Benefits of playing computer games – Another way of teen stress or teen learning
Any parent of teenagers will recognise the scenario where the teen is focussed and obsessed with computer and mobile games. And they seem never able to stop. It drives me mad. I can’t connect with my children because they are hooked and zoned out of normality. And part of me thinks they waste their time…..
A conversation with James, my eldest, made me look at it slightly differently. Sitting in the car, he started a conversation about his confidence levels. Some time ago he had a few coaching sessions with a youth coach who helped him on his way, as he struggled with his confidence. ‘Mum, you know how playing my game makes it easier for me now to talk with the football boys?’ I didn’t. So he explained that in his football team were a few boys he kept away from. They were dominant and loud and made him feel insecure. Through his gaming however, he had played with similar personalities and, in the heat of the game, he found his voice. He wasn’t intimidated anymore and started to understand how he could talk back to them and feel at an even keel.
It blew my mind. I’d never thought that playing games could support the development of confidence. But I am very pleased that it worked out like that.
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