Warning Signs of Video Game Addiction

[Dr. Alok Kanojia]: Parents need to be involved from day one. The first sign is actually not anything in your kid, it’s something in the parent. So you know your kid, if you think inside, pay attention to your parental instinct, which, you know, has been honed over millions of years of evolution. Pay attention to your instinct, if you think something is wrong, that’s the first reason that you should investigate. Second thing to consider is, I think, a change. So we’re looking for a change, so you used to know who your kid was, you kind of – your kid grows up, they’re six or seven, they’re eight. And then something can happen where your child starts to change. They’re not hanging out with their friends, they’re not quite as engaged in their school, we see that isolation, withdrawal, and sort of an emphasis on gaming and gaming-related behavior, which includes streaming, and all this kind of stuff too, is really like one of the other warning signs. So I’d say, first of all, trust your instinct. Second of all, if you see any impairment of function. Third of all, you know, a change, just a substantial change to their personality, the way that they’re behaving, things like that. And then the last thing is, isolation and withdrawal and sort of overemphasis on the game.