Mobile Gaming And Children: What You Need To Know

Mobile gaming is understandably one of the most popular leisure pursuits for children and even those who are much older. It is easy to see why; after all, mobile gaming is truly one of the most enjoyable activities around. You can enjoy it anywhere at any time, and the sheer portability of all the common mobile gaming devices make it a perfect choice for long trips, vacations and practically anywhere else where you would otherwise be disconnected from the Internet and your computer or TV.

Now normally, playing with mobile gaming devices wouldn’t really cause any problem…provided of course that they are dealt with in a responsible manner. Unfortunately this is where the problem lies. Many people have found the exciting mobile gaming experience provided by these devices to be positively engrossing and even addictive. When younger generations of years past have had to contend with problems associated with home video gaming consoles, a new generation of mobile gaming aficionados–and their parents–are experiencing the same issues with these newer mobile gaming devices. Clearly the use of mobile gaming devices require the guidance and supervision of parents or other recognizable authority figures, just as it was during the time of the older video game consoles.

Ironically, it is perhaps one of mobile gaming devices’ principal benefits–its portability–that has made it much harder to control their inappropriate usage. Because these devices are so easy to carry around–and therefore, to conceal–a student can be playing one in the back of the classroom without the teacher or any one else being any the wiser. This is definitely one (dubious) advantage that did not exist with the older video gaming consoles. The fact that modern mobile phones are more and more beginning to resemble standalone mobile gaming devices in their own right–at least as far as gaming capability is concerned–makes curbing inappropriate mobile gaming even more difficult.

That being said, it is not this stealthy use of mobile gaming that is the biggest threat. Most young people who play video games actually do it in their own homes. This becomes a problem however when they should be doing other things such as studying or doing household chores. Sadly for many parents, it is much easier for them to simply allow their child to just plug in and tune out than to impose any type of parental control and supervision. What happens then is the child places too much attention on his or her mobile gaming activities instead of any one of the number of more worthwhile pursuits, such as sports or interacting with other people.

We are certainly not saying that mobile gaming should be banned outright. After all, it does provide some benefits to the child in terms of interacting with other mobile gaming aficionados. It is necessary however, to put it into perspective and not allow mobile gaming to take priority over the other aspects of a normal child’s life in any way. Only then can mobile gaming use be considered truly beneficial.