that many adults also lacked this skill…