HELLO JI!
DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
There are insidious ways in which video games and social media can control a child. Or an adult. Image credit: YAZID N on Unsplash.
Walking by the room of the littlest member of the family who was with us for a sleepover, I heard, “Go to sleep!” And the response: “I have to take inventory first, I have to arrange my space.” I knew he was playing online with his friend, but this is an interesting turn of events, I thought. One kid telling the other to take a nap and the other saying he had to bring some order to his room. When did this start happening in the universe of children whose rooms typically look like a tornado has moved through it?
Over a snack a little later, I asked him about it and learned that they were playing Minecraft and that “going to sleep” kept one safe from evil ones lurking around the corner. Or something!
I shared this with my friend in India and she said, “Oh nice, he had a friend over!”. Except that he didn’t, they were each at their respective homes. It’s so much easier for kids now to stay connected with friends. In the olden days, as our offspring refer to our childhood, if someone moved away, that friendship was pretty much lost.
“I never realized how much you defence services brats must have suffered,” said my friend. “Imagine not only having to make new friends every few years, but also losing old ones as your family gets transferred to new cities frequently.”
Sharing this exchange with our son, I said that while I remain steadfast in my stance against social media, I do see some benefits. Said son has been trying – unsuccessfully – to drag his parents into embracing the latest technology and I’d thought he’d be pleased with my take.
I got a whole different point of view from him. He brought me up to speed – well, somewhat – on how video games can rewire your brain. He drew my attention to various studies, including one from National Geographic, according to which frequent social media users report feelings of victimization, loss of control, helplessness, and conflicts with other users. And those emotions are happening while they’re sleeping.
One study hints at a link between social media usage and disrupted sleep as well as specific types of nightmares. These bad dreams reflect the lower peace of mind and increased anxiety that many social media users also experience in their waking hours.
In other alarming news, the RCMP National Security Program is working with the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre to protect youth from the threat of violent online groups that have ties to known Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremist (IMVE) entities and are targeting youth online with the intention of getting them to record or live-stream acts of self-harm, suicide, animal torture and/or produce child sexual abuse material.
The footage is then circulated among online networks and used to further control and extort the young victims. In many cases, perpetrators are minors themselves.
You don’t have to be a luddite – a person opposed to new technology or ways of working – to be aware of the insidious ways in which video games and social media can control a child. Or an adult.
Shagorika Easwar