The 2024 International Conference on ADHD which was held in November was filled with timely information and tools. Kyra Todd, ACC, JST Trainer and Enrollment Coordinator was in attendance and shared a synopsis of one of the sessions she attended.
Understanding the Pull of Video Games
There seems to be no avoiding video game culture entirely, and it can be counterproductive to forbid video games or dismiss their social relevance. So how do we help children engage in healthy video game play? The advice given to parents may be something of a surprise – get in there and play the games with your kids! And it may be eye-opening.
In the past few decades, game designers have worked to maximize game play time and profit. They do this by tapping into a player’s interests, appealing to novelty, and creating urgency and challenges. If that sounds familiar, it is because interest, novelty, urgency and challenge are also powerful tethers to lock in the attention of individuals with ADHD – making it even more difficult for them to pull away. Parents, and helping professionals, can help by teaching kids with ADHD about healthy game use, and bringing attention to some of the manipulative tricks as well as “dark patterns” within games. You can learn more here about dark patterns: https://www.darkpattern.games.
There is a lot of fun and human connection to be found in these games, but they are also highly lucrative, so you want to be an educated consumer. And if you think that your child is struggling with video game addiction, please seek the advice of trained medical professionals. Learn more about video game addition here: ADDitude Magazine: Video Game Addiction, Cleveland Clinic Video Game Addiction.
Thanks to David Nathan, PsyD. for his presentation at the conference.