Dependence on computer games is one of the forms of psychological dependence, which manifests itself in a person in an obsessive passion for computer games. Such dependence is one of the forms of addictive human behavior, a way of avoiding the existing reality by transforming one's psycho-emotional behavior and requires competent correction.

Causes

Computer addiction in children has become epidemic. The average student spends at the computer from 2 to 6 hours. About 70% of American children spend their free time playing games with plots of cruelty and violence. In these games, killing is the goal and the main element of the game. Children confuse virtual reality with the real one, which is why it is increasingly common for minors in America to open fire with guns and pistols at school.

Any addiction or mania is the result of deep psychological problems. With the help of computer games, a person tries to get away from an exciting life situation or replace some missing element in his life (the attention of loved ones, social status, the absence of a loved one).

Possible causes of computer addiction:

• Various mental disorders (psychopathy). Pathological character traits of a person, lack of sociability, complexes and modesty often lead a person to Internet addiction. Some patients with the help of a computer realize their childhood fears and fantasies;
• Lack of communication. This problem is relevant for children and adolescents whose parents are constantly busy earning money;
• Intra-family conflicts. To get away from family scandals, some people are immersed in the virtual world, which further aggravates the situation and leads to divorce;
• social phobias. A person is afraid of real society, interpersonal relationships. Computer games allow you to get away from reality, to feel strong and significant. A computer for a person becomes an interlocutor, life partner and sexual partner.

Symptoms

The pathophysiological mechanisms of the formation of computer addiction and gambling addiction are the same. They are based on the stimulation of various pleasure centers in the brain. Both teenagers and independent adults fall into dependence on computer games.

This pathological state manifests itself in the form of a feeling of euphoria and psycho-emotional upsurge during immersion in the virtual world. The patient cannot plan his time spent at the computer. In order to overcome sleep and stimulate mental activity, he begins to use caffeinated drinks and other psychostimulants. For some adult gamers, beer and various fast foods become the main product of “food”. A person who is mostly immersed in the virtual world does not follow the rules of personal hygiene: he forgets to brush his teeth, comb, take a shower. He eats poorly, sleeps and leads a sedentary lifestyle.

If the computer is broken, the patient is in a frustrated state, may be aggressive with loved ones and people around him. Such a person begins to spend all his money on updating programs, computer consoles, new games. He does not think about his personal life, about work or study, his world narrows down to completing the next mission in the game.

As addiction progresses, a person cannot give up computer games, although he is well aware of their futility. He constantly leaves the existing reality and plunges into the virtual world, takes on the role of a certain
character and lives his "computer" life.

The patient communicates with other people on various computer topics. Gambling addiction leads to an overload of the central nervous system, excitatory impulses constantly enter the human brain.

After some time, the patient has a decrease in mood, general well-being, social activity, increased anxiety and impaired adaptation in society. As computer addiction develops, adults develop dissatisfaction with themselves, the meaning of life is lost, and deep depression develops.

In adults with gambling addiction, libido decreases, various disorders in the sexual sphere occur. "Dependent" people, as a rule, have an unsettled personal life, are closed, taciturn.

Manifestations in adolescents and children

Computer addiction in adolescents, as a rule, is severe. They become angry and aggressive if their parents ask them to get away from the computer even for a minute. Signs of gambling addiction in children are the fact that they begin to skip school, lie to parents and teachers. Some underage patients beg or steal money to spend on their favorite computer game.

Computer games cause cruelty in children, because they have to shoot and kill, and for this they are rewarded in the form of points, bonuses and gifts. The immature psyche of a child is overloaded with game effects. In the mind of a modern child, virtual reality is no different from real life.

Computer addiction in adolescents adversely affects their health and academic performance. The child begins to drink and eat without leaving the computer monitor. At school, all his thoughts and desires are directed towards the anticipation of playing at home.

Adolescents with gambling abandon friends, begin to eat unhealthy foods, and abandon their studies. Many juvenile patients become aggressive, prone to violence. Some scientists argue that computer addiction in children leads to dementia.

Consequences

Dependence on computer games adversely affects human health. Over time, his eyesight deteriorates, problems with the spine and joints appear. Many "addicts" suffer from headaches and insomnia. As a result of sitting at a computer for a long time, a person develops weakness, increased fatigue, and a decrease in appetite. Sitting at a computer for a long time leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases: angina pectoris and coronary heart disease.

Long-term use of drinks containing caffeine and other stimulants leads to exhaustion of the nervous system, arterial hypertension. Given that "dependent" people do not eat well, they develop gastritis and gastroduodenitis, a tendency to constipation.

Computer games in children develop those parts of the brain that are responsible for vision and movement. Gambling stops the development of the frontal lobes, which are responsible for training memory, learning, emotions.

Children who are addicted to computer games spend little time outdoors and do not go in for sports. Most often, these children have a pale appearance, "bruises" under the eyes, a poorly developed musculoskeletal system.

Diagnostic criteria

Before you seek qualified medical help, you need to make sure that your family member has a computer addiction, and not just an excessive passion for video games. There are a number of criteria based on which you can differentiate the problem:

• The patient does not want to be distracted from the game and reacts aggressively to such requests;
• Lack of critical attitude to their behavior;
• The patient neglects his social responsibilities (study, work), does not participate in family affairs and his social activity is sharply reduced;
• The patient loses interest in the world around him, and experiences an emotional upsurge only during a computer game;
• Disregard for the norms of personal hygiene, behavior in society;

In addition to deviant behavior, the patient has sleep disturbance, headaches, discomfort in the back. Also, due to the prolonged forced position of the hand, the development of carpal tunnel syndrome is possible.

If these criteria are met, the patient can be diagnosed with addiction to computer games.

Therapy Methods

You can't think of computer addiction as
completely independent disease. It is a consequence of more serious psychological problems. Therefore, it is important for a specialist to identify the root cause of the disease and deal with it.

To treat the consequences of computer addiction, psychotherapy, drug methods, and hypnosis are used. It is important to take a holistic approach.

With this dependence, psychiatrists use autogenic training, behavioral, family psychotherapy, psychosynthesis. Psychotherapy is aimed at correcting intra-family relations, eliminating various psychological attitudes of a person (isolation and lack of sociability), treating children's fears and sexual problems in adults.

Gestalt therapy methods are successfully used in adults. This is due to the fact that the passion for computer games is a way to get away from a previously unresolved problem. And these methods suggest how to "close the gestalt" i.e. resolve the situation.

Symptomatic drug therapy is aimed at treating insomnia, irritability, increased anxiety and depression. Adult patients with gambling addiction are prescribed herbal sedatives to reduce the excitability of the nervous system. These can be herbal tinctures, but most often doctors prescribe tranquilizers or antipsychotics. Sleeping pills are used to normalize sleep cycles.

Mandatory drugs in the treatment of computer addiction are antidepressants. They relieve psycho-emotional stress, normalize mood and improve overall well-being.

It is important to establish proper nutrition, which takes into account the already formed problems with digestion. The patient is additionally prescribed a course of vitamins and restorative medicines.

Stages of psychological assistance

Specialized assistance has a certain staging. This structure has been identified as the most effective in the treatment of computer addiction.

At the first stage, it is important to help the patient overcome internal resistance to treatment. This is a key point, without which further therapy loses its meaning. The patient must be aware of the problem, as well as the need for outside help to resolve it.

The second stage is aimed at determining the depth of the problem. The patient, together with the attending physician, must identify all the pitfalls that may interfere with social rehabilitation. The doctor's tactics in this case are supportive and guiding.

Modern children from the cradle know what a computer is, and by the age of one they already use the mouse and press the keyboard buttons. The close “communication” of a child with a computer causes an ambiguous attitude: on the one hand, now it’s really impossible without a computer. On the other hand, constantly sitting at the computer is fraught with serious consequences. The most dangerous of them is the formation of a child's dependence on a computer, which is a real disease that requires treatment.

Causes and types of addiction

Computer addiction in children is, first of all, a departure from reality, so the main reason for the desire to go headlong into the virtual world is the lack of something in reality. Children may lack attention and participation from their parents, self-confidence, recognition in the company of peers. As a result, the child tries to satisfy his real needs not in the real, but in the virtual world.

Dependency can be of two types:

1. Gaming addiction (cyberaddiction) - addiction to computer games. Some games are personalized, that is, a person plays on behalf of a specific hero, increasing power, conquering cities, acquiring superpowers. In this case, we can talk about role dependence. In other games, there is no character as such, but the essence of the game is in scoring points, getting a win. In this case, the dependence is non-role.
2. Network addiction (networkism) . This is a child's dependence on the Internet, which can manifest itself in different forms, but in a global sense the essence is the same - a person cannot imagine his life without going online. Sitting time in social networks, chats, listening to music are variants of network addiction. Even harmless Internet surfing is a kind of network addiction, because a person spends a lot of time browsing and reading completely unnecessary information, moving from link to link.

When to Sound the Alarm: 10 Signs of Computer Addiction

Both children and adults are susceptible to computer addiction, but in children addiction is formed much faster. The earlier a child is introduced to a computer, the more likely it is that the computer will crowd out real life. You can recognize addiction in a child by the following signs.

1. The child cannot use the computer within the established boundaries. Even if there is a preliminary agreement, he cannot tear himself away from the computer in time, and attempts to restore order and remove him from the computer end in hysteria.
2. The child does not do the household chores assigned to him. Usually, children always have chores around the house: wash the dishes, tidy up their things, walk the dog. An addicted child cannot plan his time and skips homework, sitting up at the computer.
3. Being at the computer is becoming a more preferable activity than chatting with relatives or friends. Even family holidays and visits are no exception.
4. Even natural needs cannot force a child to be distracted from the network. , so he does not part with his phone / tablet either for food or in the bath.
5. The child is constantly in search of devices from which you can go online or play. If you take away his tablet or computer, he will immediately pick up the phone. READ IN DETAILS: The impact of the tablet on the child: 10 reasons to say "NO"! —
6. The child communicates mainly on the network, constantly making new acquaintances there, which remain in the virtual world. Even with real acquaintances (classmates, friends), the child prefers to communicate on the Internet.
7. Child neglects learning does not do homework, becomes absent-minded, sloppy, academic performance decreases.
8. Deprivation of the computer causes "breaking": the child becomes aggressive, irritable.
9. In the absence of a computer, the child does not know what to do with himself , it is impossible to interest him in anything.
10. The child does not initiate you into what he is doing online. Any inquiries cause a negative reaction.

Moms take note!

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Video 2 - Internet addiction in teenagers:

Computer damage

Presentation: "Computer: benefit or harm." Completed by: student of the 6th "B" class, Mulasheva Elina (clickable):

The constant presence of both adults and children at the computer has become a familiar picture, which is why parents risk underestimating the danger of addiction to games or the Internet. In fact, dependence on a computer has negative consequences for both the body and the psyche. Moreover, when it comes to children, these consequences are deeper and more difficult to eliminate, because the body and psyche of the growing man are still being formed.

We also read:

About the dangers of a computer:

and, finally, to get rid of the terrible complexes of overweight people. I hope the information is useful to you!

Some advice for parents

Psychologists advise parents to adhere to some rules that help solve the problem of a child's addiction to computer games and Internet addiction. Read them, perhaps they will help you not only in solving this problem, but also many others.

1. Build relationships in the family on the principles of honesty and the ability to admit mistakes.

2. Do not insult your child and his social circle.

3. Be a friend and helper to your child. The attitude “I am the elder, so do as you are told” will never lead to a trusting relationship.

4. Make sure that the child can trust you always and under any circumstances.

5. Don't be afraid to show your feelings to your child if you are upset by the current "computer" situation. Then he will see in you not an enemy, but a loved one who also needs care.

6. If a conflict suddenly arises, which is expressed in an orderly tone on your part about stopping work at the computer, then you should not bargain with the child: “First you do something (lessons, do household chores), only then you can play.”

If you use these simple tips at least partially, then over time the child will understand that his parents only wish him well and are his friends. Many children are sure that their parents create problems for them on purpose. Such children gradually begin to think badly about themselves, as a result of low self-esteem, they can become problem children with whom it is difficult to build communication.

Let's talk about these problem children who do poorly in school, have difficulty communicating with their peers.

The more psychological barriers a child has in everyday, real life, the faster and deeper he will plunge into the virtual atmosphere.

Children with a fragile psyche tend to escape into the world of fantasy and play. Reading books and being creative requires effort. And in computer games, everything is simple, it gives the impression of one's own power. The child sits in front of a computer screen, plunges into a virtual world where he himself decides who to kill, who to pardon, and does it with a simple push of a button. But in reality, he cannot do anything at all: neither hit back the offender, nor climb a tree, nor become a leader in the competition. But he doesn't need it! There is an easier way to become a hero. As a result, children grow up physically weak, with a fear of real life. Exaggerated claims, low level of willpower - in reality, there is no desire to achieve what you want. At the slightest difficulty, they give up, there is no habit of finishing what they started to the end. It is these reasons that lead to poor school performance, children do not like to read, do not show interest in creativity. The discrepancy between the child's exaggerated claims and his real possibilities leads in the soul to an internal conflict. The computer helps to get away from the unpleasant reality. The only trouble is that the computer world is becoming a reality for them.

There is a possibility that if the child has not become dependent on the computer, then this machine, if used incorrectly, has a destructive effect on the entire organism as a whole. Vision deteriorates first. Computer vision syndrome (red eyes with a feeling of sand in them) may develop. Long virtual communication does not give normal live communication skills. If a child has problems with the cardiovascular system, then games like “shooters” and “catchers” can lead to an increase in blood pressure. Experts have already noticed that light flashes on a computer screen excite impulses in the cerebral cortex. Ultimately, children who constantly play computer games develop seizures.

An example of this is the scandal in Japan. It is connected with the fact that computer graphics in the animated film became the root cause of the development of massive epileptic seizures in little Japanese! Child psychiatrists are also worried that computer game fans adapt to a state of passive arousal, when discharge occurs without effort, just by excitation of the subcortical structures responsible for this emotion. This brings a relaxing effect on the individual, eliminates initiative in the bud, and has an effect identical to that of a narcotic. After all, it is not in vain that these children do not worry about anything else, being reborn, as it were, into an appendage of a computer.

But today it is impossible to live without a computer. The age of information technology obliges everyone to own this miracle of technology. In preschool institutions, computer rooms are being created, where kids are taught computer skills. Each school is equipped with computer classes. Even in the hinterland of the country, the Internet is no longer a luxury. In the professional field, computer literacy is today one of the important points when applying for a job. How to make sure that the question of computer addiction does not arise at all? If you personally do not particularly need a computer, but you are sure that a modern child cannot exist without it, do not say it out loud. Pretend that you are buying a computer for your own use. Then you can formulate the rules for its use for the child.

What can be done to prevent the development of computer addiction in children? There are a number of recommendations that should help parents in this matter.

1. It is always necessary to stipulate the time for the child to play on the computer and accurately maintain these limits. The amount of time should be chosen based on the age characteristics of the child. For example, before the age of 5, it is not recommended to allow a child to access a computer; you should not prevent a child from learning the world gradually and without the intervention of artificial intelligence. And already from 5 to 7 years old, a child can begin to get acquainted with a computer, but preferably no more than 2 hours a day and not in a row, but 15-20 minutes each. with breaks. At the same time, it is necessary to explain to the child that real life and the heroes of computer games are two different things that are not compatible with each other. From the age of 7, a child can independently distinguish a virtual image of a game from a real one. After the age of 12, the least disturbing period begins, as the child can distinguish between images of different realities. But these are just average data, you always need to proceed from the specific personal and individual characteristics of children at a particular age.

2. You need more time to communicate with the child, develop a harmonious emotional sphere in him, attend various events so that the child learns to communicate with different people.

4. It is necessary to instill in the child an interest in active games and physical exercises. Let him move and experience the joy of it. After all, when a child sits at a computer, all his physical activity consists only in moving the mouse on the table.

5. It is necessary to ensure that the game on the computer does not replace real communication with peers and friends.

6. You should discuss games with your child, choose educational games.

7. You need to show the child a personal positive example.

If you agreed that the child will play for 30 minutes, then you yourself should not play longer. If we develop the emotional sphere and communication skills of the child, then perhaps he will not run away from us into another, computer reality.

Let's summarize the above.

What is fraught with inadequate craving of a child or teenager for computer games?

1. A strong dependence of the child on the computer is possible. The child begins to behave like a real drug addict: he constantly looks for time to play, spends all his pocket money to buy new games, he can even steal money if his own are over; talks only about computer games, skips school to play.

2. Computer games have the most adverse effect on the development of the child's psyche. He becomes emotionally unbalanced, tense, aggressive, feels anxious, looks depressed and preoccupied. Children who are addicted to play often have disturbed sleep, often having nightmares. Such dependent "communication" with the computer makes the child withdrawn, taciturn, he cannot concentrate on any type of activity, he can abandon his studies.

3. Computer addiction also affects the physical condition of the child. He ceases to pay due attention to sports and various physical activities, spoils his eyesight, as he is constantly in front of a computer screen. It is very important for parents to realize in time that their child has become addicted to the computer.

So, we examined the formation of computer addiction in children. Of course, much depends on the upbringing of the child: it is important how the parents themselves relate to the computer, for what purposes it was acquired, how they presented information about it to the child, whether they monitor what the child is doing at the computer, whether they set certain limits.

Speaking about the mechanism of formation of dependence on computer games, one should not forget about the peculiarities of age. It must be remembered that children under the age of 5 should not be allowed near the computer, even for a short time. It is also necessary to take into account the individual personal characteristics of children. Some are more and some are less affected by virtual reality. Also, parents need to choose or at least observe what games their child plays. After all, the type of computer game also depends on how quickly and strongly a computer addiction can form.

It is important for parents to remember the signs of gambling addiction. If the child begins to behave in some strange way, reacts inadequately to the computer, then it is immediately necessary to take measures to eliminate this dependence. It is better to immediately contact a specialist. But in any case, it is better to prevent addiction than to fight it later. Parents need to pay great attention to this before buying a computer for a child.

How to get rid of computer addiction in teenagers and children: advice from a psychologist

In the XXI century it is difficult to imagine life without a computer. Virtual reality has firmly settled in our homes, and every day captures more and more new people. We are attracted by incredible opportunities, fantastic prospects. When the passion for games and the Internet goes beyond the bounds of reason, when a person does not eat, almost does not sleep, and what is happening on the other side of the monitor becomes more important for him than what is around, we can talk about painful addiction. Doctors call it computer addiction, gambling addiction. It is especially alarming if a child becomes a prisoner of virtual reality.

Everything usually starts according to one scenario. Moms and dads, hoping to get an hour and a half of free time, give the baby a tablet or phone in their hands. The offspring is busy, the house is quiet, the adults are happy. Then a grown child masters the Internet and understands that it is much more interesting there than in ordinary life. And a few years later, parents do not know where to look for help, what to do with their child's obsessive craving for high technology.

And their fears are not unfounded: the child is not interested in studying, does not want to walk with friends in the yard, does not dream of going to the sea in the summer, does not help with the housework, and sometimes forgets to eat and sleeps badly.

Let's try to figure out together what is computer addiction in children and adolescents - a disease or just a hobby? What to do to prevent its occurrence? And what if your child is already addicted to virtuality?

Diagnosis or passion?

There is no consensus on this yet. The International Classification of Diseases does not contain a diagnosis of "computer addiction", although the question of including this term in the list is raised every year. But many doctors tend to consider computer addiction as a disease, along with alcoholism and drug addiction. In Germany, they conducted an experiment in which two dozen people were shown screenshots of their favorite computer games. The reaction of people turned out to be identical to that observed in alcoholics and drug addicts when they are shown a bottle of alcohol or a dose of a drug.

According to statistics, 12 out of every 7,000 people are addicted to online computer games. 19% of Facebook's 250 million users have admitted to being addicted to gambling.

Online games are the most addictive. In 2005, a teenage girl died of exhaustion in China. She played World of Warcraft for several days. A year later, in Bashkiria, a 17-year-old boy died from an epileptic seizure that developed on the basis of many days of playing at the computer. The sad statistics can be continued further, because such cases have recently been occurring more and more often.

It's no secret that schoolchildren who have played bloody "shooters" can arrange battles in real life. Executions and massacres are occasionally carried out by American and Japanese schoolchildren.

Passion for computer games in itself is not dangerous. But when does it become addictive? The main signs that your child is a gambler or a victim of Internet addiction:

• He began to communicate less on abstract topics.. All conversations are around your favorite game.
• He is not interested in studying he stopped attending sections, or does it extremely reluctantly.
• The child spends all his free time at the computer. Any attempt to force him to turn off the technique leads to a scandal. Attempts by parents to limit time behind the monitor cause the child to cry, rage, and hysteria.
• The child became more irritable his mood often and for no reason changes - from excitement, he easily passes to a depressive blues.
• He does not know how to control his time spent at the computer. He says that he will play for two hours, but he can sit much longer.
• The child stopped taking care of himself- without a reminder, he can forget to wash, brush his teeth, change clothes.
• He has no friends left. He hardly talks to anyone.
• Your child has memory gaps. Short-term memory suffers, he may not remember what he said or promised a few hours ago.

If you find at least three matches in this list, this is a reason to take urgent action. There are now special tests on the Internet that allow, after filling out the questionnaire, to understand how high the risk of developing computer addiction is. They are largely subjective, and do not allow one hundred percent diagnosis, but they will help to get a general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe problem.

Almost all children like to sit at the computer. Why do some people get addicted and others don't? Why is it easy for some children to correct behavior, while others find it difficult? It's all about the personal characteristics of your offspring - in his temperament, level of self-esteem, type of organization of the nervous system.

If a teenager is not confident in himself, he has little communication outside the home - with a high degree of probability he can become addicted to online communication. There he will find what he lacks in life.

Children with a high level of anxiety, fears often get hooked on heroic computer epics. They like to identify themselves as the all-powerful character of the game, who kills hordes of monsters with one left. In this case, the child, as it were, compensates for the lack of courage and determination in reality.

Game developers know all this very well, and every year they improve their product more and more - high-quality sound, 3D graphics, presence effect ... Everything is created so that inside the game a person feels “for real”. Children's psyche is more labile, it is easier to captivate them than adults, they quickly believe in what is happening. That is why for every adult suffering from computer addiction in our country there are now more than 20 children with the same problem.

What is really going on? The child ceases to perceive the world as it used to be. As computer addiction develops, he loses the best human qualities - empathy, love, honesty.

Most addicted to gadgets are:

• Children suffering from attention deficit. They are given little time by their parents, and then they are ignored by their peers. The best prevention in this case is love and participation in the life of the child.
• Children are choleric and children are melancholic. Their worldview is special even without computers. Guys with such temperaments are easier than others to "get used" to the proposed circumstances.
• Children from "problem" families. We are talking about families where domestic violence is practiced - scandals, beatings, coercion to something. And even if another member of the family is the victim of violence, the child will psychologically strive to escape from this uncomfortable reality to another. Why not virtual? The same is partly true of families where the parents have recently divorced, and the child still finds it difficult to accept the changes.
• Children not taught to save time. If a kid from childhood was not taught to rationally manage his time, then by the age of 10-12 he has too many free minutes and hours. He sincerely believes that the obligation to clean the room or take out the trash can be postponed until later. It is much more interesting to spend time in virtuality. Without parental control, such children will not hit a finger on the housework, but they will sit down at the computer with great pleasure.
• Children suffering from complexes. A girl who doesn't like her own appearance gets a chance to become a beautiful warrior in a computer game. A shy and timid boy manages to be a hero - a winner. The game fills the voids in the soul of the child, and gradually he ceases to be himself, but becomes the character of the game.

Computer addiction can lead to very disastrous consequences:

• Social isolation, the child's lack of ability to communicate and negotiate.
• Nervous and mental personality disorders - psychosis, clinical depression, hysteria, schizophrenia.
• Difficulties with learning, lack of motivation.
• Antisocial behavior, lack of understanding of the boundaries of what is permitted, including the law. As a result, the child may become a criminal.
• Diseases: gastritis, impaired posture, hemorrhoids, chronic fatigue syndrome, exhaustion of the whole organism, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, myopia, glaucoma, "dry eye syndrome", farsightedness, display syndrome.

There are several ways to help your child get rid of computer addiction. But you should take into account the degree of predilection. In some cases, parents can help their child on their own, and in some cases, the help of specialists is needed.

Educational conversation

A great way at the very initial stage of addiction. It is important to understand the causes of addiction. Why is the child on the other side of the monitor better than with you? The most common mistake is to start lecturing about the dangers of a computer, making scandals and appealing to the child's conscience. This will only annoy him. Try to become a "companion".

Spend the evening with your offspring in his favorite game. Play with him, chat. Let him tell you about all the characters and their abilities. In the course of virtual adventures, gently ask the child why he likes to be this hero, and not others? Why does he need so many weapons? Who is he fighting? Contact will be established, perhaps not the first time. But when you understand for yourself what attracts your son or daughter to the game, you will be able to plan his leisure time in a slightly different way, including the missing one in it.

Today it is the most common way to deal with computer addiction in both children and adults. An experienced psychoanalyst will help to reveal the true underlying reasons for leaving for another, virtual world. Sometimes, after just one session, the specialist will accurately determine what family problems, personal complexes, moral traumas are pushing the child into a different space and dimension. Parents are encouraged to participate in therapy.

If you take the whole family with a sincere desire to change something in your life, then the result will be positive. The main condition is that parents must be ready to make changes in their own way of life, in their habits and character. The services of a psychoanalyst are not too cheap. But this method is effective when the addiction has long passed the initial stage.

Psychotherapists began to treat computer addiction with the help of hypnosis about ten years ago. Sufficient experience has been gained. The hypnologist introduces the child into a trance (with the consent of the parents) and gently gives him a psycho-setting for indifference to computer games and communication on the Internet. This is how alcoholics are coded.

However Do not think that hypnosis is a panacea. Firstly, not all people can be hypnotized, and secondly, the symptoms of addiction may disappear, but their hidden causes will remain. And then the child, from whose life computer games have left, will begin to fill the voids with something else. Not the fact that something good and useful. Computer addiction can be replaced by other pathological conditions - from theft to drugs.

Often, drug treatment is used to get rid of computer addiction (especially in the "advanced" stages). Prescription drugs are prescribed by a doctor. Usually, this happens when a child has personality disorders, depression, anxiety. The specialist prescribes antidepressants, sedatives.

It must be said right away that it is impossible to get rid of computer addiction with pills and injections alone, since they again treat the consequences, and not the cause. Whatever one may say, one cannot do without psychological help and rehabilitation. And the use of psychotropic drugs has never brought much benefit to the child's body.

• If you find a computer addiction in your child, do not panic. You can frighten him with your reaction and drive him even deeper into a detached state. Analyze the situation and make a plan to get out of it.
• Don't shout, don't blame your child. It's not his fault. After all, didn't we ourselves give him a gadget one day to keep him occupied for a while? Take responsibility and be patient. Computer addiction does not recede quickly.
• Find a good time to talk with your son or daughter. Look for the reason for his voluntary departure into virtuality.
• Offer your child interesting ways to spend their leisure time. Remember, they must be consonant with the cause of the addiction. If a timid child is carried away by games, in order to feel omnipotent, give him to the boxing section, karate, organize a parachute jump. If a teenager lacks sharp impressions in everyday life, offer to go and play paintball together on the weekend or take part in an interactive quest in reality. Now they are common. There, the child will be able to feel like the same hero, but for real. If your son or daughter has communication problems, enroll your child in a theater studio, dance courses, anywhere where the principle “we are a team” applies.

• Set goals for your addicted child. And gradually teach him to set goals on his own and go towards them.
• You should not forbid him to sit down at the computer or take away the gadget from him, trying to wean him off the tablet by force. This will cause aggression and resentment. And these feelings do not contribute to establishing contact.
• Assign your child a range of responsibilities.. Lessons, cleaning, walking the dog, taking out the garbage. Don't be afraid to overload it. No one has died from household chores yet. Reward for what you have done, but not with extra time at the computer. Set up your own reward system. What could it be? A little money that the child can save up for the sneakers of his dreams or whatever else he wants.
• Computer addiction is rapidly getting younger. If 10 years ago 14-16-year-old teenagers suffered from it, now you can meet mothers who complain that they cannot kick their 4-5 year old baby out of the monitor. If the child is not yet 10 years old, try to strictly dose the time spent in the game. Preferably no more than half an hour a day. And it is best to find an alternative activity, the computer is not the best toy for young children.
• Be ready to change yourself. Together with your child, you will skydive, learn to roller skate, go fishing or dancing. Remember that he cannot cope with addiction alone.
• Don't relax. As in the treatment of alcoholism or drug addiction, the patient may experience relapses, breakdowns. Just about, it would seem, the child managed to be distracted from the “tanks” and “wars”, but you quarreled, and he moves away again, trying to hide in the game.

The enemy must be known by sight

Parents whose children are overly addicted to the Internet and games need to know which games are the most addictive and mentally crippling.

In this list, according to experts, The Sims, horror Five Nights at Freddy's, Second Life, Prototype, Left 4 Dead 2, Fallout 3, Splatterhouse And World of Warcraft. Recently, children and adolescents are heading into World of Tanks».

"Tanks" is not as bloody as "Splatterhouse", where severed limbs, skin torn from enemies is the norm, not fanaticism, but they have their own nuances. Playing "Tanks" requires financial investments - after all, the technique needs to be improved ("pumped"). Where will the child get the money? That's right, the parents. And if they don’t, then they can steal from strangers, since the desire to have the coolest tank at that moment is stronger than common sense. I saw adult men who "invest" most of their income in tanks, without thinking about the fact that they have families, children, obligations. What about teenagers? Take your time, ask what your child is playing, try to play it yourself, get to know the enemy as much as possible.

If a child has an Internet addiction, you need to be on the alert every day. Fraudsters, pedophiles, perverts of all stripes lately lie in wait for children not in the alley at home, but on the Internet. See which social media groups your child belongs to. Did he fall into the so-called group of death? These are communities where teenagers are trained to commit suicide. Are there any adults you don't know among his contacts?

It would be unfair to write down all computer games without exception as malicious. Of course, there are educational games that develop logic, thinking, memory.

So, my eldest son once studied the English alphabet. He was helped in this by Winnie the Pooh from the game marked 3+. When I noticed that my son in the 3rd grade, instead of lessons, was concentrating on destroying another batch of bloodied zombies from a shotgun in Left 4 Dead, and when asked where we would go on the day off, he answered: “Can I stay at home?”, The question was posed point-blank - either now or never. By that time, by the way, my son weighed under 70 kilos, suffered from obesity of the first stage, and did not want to go to any sections in principle. As soon as he turned away, he grabbed his plate of dinner and went to eat at the computer. As a gift for the holidays, he asked for a new game or another disk with a continuation of the game ...

So I brought him to a cadet school, where he put on a military uniform, learned to run and pull himself up, skydive and take apart a Kalashnikov assault rifle. At first, he was capricious, of course, incredibly, he suffered and complained. When in the fifth grade he announced that he would be in the military, we were almost not surprised. Now he is 17. He is graduating with honors from the Stavropol Presidential Cadet School. Learns three foreign languages. This summer he intends to enter the higher military school. His dream is to become a scout.

He calls peers who spend their free time playing computer games not a very printed word and wonders how he himself could sit at the computer for so long. Now I am grateful to fate that I was able to discern the symptoms of the onset of addiction in time, and quickly block it. Now I'm looking at the middle son. So far, there is no talk of dependence, but I am always ready.

One day, an old acquaintance called me and burst into a long and detailed text on the topic “How to live on?”. Like, "this blockhead" will not achieve anything in life, because apart from the "computer" he does not need anything. He spends all his free time there and does not want to hear anything. It was about her 13-year-old son. My imagination immediately drew the darkest images, and I promised to stop by one of these days and talk to a teenager.

Misha greeted me with a dull semblance of a smile. It was evident how exhausted he was by constant reproaches and even tantrums from his mother. I went to the table and, to my surprise, found books on programming and graphic design on it. A few questions were enough to understand that the child does not play at the computer. He works for him. With great difficulty, I managed to convince him to at least slightly reduce the time spent at the monitor, and my friend to leave the teenager alone. Now Misha is studying at the university, he will soon become a programmer. He is already a recipient of a presidential scholarship and a regular attendee of all kinds of IT events and rallies of an all-Russian scale.

Conclusion - do not rush to label the child as "gamer", "addict", "sick" ... Understand what your child wants and dreams about. Whether he is addicted or not, you will understand pretty quickly, and spoiled relationships and broken contact with a teenager will still cause a lot of trouble. The main thing is to love the child, accept him with all his oddities and hobbies. But at the same time, do not go blind from love and see the symptoms of impending disaster in time. If computers have already begun to "absorb" the personality of your son or daughter, do not hesitate to ask for help from specialists.

Communicate with the parents of other children who have fallen into tenacious virtual paws, share your experience. It is possible and necessary to overcome this dependence. But to do this is really only all together, joining forces.

Watch the following videos from GuberniaTV and Channel One about computer addiction in children.

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Ekaterina Morozova

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Disputes about the dangers and benefits of a computer for kids have not subsided since the appearance of this product of new technologies in our apartments. Moreover, no one even discusses the issue of time spent at the monitor (everyone knows that the less often, the healthier), but we are talking about specific harm and attachment, which is already equated with serious addiction . What is the harm of a computer for a child, and how to determine that it is time to “treat” the addiction?

Types of computer addiction in a child, video - you need to know the enemy in person!

Known two forms of computer addiction (basic):

• Seteholism is a form of dependence on the internet itself. Who is a networkaholic? This is a person who cannot imagine himself without access to the Web. In virtual worlds, he spends from 10 to 14 (or even more) hours a day. What to do on the Internet - it does not matter to them. Social networks, chats, music, dating - one flows into another. Such people are usually sloppy, emotionally unstable. They constantly check their mail, look forward to the next access to the Web, every day they devote less and less time to the real world, spend real money on the Web on virtual illusory "joys" without regret.

• Cyber ​​addiction is a form of addiction to computer games. It can, in turn, be divided into two types: role-playing and non-role-playing games. In the first case, a person is completely detached from reality, in the second case, the goal is to score points, excitement, and win.

10 signs of computer addiction in a child - how to know that a child is computer addicted?

We all remember cases of people's dependence on slot machines - the last money was lost, families collapsed, close people, work, real life went into the background. The roots of computer addiction are the same: regular stimulation of the pleasure center in the human brain leads to the fact that a gradually formed illness displaces everything that is not related to his favorite pastime from the needs of a person. With children, it is even more difficult - the addiction is stronger, and the impact on health is double. What are the signs of such an addiction in a child?

• The child goes beyond the allotted time limits on the use of the computer. Moreover, in the end, it is possible to take away a computer from a child only with a scandal.
• The child ignores all household chores, including even their duties - clean the room, hang things in the closet, clean up the dishes.
• The child prefers the Internet to holidays, communication with relatives and friends.
• The child is surfing the Web even during lunch and in the bathroom.
• If a child's laptop is taken away, he immediately goes online through his phone..

• The child constantly makes new acquaintances on the Web.
• Because of the time the child spends on the Web, studies begin to suffer: homework remains unfinished, teachers complain of academic failure, negligence and absent-mindedness.
• Left offline, the child becomes irritable and even aggressive.
• The child does not know what to do with himself if there is no way to go online.
• You do not know what exactly the child is doing on the Internet, and the child perceives any of your questions on this topic with hostility.

Harm of a computer for children - possible physical and mental abnormalities in a child dependent on a computer.

The psyche and physical health of the child is much weaker and "shaky" than that of adults. And the harm from the computer, in the absence of proper attention of parents to this issue, can become very serious. What exactly is a computer dangerous for a child? Expert opinion...

• Radiation of electromagnetic waves. For children, the harm of radiation is doubly dangerous - in the "perspective" your favorite laptop can backfire with endocrine diseases, brain disorders, a gradual decrease in immunity, and even oncology.

• Mental stress. Pay attention to your child at the moment of his complete immersion in the virtual world - the child does not hear or see anyone, forgets about everything, is tense to the limit. The psyche of the child at this moment is under severe stress.
• Spiritual harm. A child is a “plasticine” from which a person is molded according to the information that the baby absorbs from the outside. And "outside", in this case - the Internet. And a rare case when a child uses a laptop for self-education, combing educational games and reading books. As a rule, the attention of the child is focused on the information that mom and dad in real life fence him off. The immorality that crawls out of the Internet is firmly established in the mind of the child.
• Dependence on the Internet and computer games displaces the need to read books. The level of education, literacy is falling, the outlook is limited to games, forums, social networks and abridged versions of books from the school curriculum. The child stops thinking, because there is no need for this - everything can be found on the Web, check spelling there, and solve problems there.

• The need for communication is lost. The real world fades into the background. Real friends and close people become less needed than thousands of likes under photos and thousands of "friends" in social networks.
• When replacing the real world with a virtual one, the child loses the ability to communicate with people. On the Web, he is a self-confident “hero”, but in reality he cannot connect even two words, keeps apart, is not able to establish contact with peers. All traditional moral values ​​are losing their significance, and they are being replaced by the "Albanian language", network impunity, baseness of desires and zero aspirations. It is even more dangerous when information from resources of a pornographic nature, sectarian, ritual, Nazi, etc., begins to influence the child's consciousness.

• Eyesight deteriorates rapidly. Even with a good expensive monitor. First, eye pain and redness, then decreased vision, double vision, dry eye syndrome, and more serious eye diseases.
• A sedentary lifestyle is reflected in the fragile spine and muscles. Muscles weaken, become lethargic. The spine is bent - there is a stoop, scoliosis, followed by osteochondrosis. Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most "popular" problems among PC addicts. Its symptoms are severe pain in the wrist area.
• Fatigue increases, irritability and aggressiveness increase, the body's resistance to diseases decreases.

• Headaches appear, sleep is disturbed, dizziness and blackouts become almost the norm due to their frequency.
• There are problems with blood vessels. Which is especially fraught with consequences for children with VVD.
• Overstrain of the cervical spine leads to poor blood supply to the brain and its oxygen starvation. As a result - migraines, apathy, distraction, semi-consciousness, etc.
• The lifestyle of a child who constantly sits at a computer will be very difficult to change later. Not only sports - even the usual walk in the fresh air, necessary for a young body, is rejected in favor of the world wide web. Appetite decreases, growth slows down, problems with body weight arise.

Of course, the computer is not a terrible monster, and it can in many ways become a useful technique and an assistant in learning. But only if it is used for the benefit of the child under the vigilant control of the parents and strictly on time. Teach your child to draw information from books and science films, from the outside world. And teach him to enjoy life so that there is no need to look for this pleasure on the Internet.

Have there been similar situations in your family life? And how did you get out of them? Share your stories in the comments below!