DNA Edit: Stop playing! - Violent games like PUBG will ruin children

The smartphone revolution has brought with it consequences that have a direct bearing on the physical and psychological well-being of children.

Even kids from primary schools have fallen prey to online games that can be easily downloaded on the phone. Such has been the addiction that the Gujarat government has banned the popular online multiplayer game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, popularly called PUBG, which was adversely affecting very young students.

PUBG’s popularity among youngsters is legendary: PUBG Mobile was recently declared as the best game on Android for 2018 while the PC version has been one of the most popular softwares. Since anybody can afford a smartphone now, mobile data is dirt cheap, and parental supervision lax, children tend to spend hours playing games.

While Gujarat government’s decision of a ban was prompted by the upcoming board examinations in the state, the widespread mobile phone addiction needs holistic measures. The West has already been grappling with it, and now India is in the throes of a similar crisis.

Like PUBG’s affect on the mental health of students, there are several dangerous games on the worldwide web that push impressionable minds to undertake dangerous tasks. Recall the Blue Whale Challenge, and how it led some students to commit suicide.

Child specialists have insisted that mobile devices are ruining human interactions and other enriching activities. This underscores the fact that kids are becoming inward since they are refusing to engage with their peers.

Smartphones have also turned children into couch potatoes because they rarely show up on the playground. Make no mistake: This problem is going to assume epidemic proportions in future as India will be the fastest growing smartphone market for the next few years. With easy accessibility to feature-rich phones, parents will realise how difficult it is to wean kids away from the screen.