A lot of kids in elementary, middle and high school play video games in their free time instead of playing outside or participating in other activities, such as reading a book.
Staring at a screen for long periods of time can be bad for your health. Instead, you can go outside, play board games, read, or play sports with your friends rather than using devices in your free time. Devices ruin your eyes if you play on them for a while, which can make you go blind or need to wear glasses.
If you play once in a while, it is not so bad for you, so it’s best to play for a limited amount of time. Excessive device usage can negatively impact physical and mental health. A lot of screen time can give you a low attention span, and even cause disrupted sleep schedule due to blue light.
These days, people use devices in their free time. They are glued to their screens and can’t stop. Every day, 5.4 billion people around the world are becoming more and more attached to their devices. Now more than ever, it’s important to find activities to stimulate our minds that go beyond our devices.
Soham, a fellow sixth grader, said, “I go outside and ride my bike, because it is very fun and I like to do tricks on it. I also play soccer because it is very fun, I recommend kids to go outside and touch grass because kids these days always play video games or doom scroll. Though some video games can be good because some games can help you develop essential life skills and lessons.”
Steven, another fellow sixth grader, said, “I love to go outside, go swimming, ride my scooter and play football, because those activities are fun and I am very skilled at them and they’re very relaxing. I like reading, I also like laying down and chilling and watching tv. Going outside and balancing your time and learning life lessons are important life skills and can also build better comprehension. Playing video games can be good because it gives you intelligence and in certain situations you will be better than other people.”
So while some classmates agree that there are some positives to playing video games, remember that there are also much healthier and enjoyable ways to spend your free time.
