Violent games and videos can cause mental problems for children: psychologist


Violent games and videos can cause mental problems for children: psychologist

Inside of an internet café in Yangon (Photo – EMG)

Allowing children to play video games with violent fighting could affect their mental state and spur boys in particular to become violent, psychologists have warned.

Dr Nilar Kyu, a professor who heads the Psychology Department at Yangon University, said: “As an effect of media, children usually follow what they see through TV channels. For example, suicide cases could happen if they see two friends commit suicide because they love each other so much. Some behavior is consistent in children’s minds and they follow doing that. Because children cannot control themselves properly, their minds can easily be influenced. 

“Mental problems especially occur in very young children and boys who play violent games. Adults are already mature and they can control themselves. So, parents should be careful which games children are allowed to play at which age, and what kind of video or TV channels they are allowed to watch,” Dr Nilar said.

Some businesspeople from the media sector have claimed that children’s “desire to fight and be violent disappears” if they play games or watch videos with violent scenes – rather than the videos and games creating violence.

Research has suggested that children who get mentally troubled or emotionally hurt in childhood can suffer mental disorders from the age of about 14.

One fifth of world’s population is people aged from 15 to 24 years old and 20 per cent of these young people suffer some kind of mental problem, the United Nations Population Fund has said. Likewise, in Myanmar, there are 26 million teenagers and young adults in this age range and up to a third may suffer a mental ailment.

Currently in Myanmar, about 20 people out of 100,000 pass away due to a mental problem – making this the 14th most common cause of death in the country.

However, the rate of suicide in Myanmar is just six per 100,000 people, which is low by world standards.

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