Technology has evolved over the past several years and have

bought changes to our lives. For instant, in the past there were
only two kinds of games which are outdoor and indoor games but
today the interest of many especially teenagers is tied to online
games. These online games were designed by taking in account
the interest best fitting the young minds. There are many online
games available in the game store with various genres targeting
a variety of people in different ages. For example, combat, action
and adventure. Over the years, online games gain recognition and
a platform known as Esports was established where online games
are played at a professional level. Online games is vividly known
by everyone however the awareness of the pros and cons of this
entertainment lack in many. In my opinion, online games bring
more harm than good.

As a teenager, I also tend to play online games every now and

then but over the time, I find myself getting more and more
addicted to online games. At first, online game was just a hobby
to keep me entertain during my leisure time but it soon started to
be a routine. My compulsive gaming behaviour made me to ignore
a normal social, scholastic and family activities. I would spend
more time playing online games than spending time with family
nor friends. Soon, my addiction towards gaming cost me my
friends and family. My friends will keep me at arm’s length and
stopped calling me to join group activities such as basketball and
bike rides. My compulsion of playing online games was not
tolerated by my family member too. This is because I tend to
neglect my responsibility around the household and was always
engrossed gaming. When my siblings try to conceive me to join
them playing, I would just give unreasonable excuses to avoid
playing with them. My actions drove a wedge between me and my
siblings.
Besides that, I used to a star pupil. I would always hand in my
homework on time. Nevertheless, my gaming addiction cause me
to develop another bad habit which is procrastination. I begin to
turn a blind eye towards my homework and assignments. Usually,
I would burn the midnight oil so I could turn in a high-quality
work but nowadays I would pull an all-nighter so I can finish tasks
of games. This made me very weary and unable to focus in class.
Gradually, I started to perform very bad in class. The change in
me was not only noticed by my class teacher but also by my
school counsellor. They were very concerned towards my sudden
change in behaviour when my grades started to drop. Their
concern was brought to my parents to find the cause of these
sudden changes. Soon, my parents and teacher figured that my
compulsion towards online gaming was the root of the problem. I
was once a bright student but my tendency to priorities online
games over studying made me to be an underachiever.
Online gaming also caused an effect on my health. Generally,
video game playing is associated with eye problems. The
extensive and fixed staring at a video game screen caused
eyestrain. I would frequently rub my eyes as they tend to get
drier faster and begin to give me irritation. Over the time, my
vision started to get blurry. Due to my blurry vision, I sometimes
cannot make up the words in books. After getting my eyes
checked up, the doctor diagnosed the power of my eyes have
increase. I would have to get myself a pair of spectacles. Not only
my vision was affected by online game, my sleep schedule was
also mess up. The lack of sleep caused me to be fatigue and made
me loss appetite. I began to lose weight drastically and my
complexion was pale. I look beginning to look like a patient who is
suffering from a chronic disease. Health is wealth but neglected
my health for an entertainment.
Next, online gaming was slowly nurturing an aggressive
behaviour. Personally, I preferred games violent like PUBG. In
these games, one is required to shoot the enemy. Unknowingly,
the gamer gradually begins to develop an aggressive behaviour.
Over the time, this tends to cause a person to have poor anger
management. They tend to resolute to violence in pursuit of
handling a problem. Last year, when my classmates and I were
playing football, I was playing very aggressively and nearly hurt
my friend. My friends looked at me with a hint of fear in their
eyes. This only further triggered me into having an argument with
the opponents. I was trying to lay the blame on them instead of
admitting my mistake. In the end, I was not in speaking terms
with the opposing team although they were once my friends.

To put it in a nutshell, online gaming can lend to addiction,

health problems, bad grades and violence. In a way, I am lucky as
my school counsellor noticed the change in my behaviour and
approached me. She helped me to break my unhealthy addiction
towards online games and got me back on the right track. It is
hard to tell when the love for gaming have crossed into a danger
zone. Like every rose has its thorn, everything have its positives
and negatives. Thus, one should be vigilant when indulging
themselves in online games. Parents play a major role in keeping
an eye toward their children daily lifestyle. Parent negligence
towards their children can lead them in the wrong direction. We
as community who are civic-minded must also be aware of the
symptoms which may be projected by a person who may be
addicted to games and try to reach out to their parents or
guardian. This small act of social responsibility can save the
future of a person.