MOST students nowadays can agree that there is always that one person or group who, by all means, bring their passion for online gaming to near-ridiculous heights.
For instance, some students frequently play truant for the sake of internet cafes despite the clearly defined consequences. To a more extreme extent, some omit their presence on a very important school day—take like a Performance Task play—again for gaming, later coming up with usually poorly thought out excuses to avoid the hands of authority.
As attested by relevant reports and gathered data, the general youth of first-rate nations play video games with astounding frequency; this is an apparent outcome of the introduction of the Internet. With its rise emerged online and video gaming, which has seen a steady increase through the years thanks to easier accessibility and profitability for the video game industry. In fact, it is said to earn twice that of the film industry, and total revenues for the VG industry in the United States hit $23.5 billion, a five percent jump over 2014.
Today, perhaps one common concern among parents is how frequent their children play video games or browse online. This is understandable due to the range of health and social issues caused by prolonged exposure to the media that propagate games and the Internet (e.g. computers, laptops, and phones). A few include obviously damaged eyes, weakening of immunity, strained ties with family and friends, lack of sleep, and generally, decreased academic performance. Excessive online gaming can also lead to a sedentary lifestyle that will bring further complications like cardiovascular diseases and obesity.
Does this mean gamers and internet hobbyists should extinguish their flames of passion for games and the internet? Should games be banned and internet censorship fortified? Not necessarily.
As a rule of thumb, all things in excess are bad. People should be familiar with their limits when it comes to activities like hanging out and gaming. If one is often bored or has few ideas on what to do, he may try doing something aside from gaming. Try something new, improve a skill, stop and think about his or her life, participate in social events, spend time with family, or endeavor to end discrimination; anything that can be productive, helpful, or at least not harmful. (Brian Matthew S. Belmes/Corpus Christi School)