The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.

— BF Skinner, an American psychologist

I discovered video games when I was around thirteen. When the first video game arcades opened in Lahore, I was intrigued. In retrospect, for kids like us, for whom the only ‘digital’ entertainment was 30 minutes of a cartoon show once a week, these games were a revelation. That, and the fact that they could be played indoors, meant that we now had something to do in the searing heat of Lahore summers or during inclement weather. When the next generation of video games with their much more advanced graphics and even more mesmerising environments began showing up in video game arcades, it became a weekly or bi-weekly ritual to surreptitiously remove some money from my father’s wallet and head to the arcade. I do not recall any adverse negative consequences of this activity (unless you count the money stolen from my father, which regularly disappeared into the machines). Nor was there any obvious effect on my academic performance or my behaviour. Fast forward a few decades and my 17-year-old son invited me to play a video game that he was playing. I was taken aback by how much more intuitive and immersive it was compared to what I had remembered. The characters and the environment appeared so much more real, the sights and sounds almost like being inside a movie with you, the player, being a character in it. My son, who has some attention and concentration issues which have led to academic problems, assured me that this type of game is now pretty standard, easy to find on every type of game console, phone and computer.

Video games are in the news again after a recent case involving the much-maligned game PUBG (short for Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds). According to media reports, a teenage boy allegedly shot and killed his mother and three siblings after playing the game for several hours. The Punjab Police are again seeking a ban the game in Pakistan. It was previously banned in July 2020 after it was linked to several suicides across Pakistan.

I wrote on these pages about a similar game called Blue Whale, a few years ago. Leaving aside the irrelevant ‘moral’ arguments about the evils of technology etc, there is now a vast amount of research about the adverse effects of video games. Violent video games depict intentional attempts by individuals to inflict harm on others. Many emphasise negative themes in addition to killing people and animals like foul language, obscene gestures and disrespect for women, law and authority. While studies have shown somewhat mixed results with some claiming that violent video games do not increase violent behaviour and others showing that they do, there has been a consensus in the scientific community for a while now that excessive screen time, of any sort, can be harmful or even dangerous. Guidelines from most of the leading scientific organisations of the world including the World Health Organisation, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others uniformly agree that screen time for children and teenagers, including access to video games, must be limited. Most of these guidelines also recommend no screens for young children (under the age of 2 years). From 2-5 years, no more than 1 hour of screen time a day is recommended.

This has become complicated in the era of Covid as educational institutions have increasingly moved to online learning with the unavoidable use of screens and computers.

Should violent video games like PUBG be banned? Many countries have already done so. These include India, China, Israel and Nepal. But can such a ban be effectively enforced? And what about the other thousands of similar video games which can be downloaded and played by anyone? Clearly, a blanket ban on video games is neither feasible nor practical. Also, the vast majority of young people who play video games do not exhibit violent behaviour or end up murdering people. Violent behaviour is not the only consequence of excessive use of violent video games though. Excessive video game use can also be harmful in other ways e.g., by reducing sleep time and quality, causing nightmares, impairing school performance, reducing socialisation with friends and family as well as physical activity, and taking time away from other hobbies.

What can parents do?

A better answer than unenforceable proposals to ban video games is more active parental supervision for children and teenagers. This presupposes that adults reduce their own screen time and make more of an effort to spend quality time with children. This is especially important if a child is exhibiting unhealthy gaming habits. An obsession with gaming, an inability to cut down gaming time for other activities, exhibiting withdrawal symptoms (sadness, anxiety, irritability) when not gaming, lying and deceiving about the time they spend gaming, declining school grades etc should be danger signals.

In 2019, the World Health Organisation officially recognised “gaming disorder” as a mental health disorder, where gaming becomes the only activity in a person’s life and is done to the neglect of everything else. If this happens, parents need to step in and seek professional help for their children. Regular sleep times for children must be enforced as well as other hobbies and engagement in activities where young people can interact with peers in-person rather than online. For teenagers, experts recommend disallowing gaming in bedrooms and perhaps, having a ‘gaming space’ in a common area of the home. Children should be warned about the potential dangers of internet contacts while gaming online. I try, when I can find time, to sit with my teenage son and play his current favourite game. It gives me a chance to spend time with him and to discuss the game content. Parents can also check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings to select games appropriate for their child’s developmental level.

But passing the entire responsibility to already overburdened and stressed parents may not be right. Developing better recreational facilities for children and young people, encouraging extracurricular activities like school socials, debates, art competitions, sports, drama festivals and the like is also important. Safe and modern playgrounds and recreational areas for younger children near all residential neighbourhoods are also needed as well as high quality childcare and after-school services for working mothers. Schools need to move their obsessive focus away from high marks and grades to helping students develop other aspects of their talents and personalities through the activities described above. There is plenty of research which shows that academic over achievement does not necessarily correlate with career or life success.

Pakistan is a society in transition. Our enormous population of young people (the ‘youth bulge’) is both our biggest resource for the future and our greatest burden. If we can guide and help these young people grow into a hopeful future, the country will grow along with it. We must not fail our young people.

The writer is a psychiatrist, a faculty member at King Edward Medical University and a member of the Government of Pakistan’s HEC National Covid-19 Committee for Psychosocial Wellbeing. He taught and practised psychiatry in the United States for 16 years. He tweets @Ali_Madeeh