Video games are a way of life. In fact, there are more than two billion gamers in the world, including 150 million in the United States. Studies show that 3–4% of these gamers struggle with video game addiction. Those are epidemic numbers. And the World Health Organization recently declared video game addiction as a legitimate mental health disorder.
Because video games aren’t going anywhere, we all need to better educate ourselves about the risks involved so we can help our kids develop a healthy relationship with games and technology as a whole.
In this episode, I talk with Cam Adair. He is an international speaker and leading expert on video game addiction. Cam is the founder of Game Quitters, the world’s largest support community for video game addiction. His work has been published in Psychiatry Research (a peer-reviewed medical journal on psychiatry), he has been featured in two TEDx talks as well as NPR, BBC, Forbes, ABC 20/20, CNN, VICE, and Bloomberg, among many others.
Hear about Cam's own struggle with video game addiction
Warning signs that might indicate your child has a problem
How to handle a child or teen that doesn’t think they have a problem
A parent’s role in helping their child develop a healthy relationship with technology
The impact of using technology to “babysit” our kids
Specific aspects of games that make them addictive (what to watch for)
The impact of prolonged exposure to overstimulation from games and devices
The financial risks to parents if we’re not familiar with a game’s functionality
The gaming industry is extremely powerful—but just how powerful? (this will blow your mind)
What makes many games predatory in nature
The long term consequences of raising an entire generation of gamers
What parents can do to help equip our kids to deal with these threats
The effects gaming has on a child’s perception of the real world and in turn, their young adulthood
We know the impact gaming and technology has had on teens, but scientists have no data indicating what it might be doing to the brains of very young children (ages 1–5)
The most dangerous types of video games for kidsYou can find all of the show notes for this episode by visiting theinspiredlegacy.com/podcast/008
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