Computer Games Have a Negative Effect on Individuals

Computer Games Have a Negative Effect on Individuals Computer Games: The Potentially Detrimental Activity Computer Games Are Addictive Quite a few Americans have grown up playing computer games – mostly for pleasure, mostly alone – and they’ve wasted a lot of time, and a lot of their health and money, doing it, too. True, some computer games may develop the user’s reasoning skills, their ability to solve problems and so on. Perhaps this is the case, but playing computer games can also have a detrimental effect on a person – especially if they are consumed by the activity to the point they neglect their everyday responsibilities and their well-being. The overuse of computer games affects a person negatively on quite a few levels, mostly one’s physical, mental and emotional health, but also their finances. This is not to say that playing computer games alone is bad for a person; however, when it begins to affect a person’s life in a negative way, it becomes a problem, and it’s a problem our society must acknowledge and work hard to fix. To begin with, let’s take a look at how the overuse of computer games negatively affects a person’s physical health. For one, consider the activity itself. Rarely are computer games played standing up or moving around; they are done mostly sedentary – and encourage a sedentary lifestyle. A person consumed by computer games spends a great deal of their leisure time sitting down. This makes for bad cardiovascular health, which means potential heart problems and strokes – and of course obesity, which causes premature death in a person. Since people in our society spend more and more of our time sitting, because technology controls our lives, it is increasingly important to live a healthy lifestyle with daily exercise. Sitting too long is bad for us, and that is precisely why the overuse of computer games is bad for a person’s health. Computer Games are Time-Consuming ?omputer games can be detrimental to a person’s mental and emotional health, a negative side effect of this time-consuming activity. Even if they enjoy playing the computer game, the user will eventually start feeling lonely, unfulfilled and out of touch with reality. This may lead to depression and anxiety, a feeling of hopelessness, unless they begin incorporating healthier activities into their daily life – such as volunteering, exercising, hanging out with friends or reading. But this is quite a challenge when a person is engulfed in such an unhealthy, time-consuming, yet much enjoyable, activity. That is much of the problem: computer games can be a lot of fun to play, so much that people will forgo human interaction and a healthy lifestyle just to continue playing the game. At this point, it almost becomes an addiction – and addictions always have negative outcomes. Virtual World cannot Substitute Reality Overuse of computer games – like with any all-consuming activity or addiction – can negatively affect a person’s financial well-being. If the user spends so much time playing the computer game that they neglect their work responsibilities, they may lose their job – which could cost them money in the long run. Perhaps it distracts them from paying their bills, their mortgage, their car payment, which then costs them more money in debt. Also, when considering how the overuse of computer games affects a person’s health, all around, it’s a no-brainer that to take care of their health problems (doctor visits, medication, hospital bills, etc.), one has to fork over more and more money. Computer games, though they may cost less than $100 to purchase, can cost a person thousands in the long run – one more negative effect that computer games have  on the individual user. To conclude this argument, that the overuse of computer games has a negative effect on individuals, it’s important to add that playing computer games is not a detrimental activity in and of itself. Only when a person is utterly consumed by a computer game – that is playing it hours and hours a day, every single day of the year – does it begin to bring negative consequences, ones that affect a person’s health (emotional, mental and emotional) and their wallet. What is the solution to this problem? It may not be a bad idea for society to financially reward people with healthy, active lifestyles. Why not give people money for having balance in their lives? Why not penalize people who spend too much of their waking hours behind a computer, consumed in a game? This is a problem we must deal with. It won’t go away on its own. It’s up to us.