Striking A Balance With Mental Health
Read time approx: 4 minutesRetention games are specifically designed for players, with great gripping game play and fun mechanics that make the players wish to come back for more. These games, while entertaining, do raise some questions on mental health when played excessively. As with everything, moderation is key and the same goes for both players and developers while indulging in fun.
Advantages of Retention Games
As with everything else, while moderation is observed, retention games can be beneficial for the mental state as well. They give a sense of achievement as players repeatedly try to complete different kinds of tasks, which can promote a sense of confidence and help relieve stress. Furthermore, many games have a multiplayer option which helps people socialize and interact with new people combating the growing feeling of loneliness associated with this modern era.
Risks of Over-Engagement
However, one of the major drawbacks is excessive use of these games, with the main concern being addiction. Getting addicted to these games can lead to engagement in other activities being disrupted, which in turn affects sleeping and exercise. They can start affecting relationships and in extreme scenarios can lead to addiction which aggravates anxiety or depression. For a better experience during gaming, it is important to understand these repercussions.
Balancing Retention and Mental Health
Game developers can help promote better health habits by integrating such functionalities as time trackers, playtime restrictors, and break notifications to their games. It is also important that players contribute to this. Establishing your own time frames, enforcing real life duties, and forcing yourself to undertake things other than gaming are some methods that can be used to avoid addiction to games.
Why It Matters
While people learn to cope with ‘gaming’, it is high time we understand its effects on our mental health as well. Without taking proper care, we find ourselves at the wrong place where games instead of bringing us comfort turns out to be harmful. Gaming is the modern age talking about moderation for the developers and well defined strategies for the consumers.
Strike a balance
When balanced properly, retention games are a great way of unwinding and socializing, however, moderate consumption is truly the only way to ensure mental wellbeing. At The Game Silo, we believe in industry self regulation and moderation so that society can enjoy their favorite games without moderation. What are your views on Gaming & Mental Health? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to follow The Game Silo for more gaming updates!