Written by Modenie
Physical development happens in many stages of life. In adolescents, digital technology can have both positive and negative effects in their physical development. For example, when my son used the gaming consoles to play with his friends, it created social interaction which is important for his development. But he did not move a lot which resulted in him gaining extra weight. Bonnechere et al. (2018) described that obesity can be prevented if there are repetitive movements of the body by performing high level activities. Repetitive movements can help adolescents improve their development by staying active.
Obesity is due to high fat consumption and being sedentary. Video games players will have a healthy lifestyle if adolescents use the ones that require gross motor movement or they can walk around and play with their friends (Calvert et al., 2013). Exergames, is a high-tech video games with an approach to fitness to strengthen muscles, keep a balance while stretching, dancing, and doing aerobic exercises (Resnick, 2012). Although my son continues to play video games on weekends, I allow him to walk home from school in the afternoon which takes 30 minutes, as a result, it has caused him to lose some extra weight. Being physical is important not only for adolescents but for everyone to live a healthy life.
Bonnechère, B., Lubos O., Kostkova, K., Van Sint Jan, S., Jansen, B. (2018). The end of active video games and the consequences for rehabilitation. Physiotherapy Research International, 23, 1752. https://doi.org/10.1002/pri.1752
Calvert, S. L., Staiano, A. E., & Bond, B. J. (2013). Electronic gaming and the obesity crisis. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 139, 51–57
Resnick, L. (2012, March 8). Exergames: a new step toward fitness? Exergames: a new step toward fitness? – Harvard Health