{"id":10410,"date":"2024-10-28T11:22:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T08:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesolitaire.com\/blog\/?p=10410"},"modified":"2024-10-28T11:22:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T08:22:37","slug":"study-impact-online-games-on-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesolitaire.com\/blog\/study-impact-online-games-on-teens\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of Online Gaming on the Mental Health of Teenagers (Study 2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It\u2019s the perfect day to be outdoors. The sun is out, the weather is comfortably mild, and there are still plenty of hours before it gets dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But your kid isn\u2019t enjoying the sun. In fact, they haven\u2019t even gone outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re spending the day in front of their computer monitor, blasting away their opponents in an online game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a common scene in households with teenagers. It\u2019s also one that leaves a lot of parents with nagging worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is gaming really just a harmless hobby? Or is all that time your teen spends gaming having an effect on their mental health? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, the answer is a bit complicated. So, let\u2019s take a moment to unpack the effects of excess gaming and what parents can do if their teen is spending too much time playing online games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Teens Love Gaming – But Some Love It Too Much<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gaming is an incredibly popular hobby among teenagers. According to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, 85% of US adolescents (ages 13 to 17) play video games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some teens, however, play far more than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey also found that 41% of American teens game at least once per day, and 40% of them identify as gamers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, 40% of teens play a lot. But how many of them play too much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, according to the teens themselves, 17% of them do. That\u2019s how many said they feel they overdo it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while Common Sense Media found that the average teenager spends less than two hours per day<\/a> gaming, other research has found that many teens play video games for up to 50 hours<\/a> each week. Some avid gamers will even manage to clock up to 100 hours of game time per week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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These numbers show that plenty of teenagers are able to regulate their gaming. They treat it like any other hobby and play a reasonable amount before moving on to other activities. But many teens find it difficult to log off or put down the controller, filling most of their waking hours with gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Excess Gaming Affects Teens\u2019 Mental Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Excess gaming is a source of worry for a lot of parents. But what does it actually do to a teenager\u2019s brain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a subject that\u2019s been studied closely and researched heavily. And unfortunately, the findings have uncovered a laundry list of adverse effects<\/a>. Studies have linked excess gaming to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n