We often hear from various sources that games have a negative impact on the development of children. Sometimes they are even accused by some experts of being the cause of certain situations. However, according to psychologist Michal Božík, games and games as such do not necessarily have a negative impact on children. As he stated in an interview for Žena.cz, time plays a big role, and above all, how children invest it in the game world.
Basically, according to him, these are variables, about which he speaks like this:If three hours a day spent in front of a screen is harmful, all these variables together determine. If the content of the game is of high quality, three hours may not be a problem, if it is harmful, then ten minutes is a problem.He himself has long lectured on the positive effects of games on young people, so when he hears claims that games make children dumb, it makes him smile.
According to Bozhik, games even help develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. He himself says this about it:The game is a complex problem, it never deals with an isolated issue. For example, in the game Civilization you have to find a place to found a city, here the economic problem goes hand in hand with the geographical one. In the geography lesson, children only deal with geography. But when they finish school, they will not solve individual problems on an individual level. We all work in teams and must work together, which the child also learns through play.“
As a result, he says, children have the opportunity to experience by playing games in the virtual world that they cannot experience anywhere else, because the adult population does not always give them the space to, for example, lead a large group with whom they can collide, for example, during raids in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. According to Bozhik, even shooting games that develop their perception have a positive effect on the development of young players. The interview even touched on the issue of addiction, which, according to this psychologist, is used as a stigma, which confirms his statement: “Parents abuse this label and use it for something that bothers them.“
According to him, a negative attitude of parents to games can have a negative impact:When a parent ignores something that their offspring find valuable, or even tells them that it is stupid, the child will take it as a parent telling them that they are also stupid because they enjoy this activity. As a result, this has a huge psychological impact on a child’s self-esteem, which parents are often unaware of.Therefore, it is necessary to actively talk about games or at least find a common path.
Michal Bozsik shows that he is really deeply involved in this topic. Let’s hope that in the future, the media will give him more space in the affairs revolving around games, and most importantly, instead of looking for sensationalism, they will try to listen to experts with the right knowledge of the whole issue.
Source :Indian TV
