Tablets and video games are affecting children today. I think this issue should come to the surface more as I have friends and relatives who have been negatively affected by tablets and by the games on them.
I believe that tablets are mainly designed for adults and so are the games on them. We can handle and control our addictiveness towards each and every game and app we use, but children cannot. My relative, who is about 13 years old now, is terribly addicted to her tablet and its video games. Before her addiction she used to be a wonderful and bright student who used to get A’s in all her subjects in school. Her mother tried to stop her from playing games at all times by breaking the tablet as she started getting lower grades in school. But, the girl lost her temper and tried to commit suicide, because her tablet was taken away from her. When she got a new tablet back she threatened her mother not to come near her or else she would try to kill herself again. She tried to commit suicide a few more times when her mother disconnected the internet from their house and when she took away the charger to charge her own phone.
Now my cousin just stays in her room all the time and plays games. She barely speaks to anyone and eats very little. When she was taken to a physiatrist and checked out, she was said to have an addiction towards her games and tablet just as some adults have addictions towards drugs. It had badly affected her brain. It was suggested to let her keep playing her games and hopefully her addiction would subside slowly.
I suggest all parents to not let their children play games for too long or to hand them tablets unless it is extremely necessary for school work. It would be good for them.
- The reader is a student based in Ajman.
