This blog aims to help you understand why children and teenagers enjoy online games more, and how you can help teenagers stay safe during online gaming sessions. Play is an essential part of childhood. It not only provides entertainment but also teaches children various lessons such as cooperation, ethics, and creativity, and can be a source of many happy memories. Playing with other children is also an important part of children’s social development. However, many teenagers today play games online.
Below, this blog helps you understand more about why online games are appealing to children and teenagers, as well as providing guidance on ensuring their safety in this space.
The Appeal of Online Games to Teens
Secrets of Success
Games are a significant aspect of children’s and teenagers’ lives that not only provide entertainment but also play a crucial role in teaching various skills. Online games, in particular, with their communication capabilities and diverse motivations, attract teenagers. Let’s explore the reasons behind this popularity:
Social Interaction
One of the primary attractions of online games is the ability to play with friends and peers. These games allow teenagers to interact with their friends online, compete with them, or even collaborate. These social features create a sense of belonging and closer relationships with friends, providing teenagers with opportunities for popularity and acceptance in social circles.
Engagement with Virtual Worlds and Stories
Furthermore, online games often feature virtual worlds where players can participate as their avatars. These worlds are usually designed with intricate details, including locations, creatures, and various challenges, which captivate players’ attention. In these virtual worlds, players can interact with other characters and NPCs (non-player characters), complete missions, and experience engaging stories. This connection with the virtual world enhances the attachment to the game’s narrative and creates an interactive and immersive experience for teenagers.
Creativity and Imagination
imagination and Creativity are fundamental concepts in the world of children and teenagers, greatly influenced by online games.
Creativity
Creativity refers to an individual’s ability to generate new ideas, solve problems in novel ways, and create new things. In online games, teenagers encounter various situations and devise unique solutions, fostering a more creative mindset.
For example, in an adventure game, progressing through different levels often requires using creative and innovative strategies. This process strengthens teenagers’ creative skills and fosters an inventive mindset.
Imagination
Imagination involves an individual’s ability to envision and create symbols, stories, creatures, and new worlds. This capability enables children and teenagers to lead in their own worlds and experience different realities.
In online games, teenagers can escape to new worlds and characters, using their imagination to envision and create. Confronted with various challenges and issues, they use their imagination to tackle them. This enhances their imaginative abilities and cultivates a free and creative mindset.
Motivation for Progress
Motivation for progress in online games is one of the essential factors that encourage teenagers to actively participate in this activity and experience self-improvement. These motivations can derive from various sources:
Clear Goals and Competition
Having clear and achievable goals in online games increases motivation for progress. These goals may include winning competitions, reaching higher levels, earning more points, or obtaining special items in the game. These competitions and objectives motivate teenagers to improve their performance and strive for desirable outcomes.
Rewards and Recognition
In online games, various rewards are available for achieving success and progress. These rewards may include points, special prizes, new skills, or even praise and recognition from others. These rewards encourage teenagers to continue their efforts and improve their performance.
Competition and Advancement
Typically, in online games, the presence of competition with other players also boosts motivation for progress. Teenagers use this competition to improve their performance and reach higher positions. This advancement and progress create a sense of achievement and happiness in teenagers, encouraging them to continue striving and advancing in the game.
In conclusion, online games offer teenagers a platform for social interaction, engagement with virtual worlds and stories, as well as opportunities to enhance their creativity, imagination, and motivation for progress. By understanding these aspects, parents and caregivers can better support teenagers in their online gaming experiences while ensuring their safety and well-being.
Communicating with Peers
Engaging with peers in online games is one of the important and appealing aspects of this activity, which is highly valuable for adolescents. In these games, communication with peers is established directly and indirectly through chats, game teams, or even multiplayer competitions. These communications have several benefits and advantages for adolescents:
Social Relationship Development
Engaging with peers in online games provides an excellent opportunity for adolescents to expand their social relationships and meet new people. These interactions can occur through collaborative gameplay, chat conversations, and even by establishing groups and communities within the game, bringing adolescents closer to each other.
Enhancement of Communication Skills
Communicating with peers in informal environments like online games helps adolescents strengthen their communication skills. By facing various situations, expanding cooperation, negotiation, and problem-solving in an environment accompanied by numerous peers, they improve their communication skills.
Maintaining Friendships and Relationships
Engaging with peers in online games helps adolescents maintain their friendships and strengthen relationships with old friends. These connections can be established through shared gameplay, exchanging experiences, and even providing support in difficult situations, giving adolescents a sense of connection and bonding with their friends.
Victory and Its Benefits on Adolescents’ Emotions
Winning in games brings positive and valuable emotions for adolescents, which can have significant effects on their psyche and morale. Below are some of the advantages of winning on adolescents’ emotions:
Self-Confidence
Success in games boosts adolescents’ self-confidence. When adolescents achieve success in a game, they feel that their abilities and capabilities have been validated, enhancing their self-confidence.
Happiness and Joy
Winning and achieving success in games create feelings of happiness and joy in adolescents. This positive feeling motivates them to continue improving their performance and experience more positive experiences in their lives.
Independence and Responsibility
Victory in games enhances feelings of independence and responsibility in adolescents. When they succeed in a game, they feel that their abilities are sufficient to deal with other challenges and tasks, thus enhancing their motivation and willingness.
Acknowledgment of Progress
Success in games encourages adolescents to acknowledge progress and their efforts. They learn that any progress and effort is a path to improvement and achieving goals, understanding its value.
Mental Independence
Success in games can help adolescents strengthen their mental independence. By facing challenging situations, they develop skills such as creative thinking, stress management, and problem-solving.
Acceptance of Reality
Success in games leads adolescents to accept the realities of life. Through experiencing failure, they understand that everything may not always go as they wish, and sometimes they need to adapt to existing conditions and accept reality.
Safety Guide for Youth Gaming
Content and Time Setting
Before starting the game, carefully review the settings related to game content and playing time. Make sure the game content is appropriate for your child’s age and abilities, and the playing time is limited to a reasonable amount.
Online Safety Education
Educate your youth to always keep their personal information safe and to refrain from sharing information with strangers in games.
Use Parental Controls
Utilize parental controls and filters in games to allow adolescents to restrict access to inappropriate content and avoid interacting with strangers.
Community Engagement
Teach your child to inform you or another trusted adult if they encounter any insecurity or problems during the game. Encourage them to talk to classmates and other players about their experiences and support each other.
Safe Environment
Ensure that your child accesses online games in a safe and protected environment, and if necessary, use antivirus and security programs to maintain digital security.
Discussing Proper Online Behaviors
Talk to your child about proper online behaviors and teach them to always treat others with respect and refrain from sharing personal information.
By following this safety guide, your children can enjoy online games while operating in a safe and protected environment.
Additionally, joining and participating in VIT-RIN, which is a safe and trustworthy environment, can help your child. VIT-RIN offers games that can enhance your child’s skills. Also, earning money from free online games alongside having fun and learning can be a good motivation for your child.
