This week, Y3 received their third e-safety workshop, this time focussing on gaming addiction. Gaming addiction happens when you play games so much that it begins to interfere with an individual’s quality of life. Gaming and technology is a huge part of life nowadays, especially for our children, so teaching them how to be sensible and safe digital citizens is incredibly important, both at school and at home.
After watching a short video, the children were surprised at some of the problems that someone could face if they became addicted to a game. Some of these problems were;
- changes in mood
- changes in eating habits
- unhealthy sleep pattern and nightmares
- possibility of loosing touch with real life friends
- becoming easily frustrated
To reduce the risk of becoming addicted to gaming, the children decided that the key was not to ban the use of gaming altogether, but to follow these simple pieces of advice;
give warnings before it is time to turn a game off (ie. at the end of that level, 10 minutes time, 5 minutes time)
- turn all screens off at least 1 hour before bedtime
- download a screen time control app
- take regular screen breaks
The children were then asked to discuss other activities that they would enjoy if they were not allowed any more screen time that day. They came up with lots of great ideas such as going to the park, reading, throwing a ball around, riding a bike, making an obstacle course and playing with lego.
Throughout the workshop, the children were also reminded about making sure they are playing age appropriate games, know what to do if they do come across something they don’t feel is right online, and that they, as users of technology, have a responsibility to use it correctly and safely.
After the workshops, some children said:
“I now know that changes that might happen to my body if I spend too much time on a screen or a game”.
“I now know to check with my Mum how much time I am allowed on a game”.
“If I am asked to come off a game, I should come off of it”.
“We all need to take responsibility to know how long we should be on a game for”.
14th June 2019
Category: Whole School