The games they grew up with didn’t have controllers, keyboards, screens, or a headset. To well-meaning parents, video games often look like a waste of time a waste of a childhood. They fondly recall long conversations on the phone, learning to work together by competing in sports, or playing Monopoly together at a sleepover. That’s how to make friends, parents assert. I imagine most parents of gamers have hollered to their children to stop playing games and go be with people. Their children seem totally isolated, sitting all alone , staring blankly at a screen for hours at a time.Ĭhildren need to talk to each other, to have conversations, to get out into the world. (This blog, part of a series, originally appeared in Psychology Today. Andrew also facilitates Level Up: A Group for Gamers, a support group for teen gamers who want to meet with other teen gamers and discuss the impact of gaming on their lives.)
By Andrew Fishman, MSW, LSW, Clinician, Response Center for Teens
