Grandparents worry about game addiction
DEAR DOCTOR: It’s a real nightmare trying to pry our two grandsons away from their online video games when they are visiting. There’s always a fight, followed by hours of sulking and crankiness. Our son and his wife say it’s easier to just let the kids play. Could they be addicted?
DEAR READER:
Anyone who has ever interacted with a digital screen knows all too well the allure of electronic devices. They draw you in, engage your brain at a startlingly deep level, and time and awareness just vanish. Up the ante with the dynamic visuals and mesmerizing world of a video game, and nongamers often find themselves in a losing battle for the time and attention of loved ones.
The World Health Organization has recently added “gaming disorder” as a new mental health condition to the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, or ICD. However, the bar for someone to earn this new — and somewhat controversial — diagnosis is quite high. The digital devotion must be so powerful that it severely impairs all interactions. Finally,
the behavior must take place for at least one year before an official diagnosis is possible.
It’s unlikely that your grandkids qualify as addicted. But that doesn’t make the situation you describe any less challenging. The boys are choosing a world visible and meaningful only to themselves over the cooperative dynamics of family life.
On the plus side, immersive games can expand the imagination, foster collaboration and sharpen cognitive skills. But when kids are parked in front of a screen, they’re missing out on activities, experiences and events that will help them become healthy and productive adults.
When the boys are visiting your home, you can make a point of engaging them in the analog world. Give them a set time for gaming, and be firm when that time limit is up. Then be prepared with something interesting for them to do. Think of activities with distinct start and finish times and with concrete end products or the potential for rewards.