Parents keep telling me “Video games cause mental disorders” which I find pure bull shit

[Hiya!]

Welp i wouldn't be here if its real.

In fact i really want to play video games again but i cannot because of college.

Video games help me a lot especially with relieving stress which i really need right now.

Sometimes u'll just have to disconnect yourself from society and enjoy your own company.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, DeWat4 said:

But that isn't an effect that only video games happen.  Say the act of solving Sudoku puzzles took the place of Age of Empires.  What is the difference?

I’m saying it’s my experience, i’m not arguing whether it’s a mental disorder. The difference objectively is you can play Age of Empires anywhere and it has limitless playability I.e always something to explore. You can always finish a soduku. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

so...you stopped wasting your time when you had other shit to do? 

That’s not what I said at all. I wasted time when I had stuff to do. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, manikyath said:

here's a fact from my experience:

 

I play video games about an hour a day on average, its a time-efficient stress relief that helps me start the next day without the stress of the day before on my mind.

 

anything you do endlessly will mess with your mood, the key is in finding a balance. you could (probably much quicker) burn yourself out with filling out crosswords all day every day.

It’s certainly a case of per-person like any addiction. People always different and it’s a good thing :).

[Eduard the weeb]

show pretty much any scientific evidence against it, hell even some research shows it hells grow the brain and makes you think outside the box and more creative in so studies.

 

they may try showing the WHO report of gaming disorder

 

but its pretty BS and saying video games are causing problems is pretty dumb and it leading to health problem is BS long as you are still some what social and eat healthy and work out you should be fine unless you are naturally born someone crazy

[SkilledRebuilds]

Be prepared for still not getting what you want as adults tend to think they know best, even with factual evidence in front of them.

I hope you have good luck.

[Syntaxvgm]

1 hour ago, RorzNZ said:

That’s not what I said at all. I wasted time when I had stuff to do. 

thats....what I said exactly? 

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

thats....what I said exactly? 

Not quite. Even when I had important work to do, I still played games. I always felt I could put it off. 

 

[Syntaxvgm]

20 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Not quite. Even when I had important work to do, I still played games. I always felt I could put it off. 

 

how is that not wasting time when you had other shit to do? 

 

5 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

so...you stopped wasting your time when you had other shit to do? 

If I wasn't clear, I'm saying by cutting out videos games, your improvement was not wasting you time when you had other shit to do, which isn't really a video game problem, more a you and time management/motivation/procrastination/addiction problem. 

I wasn't asking if you quit gaming when you had shit to do. 

 

[TopSilence]

Bleh.....I hate when this gets brought up. My mom believed the same thing and it was annoying. I sadly couldn't convince my mom that it isnt true........So it depends how much does your parents believe in that 

[Energycore]

6 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

lethargy or depression.

Can confirm both to happen as a result of playing too many videogames.

 

I hate to sound like a parent but it's just not healthy to spend all your free time not moving and not interacting with real people.

 

That said some videogames don't hurt anyone. It's overdoing them that hurts.

[Mooshi]

I'd say your parents are right. Have you seen the competitive scene in the gaming community? So much toxicity.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Syntaxvgm said:

how is that not wasting time when you had other shit to do? 

 

If I wasn't clear, I'm saying by cutting out videos games, your improvement was not wasting you time when you had other shit to do, which isn't really a video game problem, more a you and time management/motivation/procrastination/addiction problem. 

I wasn't asking if you quit gaming when you had shit to do. 

 

Exactly it was an addiction problem. To the video game. 

[MementoMori]

Okay, psychologist here. 

 

To say that games cause mental disorders is a very poor statement, since it is too broad and really not true.

 

Though, it may be vice versa, some cope with own problems through gaming by isolating from reality (what is bad and also could be a sign of psychosis (core symptom of schizophrenia)), also some experience very intensive social-anxiety and because of this such individuals prefer to stay in game, rather than in society. 

 

Still, if you are unable to do your responsibilities and you become socially maladapted (inability to perform daily chores, lack of social communication, school, college, work problems) then it is probably time to stop playing. Listen to your parents, since they are the only ones who wishes you a good life sincerely. 

 

Sometimes parents use such arguments so their child would redirect the attention from the game to parents and spend time with them. Spend your time wisely, do everything properly and in time, play games but not like 3+ hours a day and you probably won't hear your parents complaining regarding this issue.

[Sauron]

You can tell them they're right, "gaming disorder" as been recently added to the list of recognized mental disorders. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/12/24/do-you-have-video-gaming-disorder-a-newly-recognized-mental-health-condition/#34b27e45316d

 

Of course, it takes a lot for it to actually turn into, or be the symptom of, a mental disorder - the best thing you can do is talk about it with them, aknowledge the potential dangers and show them that you don't exhibit any of the official symptoms. If videogames don't get in the way of your other priorities in life they can be a fun and even healthy hobby; if they do, maybe you should ask yourself whether there really isn't a problem or you're just lying to yourself.

 

As someone who has been dealing with this sort of rethoric from their parents for almost a decade, I assure you that they don't (usually) do this out of a pure prejudice against videogames; they do this because they feel like you're throwing away opportunities and that it will come back to bite you in the arse eventually. Sometimes they're wrong, and sometimes they're right. I know for a fact that dedicating more time to my studies would have benefitted me - playing games just happens to be one of the things that I often did instead.

[Drak3]

15 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

But we do have physiological symptoms here which could include lethargy or depression.

Good to know that games don't really affect me then.

[Fred Castellum]

Well video games "Can" cause mental illness but that's due to people spending excessive amounts of time gaming. Everything on moderation really....

 

You could point out the vast number of people who game on a daily basis and don't have mental issues that have developed through gaming. I'm sure there is a percentage statistic out there online that you could use to show what percentage of the population actually games.

[Syntaxvgm]

9 hours ago, RorzNZ said:

Exactly it was an addiction problem. To the video game. 

well people get addicted to all sorts of things. Anything can be bad in excess, and not everyone gets addicted to the same things. I do believe I have an addictive personality, which is why I rarely drink, but I never rarely got addicted to games. Actually, in the past few years I've rarely gamed and it's not been a good thing for me, I rarely take the time to destress and enjoy things like games. I can honestly say that gaming is a missing part of my life, and when I take the time to game I feel much happier because of it. 

 

I have a friend I bought an xbox one and I'm pretty sure it took him a week to buy 1000$ worth of COD loot shit. Not even really a hardcore gamer -he played some mobile games and probably hadn't had a console since the wii- just the whale type I guess. Wont spend crazy hours but easily drops money on shit like that. I felt pretty bad.

Meanwhile I never buy dlc except a map pack very occasionally (95% of the time not) and the first game I ever preordered was BOTW, but I can never buy soda by the case becuase if it's in my fridge I'll drink it at an alarming rate. People have self control issues on different things. 

[Bhav]

In all honesty though, most of my mental health issues were caused by my Asian tiger parents, not video games. But you can guarantee that they'll blame the video games.

 

 

[Princess Luna]

10 hours ago, Energycore said:

Can confirm both to happen as a result of playing too many videogames.

Not saying otherwise or any thing, just pointing out... what doesn't give depression in nowadays world? For real this and that Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder deal is every where...

 

I still think that over usage of mobile phones for social networking is more harmful than gaming.

[Crunchy Dragon]

2 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

I still think that over usage of mobile phones for social networking is more harmful than gaming

That's debatable, I can't socialize with a lot of my friends face to face often so our only way to socialize easily is over the internet which is a lot better than not being able to talk to them at all in my opinion.

[BuckGup]

Here is my research. Played games 6+ hours a night for 4 years. Then I stopped and started going outside, biking, and going to social events. My quailty of life has exponentially increased. So it's easy to dismiss games not causing anything as they probably don't but there is a lot more to life than gaming. 

[Watashi]

There is simply no evidence that video games cause mental disorders. I see no reason for me to believe that they cause mental disorders. Does anyone?

[Syntaxvgm]

46 minutes ago, Bhav said:

In all honesty though, most of my mental health issues were caused by my Asian tiger parents, not video games. But you can guarantee that they'll blame the video games.

 

 

likely not all of them, but some people don't understand that kids are much like a volume of water- you can't compress them, and if you try it'll burst out the sides. Weird analogy, but it kinda makes sense. I despise helicopter parenting, and I'm so lucky my mother was never that kind of person.

Long story for my personal experience-

My extended  family was kinda the helicopter household kind and I remember being a kid and being horrified by it. My mother wasn't always trying to make me do 50 million activities either. Kinda wish I'd been pushed a bit more, but I had a childhood not van trips between soccer games and shit. When I started to get near being a teenager, my mother started to kinda be a little more strict on me, but at some point she got it. I didn't want to disappoint her and I didn't want to be a bad kid, so if she backed off I'd listen to more when she did get on me. I felt respected and I felt like I could trust my mother. There was not need to rebel and very early on I was able to appreciate what she did for me. I looked forward to graduating collage and trying to succeed in the things I wanted to do with my life because I knew every step I took towards my own happiness my mother would support. She wasn't pushing me to do what she wanted to do. She had never even graduated high school and I really looked forward to her seeing her son graduate college. That never happened as she passed before then.

 

My father on the other hand, also not a helicopter parent, was very...indifferent...apathetic maybe. But he was never 'son I am disappoint' father. The only messages he ever beat in my head were 'say thank you' before I had a chance to even think it and to never let things make me angry, but through the form things like signing 'it's the end of the world' or that eagles song 'get over it' to me when I was a kid and was angry about something. It was never "I've been through worse" or "I'm tired of your bitching" it was more "you're only angry because you are angry." I would not have the patience, stress management skills I do now without him. He taught me the world doesn't revolve around me and I really think helicopter parents can give kids that impression by making everything they do such a big deal, and even if their words are 'the world doesn't revolve around you', the message will either be totally lost on their kids or it's in a way that the kids feel belittled or verbally beat down. When I'd be a bratty ass kid my dad never let me feel I was 'ruining' things, that's a phrase I hear from parents a lot. No, he never gave that power. If we were somewhere, maybe a family thing or something, he'd make it clear to me that he's still gonna enjoy himself either way, and I'm was just ruining it for myself.  

 

I don't think I want to ever be a parent, but if I was ever stuck in such situation I would be as far away from helicopter parents or 'Asian tiger parents' as possible. I'm not controlling or Asian. I realize if you are in a constant state of alarm or criticism with your kids, it will fuck them up, every if they succeed in the short term. You can't mold a good person by forcing them to do exactly as you say. You do so by teaching them principals and let them make their own choices. They won't turn out good 100% of the time, but hey hopefully wont resent you either, so if they make the wrong choices, they'll let you help them and take your advice when they're an adult. 

 

So maybe one day you'll have kids and you'll take the experience you have with controlling parents and try to do it differently. But I often see people I knew that had controlling parents start to look controlling now with their kids...people I grew up around are having kids fuuck time flies. 

[Energycore]

2 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

Not saying otherwise or any thing, just pointing out... what doesn't give depression in nowadays world? For real this and that Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder deal is every where...

 

I still think that over usage of mobile phones for social networking is more harmful than gaming.

Both mobile social networking and games are only harmful in that they allow people to isolate themselves from the real world. I get you that it's not the only cause of depression but it's still dangerous to anyone who'd be harmed by being isolated from people