Children reveal level of headaches, tiredness, and bullying brought on by gaming

Many children reported feeling headaches, sore eyes, and tiredness after gaming.

Nearly one in five children find it difficult to stop playing video games, and many report not getting enough sleep as they are staying up late gaming.

With many also reporting feeling physical effects such as headaches, sore eyes and ears, and tiredness after gaming, almost one in four reported that their mood changes after playing video games.

The findings are included in a survey of 700 children, from third to sixth class, by children’s charity Barnardos as part of its Online Safety Programme.

While online gaming can be a positive part of children’s lives, the survey found there is also a real need to improve safety functions.

It found:

• Half (50%) of children surveyed had seen other children being cyberbullied or sent mean messages, one in six (17%) seeing it always or often.
• More than one in three children (35%) said that when they play games online they play with others they do not know or have never met.
• More than one in five (21%) said they have often or always been asked a personal question by someone they don’t know.

One ten-year-old boy told the study that "playing too long you can get headaches and stomach aches”. An 11-year-old girl said: “People might send you mean words and so you might get strange feelings or bad comments.” 

Abusive messages

Barnardos has called on gaming companies to act quickly to block those who send abusive messages and to make the reporting process more straightforward.

The charity has also called on companies to ensure chat functions in games marketed to children are appropriate when it comes to chat moderation, limiting access to friends only, and limiting content.

It has also called for in-game purchases in online games directed at children to be removed. 

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“The children we spoke to are self-aware when it comes to the online gaming world, and offered insightful and practical recommendations to make online gaming safer,” said Barnardos chief executive Suzanne Connolly.

“It’s important for adults with the power to make changes to listen to what children are telling us. It’s also important that parents and children have an open dialogue about gaming online and online safety more generally.” 

The survey was undertaken as a part of the Barnardos Online Safety Programme. This month marks the final year of a five-year partnership between Google.org and Barnardos to deliver online safety workshops across the country.