Engaging in online games can help you connect with your child while improving your mental wellbeing, says Dr Subi Chaturvedi
The pandemic has triggered repeated lockdowns globally, confining children and families indoors. This is affecting the mental health of many youngsters as well as their parents. At more than 2.2 billion worldwide, children comprise 28 per cent of the global populace.
Empirical evidence indicates that being cloistered within four walls for long periods can impact mental health and therapists have been reporting that more people are reaching out for help after the outbreak last year. The COVID-19 prevention strategies have led to the suspension of classes across academic institutions. Consequently, millions of students have not physically met teachers and classmates for prolonged periods. More than 168 million schoolchildren across the globe are currently missing physical classes. Additionally, uncertainty due to postponement/cancellations of Board Exams is generating intense worry among affected students and their parents.
The need for interactive entertainment
According to a recent UNICEF report, the present pandemic has pushed children’s development back by several years globally. Meanwhile, as vaccine drives prioritise those 18 years and above only, children may be forced to remain indoors much longer. Yet, as social beings, children, in their formative years, require greater opportunities for extracurricular activities and interactions. Lack of this can hurt their cognitive and emotional development. And this is putting immense pressure on parents to keep their children engaged through activities while juggling extended work hours and household chores. It was thus no surprise that for some children, the screen time shot up as much as 500 per cent as they looked at ways to keep themselves entertained.
It is important to acknowledge how parents have had to adjust to such changes and constantly seek new opportunities for interactive engagement with children. Engaging with their children in recreational activities such as sports, travelling, and gaming et al essentially serves as a bonding exercise for guardians, among other things.
As the lockdown measures and the lack of vaccination in the under-18 segment are forcing children to stay inside at all times, online gaming is coming up as an interesting alternative to outdoor sports and activities. We aren’t talking about playing video games in isolation for hours anymore. Online, multiplayer games provide opportunities for interaction, engagement and fair competition. We're in the Golden Age of social gaming and parents, especially younger parents, are certainly making the most of it. As online gaming is a de-stressor for older age groups too, a parent can engage with their children through a well-chosen skill-based game.
There is a popular trend in the west, where parents have been playing online games with their children and other than sharing commands and strategies in-game, they have been talking to their children about school, their friendships and everything else that is going on in their lives.
Potential benefits of online gaming
Engagement and interactive entertainment are no more a matter of choice but rather a circumstantial compulsion for the emotional and mental well-being of people dealing with isolation. Parents have to be involved in the lives of their children to ensure that they get adequate attention and support during these uncertain times. While outdoor activities are not possible or feasible, online gaming can be an apt alternative for such activities. Such games provide a platform for families to connect, compete and converse in an interactive setup. As online gaming also transcends geographical boundaries, it could be a good way for parents separated from their children during the lockdown to catch up with them.
For instance, games across genres such as strategy, sports, skill and arcade require requisite skills, strategic thinking, knowledge, attention, logic, practise and nimbleness to win. Playing these games regularly can boost these attributes in people. If online games’ engagement is deployed in education via gamification, it will act as a catalyst in changing the modes of learning and improvement in children.
By offering fair competition and instant recognition for success, online gaming platforms are finding favour among the youth and older generation alike. Such games assist gamers in boosting their hand-eye coordination and motor neural ability — all within the safe confines and comfort of their homes. Online games can also help in reviving happy childhood memories of children playing indoor games with parents, testing their mental and intuitive faculties. Time-tested games such as Ludo, Carrom and Chidiya Udd are being recreated for digital devices and the multiplayer gameplay feature is ensuring people around the world can play these games with each other.
Growth in India
A 2020 report by FICCI and EY on the country’s media and entertainment sector notes that online gaming recorded 40 per cent growth in 2019-2020 while generating revenues of Rs 65 billion (2019). As per a KPMG report, online gamers in India grew by 20 per cent between July 2020 and January 2021, crossing 500 million, with smartphones or tablets used by 90 per cent of them. A BARC-Nielsen report reveals gamers in India now spend 218 minutes on online games — up from 151 minutes before the lockdown in 2020.
Not surprisingly, the growing interest in gaming saw a parallel rise in interest from investors and start-ups. While approximately $173 million was invested in the domain in CY2020, there are 400-plus gaming start-ups in the country currently. As a sunrise sector, online gaming holds immense growth potential. According to KPMG, the online gaming industry is expected to gross Rs 290 billion with 650 million users.
As the ongoing pandemic continues impacting the mental health of children along with their academic prospects, online gaming can transform such scenarios via winning propositions for both society and the economy at large. All it requires is foresight, an open mind and institutional support from policymakers to make this a reality.
(The author is a distinguished public policy professional and a former member of the United Nations, Internet Governance Forum, Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group.)