Growing PUBG Addiction,is it harmful for youth ?
The entire world is passing through a deadly pandemic that has brought human life almost to a Stand still.People are confined to their homes to avoid the spread of this virus.
As online Gaming is one of the fastest-growing trends in today’s generation due to extensive and easy availability and connectivity to the internet worldwide.
PUBG is a term you might have probably heard by now.Basically, it is a video game which is the Multiplayer Battle Royale program. The game has gone viral and is played by millions of people all over the world. It is a very popular game among the students.
When this game got raised for Windows, it received rave reviews. Further, upon being raised on smartphones, it spread like a wild-fire. The craze for this game accelerated amongst all the age groups equally like any other entity, it does have both brighter and darker sides.
On one side it actively engages its players and helps them build a sense of teamwork but at the same time consumes a great share of their time that should have been spent either studying, playing outdoor games, or with one’s family.
Yet another aspect from the psychological point is that it is proving to be a growing source of addiction leading to anxiety and depression amongst the players,also PUBG encourages criminal mentality, suicides and negative mindset instead of enhancing intellectual capability So indirectly it exposes children to a world of crime and negative thinking.
PUBG has an element of violence in its screenplay and this can trigger aggressive emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the players which can lead to increased violent behavior and criminal tendency subsequently. Spending too much time on PUBG can make one less productive.
In 2018 it was concluded in a report that video gaming addiction is a mental disorder. Video gaming is known to be the reason for depression for many people especially for young students and people who are addicted to playing PUBG might get easily stressed out or face anxiety issues due to less social interaction or social isolation.
Recent news regarding increased suicidal thoughts in the PUBG players has deepened the concern of the parents.
On May 26 2018 16-year-old boy Furkhan Qureshi, a student of standard 12 died of cardiac arrest after playing PUBG game on his mobile for six hours in a stretch in Neemuch town of Madhya Pradesh.According to his family Furkhan started playing a video game after lunch. Before collapsing on the floor, he became agitated and started shouting on other players.
Andhra Pradesh a 16-year-old Andhra Pradesh based boy died after playing PUBG continuously for many days. He got so engrossed in the game that he even skipped meals for many days. The Hindu has reported that the boy fell sick to severe dehydration as he had been skipping both his meal as well as drinking water.
Last year 2019, a 15-year-old boy from Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra allegedly killed his elder brother by banging his older brother’s head against the wall for scolding him over playing PUBG on his mobile phone and so many similar stories came out round the world.
Not only students but people from all walks of life are increasingly addicted to online gaming it hampers their work and makes them lose the target of their goals.They distracts out from focusing on their careers. Furthermore, it has become the cause of strained family relationships as well because of less attention that has been given to the loved ones.
So in conclusion, though online gaming is a source of entertainment as we all know that excess of everything is bad. I also played this game for a few days and my personal experience is that PUBG is a very addictive game. You waste a lot of time on this game.
We all must be mindful of the harmful effects of online gaming like PUBG and either avoid or at least maintain a balance between online gaming and the rest of our daily activities with special focus on our studies and professional work.
Many countries including Pakistan have recently banned PUBG. Pakistan telecommunication authority (PTA) has stated that the game is addictive and harms the player’s health.
I fully endorse the PTA decision and would eagerly wait for concerned government authorities to devise a mechanism to address the issues related to online gaming to promote safer means of entertainment.
