If Gaming Is A Part Of Your Life, You Still Need To Be Safe
Video games and other types of games are fun, right? They allow you some happiness and enjoyment, they make you smile, they frustrate you, and they give you something to focus on when things are getting a little much for you in life. It’s okay to love games, whether that is video games or other types of games, but either way, you’ve got to make sure that you are being safe. We know that this can sound boring, but it’s important that you understand just how important it is that you are safe when you are gaming. If you’ve come across this article then you either think that you might need some help, or you want to know what you can do to stop yourself from becoming addicted.
We’re here to help! In this article we are going to be discussing a range of different things that you can do to keep yourself safe when gaming is a part of your life. Are you interested in learning more? Good, let’s get started.
Talking To Strangers Online
There are certain games that allow you to talk to strangers online, be friends with them, play with them, and so on. There is nothing wrong with this per se, and it can actually be pretty healthy because it can help your social development no matter what age you are. If you are the parent and your children are doing this, then make sure that they know only to talk to strangers if you or another adult is supervising to keep things safe. Sometimes kids don’t understand, but adults do, so you’ve got to be present. If you find out a younger child was speaking to strangers without supervision, this perk needs to be taken away as that is dangerous.
As an adult, speaking to strangers online is pretty commonplace these days, but you still need to be careful. Do not give your personal information out over party chat or to anyone that you do not trust. You’ve got to keep yourself safe, and sometimes even the people that seem genuine aren’t. It’s good to develop your social skills, but let’s just try to keep your gaming friends on their consoles rather than on your social media for example.
Setting A Spending Limit
You will also find that on top of having to spend money on buying the game itself, there are then purchases that you can make in the game for whatever reason. There are so many different purchases depending on what game you’re playing, but it’s important that you are not overspending here. We guarantee that when you sorted your budget, you did not account for a massive amount of money to be spent on gaming. However, if you are constantly finding yourself wanting to make purchases in games and you do this for yourself, then it’s time to set a budget.
Look at the amount of money that you have spare each month, and work out how much you could comfortably and happily afford to spend across your games. This number is going to look different to different people, but you’ve got to do what is right for you. Don’t make it too big because there is simply no need, but also don’t leave yourself with pennies in your game if you know that you’re going to spend more. Make the budget reasonable, and it should be fairly straightforward to stick to.
Enforce A Time Limit
We know that this one in particular is going to sound super boring, but you’ve gotta enforce a time limit on how much you’re gaming, especially if it is getting out of hand. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing pool on your phone, a first-person shooter, or an exploration game, you’ve got to manage your time. If you are spending hours upon hours playing games every weekend, or you are playing every day after work from the second you come home until you go to bed, this is a problem. You need to cut down now before it gets any worse, and you need to stick to it. Excessive gaming will lead to addiction if you are not careful, and that’s not what we want for anyone.
So, what kind of time limit is fair then? Well, this depends on a number of things. How long do you need to play until you feel like you have actually played? Those who play regularly will know what we mean by this. For most people, the limit should be between one and two hours as you get to have a good time gaming for that time, but then you’re also not taking it too far. You could get a couple of rounds of shooting games in, or you could get a decent way through your quest-based game if that’s what you’re playing. Just set a time limit that is reasonable to you, and test it out for a while.
Don’t Just Play Video Games
If you’re playing games, try not to just play video games! There are still people around you who want to do things with you, and if gaming is your love then maybe you can try playing other things with them. For example, you might want to have a Monopoly night with the people that you love. This can be a lot of fun, you’re not spending hours staring at a screen, and you get to be around the people who mean the most to you. It’s a good way to spend time with people, as long as everyone can play Monopoly without getting angry!
It doesn’t have to be this board game, it can be anything. As long as you are getting a break from video games and you are playing something a little different. What about cards? You could try playing a card game if you are all interested in doing that.
Don’t Get Too Wrapped Up
We want to warn you about getting too wrapped up in the world in your video game. If this is happening in the two hours that you have allowed yourself then there’s nothing wrong with this, but if you are constantly thinking about it, this is a sign that there is a problem. You need to remember that this is just a game and it’s not actually a different life that you are living, even though you might want it to be at times. We can completely understand how this happens, but you can’t let video games take over your life.
It might help to change games every couple of days. You can then go back to the one from before for a bit, play another one for a little while, and so on. This should help you take regular breaks and stop you from becoming obsessed with any single game.
If You’re Not Enjoying Yourself, Don’t Play
One of the best rules of gaming is that if you are not enjoying yourself, then you should not be gaming. There’s no point, is there? The whole point of gaming is to have fun, to be happy, and to get some joy out of it. So, if you are constantly getting angry or annoyed at your screen, where’s the fun in that? You’re not enjoying yourself, you’re just playing for the sake of playing and winning, and that’s not a good enough reason to be gaming.
When the fun is over, the game should be over, and then you can go back to it another day when you have a fresh mind. Enjoying the game is paramount, so keep that in mind.
Make Sure You Have Time For Other Things
The final thing that we’re going to say is that you need to still be doing other things with your life. You can’t just stop doing everything because of gaming, which is partly where the time limit comes in. But, it’s gotta be more than that because you can’t just lay in bed researching your game because you think that doesn’t count. You need to go out with your friends, you need to do your laundry, you need to clean your home, have a shower, and other basics like that. Sometimes things can get neglected if you are gaming too much, so the best way to fix it is to put effort into other areas. Make a strong effort to do everything else that needs to be done and you should find that you keep a hold of your normal life.
Some people are just going to see this as a way of trying to control something that they enjoy, but this is not the case at all. This is not about controlling your fun or making sure that you are only limiting the amount of enjoyment in your life. This is about ensuring that you don’t end up isolating yourself, becoming addicted to video games, and ruining your life over something that can be prevented. You have to want to help yourself make this happen though, as nobody else can do the work for you.
