One of the activities that teenagers enjoy doing is video games. Getting lost in the virtual world and recording some wins makes them happy. Some of them square up with their friends and compete against each other to see who would be the better player.
While they use video games for relaxation, moderation must be applied so that it doesn’t get overboard. Unknown to some parents, their teenagers might be struggling with addiction. Here are some signs that your teenager is addicted to video games.
Spending several hours playing video games
Preoccupation with video games is one of the strongest signs that your teenager is struggling with addiction.
They might spend lots of hours in front of the screen without paying attention to other activities. In most cases, they might ignore food and sleep because of the thrills that come with the game.
Reduced interest in academics and other activities
Another sign that your teenager might be struggling with video games is when their interest in academics and other activities begins to decline. They might not be interested in school work because they are more focused on their video games.
For other activities, they may show a lackluster behavior when it’s time to engage them. When you observe this pattern, then video gaming addiction might be at play.
Isolation and increased desire for privacy
Getting themselves isolated from other people is another sign that they might be struggling with video gaming addiction.
They may prefer to spend a long time without the interruption of anyone because of their video game preoccupation. If someone tries to invade their privacy, they might not respond well to it.
Withdrawal symptoms
When a teenager who is addicted to video games does not get to play for sometime, they might experience some withdrawal symptoms similar to what addicts in other categories experience.
They might feel frustrated, angry, sad, depressed, etc. This is because they are obsessed with it, and they find it hard to stay away from video games.