Experts stress need to keep tabs on children

Visakhapatnam: Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds may not catch anyone's attention but PUBG immediately does as it has become a household name now.

The reason for this is someone or the other plays this game in most of the families. Everyone fights his or her own battle in life but where does this battle ground of ‘PUBG’ takes one to?

Officially released worldwide on March 19, 2018, PUBG now has more than 100 million downloads across the globe, making it the hot favourite among the youth.

Available for download on IOS and Android, the game provides high gaming experience with its rich graphics and addictive features.The game is based on survival theme, where different players are dropped at one place and they have to fight and kill other players and the last one who survives wins the game and gets the rewards. It can be played both in single and team modes.

This plot of killing others in the game is proven to affect the psychology and mindset of the players because violence begets violence. Most players who download the game are students who find it a relief from their stressful routine. However, after a couple of rounds, they get addicted to it which invariably influences their attitude that turns out to be violent.

The players often indulge in a brawl for no reason and tend to show signs of laziness. The recent ‘Delhi triple murder’ case in Delhi where a 19-year-old killed his parents and sister for questioning his lifestyle which involved bunking of classes and playing violent online game for hours with his friends, highlights the deleterious effects of the game.  

Gaming is not all bad because research shows that it can alter the brain for better concentration and  visual-spatial and coordination skills. 
But the  problem lies in excess screen time spent without  monitoring. "There is a chance of developing a serious  addiction that is referred to as 'gaming' disorder.  

The trick lies in maintaining a balance between gaming   and involving in social activities,” said Georgetta Valiyamattam, consultant psychologist and counselor.

Psychologists suggest that it is important for parents to keep a tab on their children, checking their behaviour closely to ensure that they are not getting addicted to games like PUBG and other violent games, which can have the same impact on youth like ‘Blue Whale’ and ‘Kiki Challenge’ which took lives of a few people.

Parents and peers should team up to identify the change in the behaviour of children and friends and any signs of abnormality should be brought to the notice of psychologists or counsellors before the situation goes out of control.

By M Anurag Sai Krishna