Enough about thinking and debating whether online games are appropriate or safe for you, there are flaws in every kind of systems; especially the internet which has provided us such wonderful sources of entertainment , online games being one of them but that doesn’t mean online games shouldn’t be subjected in your day to day life. And there is no doubt, every act which becomes excess leads to a problem. Hence the answer you seek lays in the grey area , because there isn’t any black or white regions

Online games actually do good more than bad when played for limited time(unless pursuing a career).

Online games have been on the rise since the last decade more importantly on smartphones due to cheap and mass availability of internet and cheap smartphones.

Prime reasons

For online mobile games

Becomes frustative to cope with.

Take any of competitive online games; such as clash of clans ,clash royale, roblox , fortnite, PUBG etc; being among the latest trends these kind of games demand a huge chunk of your time everyday only if you choose to.

But even if you manage your amount of time spending on these games and control your urge to play , the thought of pushing for higher ranks and to compete never stops in your mind.

Take clash of clans for instance, one of the rules of game demands the player to be online if you want to avoid your village from being raided in absence of shield.

Keeping up with this feature, this game can be played without any stress and tension only till you have a robotic Lego arm which will keep playing game in your absence.

This reason might make you feel to stop playing these kind of online games mainly because you either you are already addicted to them or if not then you have just began playing them and haven’t seen any effects.

There isn’t exactly a black or white answer, Hence I wouldn’t recommend that you restrict yourself playing these games unless you are working for achieving something in your life.

When you have certain goals where you need to put a lot of productive work hours in, gaming and social media does fall into the distraction category unless that’s what your profession is all about.

Website blocker extensions and App designed for treating addiction and improving your day-to-day productivity are the best shot if you can’t control the urge.

The Esports Industry

Esports always has been a ground for promotions for competitive online games since its origin in 1972.

Not only one can enjoy games like fortnite, brawl stars, league of legends etc but now a days one can even pursue it as a career option by becoming a professional player for team and earn through championship prize pool and sponsorships. Although people see only the riches,fame and glory side of it ignoring the process of achieving it.

Tyler blevins aka Ninja once in an interview shared story of his eye surgery ; when he started experiencing pain in his right eye while streaming legacy back in 2017, and continuous hours of streaming online games on twitch before becoming a sensation in the esports industry.

Although that being the extreme case which is very uncommon to see nowadays , still scientist say that long hours of gaming(mostly online because you can’t people have to stay committed while competing in real time) can increase stress, damage eyesight in the long term instead showing its effects right away.

Most people fall for this by seeing the glory,fame and charm of success in esports industry ignoring the fact that it takes extreme hard work , commitment and most importantly passion.

Some of my friends dropped out for pursuing career just believing they liked playing games and esports would be their destiny. But just loving to play games doesn’t necessarily mean that you are passionate about making it you career.

For online PC/console games

Things can go a bit different here; online games on consoles generally tend to be less addictive when compared to games on mobile platform.

These kinds of online games are much of greater kinds of time killers and probably one of the worst one. The frequency of playing multiple rounds is pretty less here , for example 1 playing one round of PUBG or Counter strike takes 20 to 25 minutes on average to finish , but the mind sees it as just one loss/attempt ignoring the time wasted and BOOM you are ready to give it another try.

So technically you have now managed to play those kinds of game 2 to 3 times you waste over a couple of hours, even at the same time you could have played online games on the mobile multiple times.

Dealing with the addiction problem.

The realization of how much online gaming has affected your life , relationships and life goals only arrives after a certain period of time; but still it’s never too late.

You just can’t decide one day that you will kick out the addiction out of your life, so start with substitutes for gaming like watch a short film or movie or anything which will keep you entertained for while but after a limit of an hour or so , you will feel satisfied and contained unlike the urge of getting over higher and higher ranks in online gaming with the same form of gameplay never seems to end.

Try out:

• Try watching a movie with your friends
• Start performing daily affirmations
• Share things with your friends and family
• Download apps for restricting your social media usage

You may encounter all kinds of gaming news if you constantly use social media, and that may again trigger your urge to engage in gaming. So I recommend you to cut off the social media for a while if your addiction situation is worse.

Benefits Of Online Gaming

Online gaming has potential benefits if understood and if played for a certain limit

In most of the online games, you are able to talk with your teammates, this feature is most useful which majority ignore. I have improved my communication and diction skills , and most importantly the fear of public speaking.

Helps You Develop:

• Social and Communication skills
• Enhances your teamwork and multitasking abilities
• Helps you become more self focused and aware

Conclusion

Any kind of addictive behaviours shouldn’t be ignored” people say, but the most common ones which tend to be the least harmful habits ends up affecting your day to day life and thoughts when crossed the limits.