The Bad News Research generally suggests that prolonged exposure to violent video games can make people feel more aggressive, desensi�zed to violence, and feel less empathe�c. Experts also suggest that due to the global pandemic, online gaming and gambling addic�ons are on the rise 59 . The Good News Video games can provide several possible cogni�ve benefits including increasing response �me performance and hand - eye coordina�on, prac�ce in visual - spa�al skills, stronger visual memory, becoming beter at patern recogni�on, and using trial and error to problem - solve more o�en. Moral of the Story Content and context mater! As parents/caregivers, we need to be involved in which games our children are playing. Enforcing �me limits and self - regula�on while minimizing exposure to inappropriate and violent content is important. We want to reinforce pro - social games that can test and grow our children’s crea�vity and enhance cogni�ve skills while remaining age - appropriate for our children’s emo�onal maturit y. SST encourages parents to do their research on any video game before allowing children to play them. A detailed descrip�on of most games can be found online through Google search. Two of the most popular games played by our youngest children ( aged 4-13) are Roblox and Minecra� which have online mul�player modes that include chat and messaging features which parents should be aware of and monitor at their discre�on. The Ra�ngs Guide from the Entertainment So�ware Ra�ng Board (ESRB)
ESRB ra�ngs are categorized into three parts: • Ra�ng Categories; suggest age appropriateness. • Content Descriptors; indicate content that may have triggered a par�cular ra�ng and/or may be of interest or concern. • Interac�ve Elements; inform about interac�ve aspects of a product, including the users’ ability to interact, the sharing of users’ loca�on with others, if in - app purchases of digital goods are completed, and/or if unrestricted internet access is provided.
Roblox
Roblox is a downloadable interac�ve game pla�orm that allows users to play mul�ple types of games inside the Roblox world. It is a crea�ve, Lego - style sandbox environment for playing and crea�ng games.
59 Online Gambling, Gaming Addic�on Has Increased During COVID - 19 (healthline.com)
32
Powered by FlippingBook