Why children can't stop gaming

We parents find it particularly difficult to talk about computer games in an unbiased and non-judgemental way. This medium has always had a bad reputation. It was said that children would become lonely through gaming and grow up to be socially incompatible loners. Games threatened to make them fat, lazy and stupid, even erasing the child's brain. The so-called killer game debate attested to gamers' particularly aggressive behaviour. The brutal game would serve as training for a killing spree because it specifically reduces the inhibition to kill. Today, the media constantly warn against computer game addiction among children and young people. It doesn't exactly help to reassure parents when psychologists compare the game «Fortnite» to heroin. Of course there are risks, but they can be controlled through education and the well-known truism «the dose makes the poison». A childhood without video games would be possible, but very unrealistic.

Children have been magnetically attracted to digital games for as long as they have existed: From the classic arcade machine with a coin slot to the mouse-grey Gameboy and today's apps on smartphones. Children love to play and acquire a wide range of skills almost incidentally (more on this in part 2 of this series on «What opportunities do games offer?»). Playing in itself is even one of the basic children's rights in the UN resolution. And gaming, i.e. playing with digital media, is undeniably an integral part of children's and youth culture today. This was also confirmed in 2019 by the latest MIKE study conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), which surveyed children aged between 6 and 13: «The most popular leisure activity with media is digital gaming.»

What children get from games

No wonder, because in games, children alone have the power, whereas otherwise they are rarely allowed to decide anything at home or at school. This also works in free play, but games provide images and success stories. Video games are also the only entertainment medium in which children and young people can actively control and influence events. They slip into the roles of a wide variety of heroes and are allowed to do everything that is denied to them in reality: Race, build business empires or defeat monsters.

What's more, the digital game itself has no consequences for real life. If the protagonist falls, instead of a plaster leg or death, the next attempt follows immediately.
From a child's point of view, all these advantages may be wonderful. From a purely parental perspective, the educational challenges cannot be denied.

Educationally challenging games

Most mums and dads have already experienced the disadvantages of this fascination and the associated conflicts at first hand: digital games can cast such a spell over children and young people that they lose all sense of time. Because they can't find an end to it, this leads to arguments with parents and heated discussions. This has already happened with television. But at the latest when the child throws a violent tantrum because it has failed a tricky level for the umpteenth time, we ask ourselves whether games are actually causing harm.

Series: Computer games

Hardly anything has such a strong pull on young people as computer games. What is the fascination and what are the opportunities? What dangers does gaming on the computer harbour and how can we protect our children from them?

--> Read all articles in the series here

It is also problematic when children play games that are not designed for their age. «The most popular game in 2019 was the co-op survival game Fortnite», the MIKE study also states. And: «This finding is surprising because the game is only officially recommended for ages 12 and up and most of the children surveyed have not yet reached this age.» In the 2020 JAMES study by the ZHAW, around a quarter of respondents admitted that they did not adhere to the age restrictions. This is in line with my experience when primary school pupils tell me knowledgeably about games that are only released for ages 18 and up. Whereas in the past, the sale of such games to them was stopped at the shop checkout at the latest, this can now be circumvented by downloads. From a purely technical point of view, it's not exactly easy for parents to maintain an overview.

The «Netflixing» of games

Today, people play with computers, consoles, tablets, smartphones and voice assistants such as Alexa. The internet has cancelled out bricks-and-mortar retail. Apps are only available online in the app stores. Almost all PC and console games can be purchased and downloaded directly via Playstation, Switch and Xbox. The internet sales platform Steam has established itself for PC games. Similar offers are available from GOG, Epic Games Store and Humble Bundle, among others.

Recently, there has been a trend towards the «Netflixisation» of the gaming world, in which games are streamed for a fixed fee. Around a fifth of the young people surveyed in the latest JAMES study already have such a subscription. The big players such as Apple, Google and Amazon are the main players here. Not very convincing so far.

It doesn't work without education

There is nothing wrong with computer games as long as we take the age labelling into account and pay attention to what children play and for how long. It is not for nothing that the WHO advises against letting children sit at the computer for too long. However, we often find it difficult to set limits - partly because we don't know enough about the content and technology. I hope to change that with this series. Don't worry, nobody has to try out all the games themselves. But we do need to know enough about them to be able to set limits. In short: we don't have to be interested in the games, but in our children.

Criteria for parents

• Note the age rating: At pegi.info you can enter the name of a game to see its age rating.
• Agree on playing times: Reliably monitor compliance.
• Stay calm: If you play longer on one day, then less on another.
• Take a stand: If you don't want your child to play violent games, stop it with a comprehensible reason (such as «War is not a game for me»).

The series

Hardly anything has such a strong pull on young people as computer games. What is the fascination and what are the opportunities? What are the dangers of gaming on the computer and how can we protect our children from them? Everything parents need to know about gaming in a six-part series.

Part 1 What we need to know about gaming Part 2 What opportunities do games offerPart 3 Learning with games Part4 How dangerous are gamesPart 5 What protective measures are there for games Part 6 Good games, bad games - we can recommend these games

Read all articles in the series here