Addiction, a word most feared by parents across all strata in society. It manifests itself in many forms these days. In our times things were simple, we were either addicted to booze, drugs or sex not necessarily in that order. But with emerging trends, reports are rife about kids being sent to rehabilitation center for growing addiction to cell phones, video games, texting TV etc. Heck, kids these days get inspired by violent content in video games to commit serious crimes like murder and rape. So with the advent of online gaming in India, its time to decipher whether it’s safe for our children or is it a Pandora’s box waiting for trouble. The industry is still in it’s nascent stage with currently only one market leader Zapak, but it’s not presumptuous to assume that many big players will soon eye this platform. Games2Win, Nunook, IndyaRocks, OnlineRealGames and ilk are in the competition, but with the backing of Mr. Moneybags (Anil Ambani), Zapak has access to more marketing tools than any other site.
Online games are not restricted to the youth alone; niche market for women and children is being developed as well. The only saving grace as I see it, this medium is not as addictive as the rest cited earlier. I have surfed through most of the sites mentioned and understood that online gaming, content-wise is not so inclined towards violence. So emulating gun trotting car thieves GTA-style is not a threat; as yet. The other good thing about this medium is that the big daddies are pushing the government for a Sport’s Industry status. Essentially this will mean that the wonderful “Sports Quota” will apply to the children who compete in the games at various levels, thus hopefully college admissions will get easier.
To support the online site, companies like Zapak have also spin-ed off gameplexs all over the country. Now this could be a problem area with urban-parents, because children would want to spend more time away from home. On the flip side in the not-so-developed cities, access to computers, even in the form of games could help in educating the youth. It may want to inspire them to do more in life. However with the few like-minded parents that I spoke to, all are with the consensus that they rather have their kids play at the gameplexes than shoot pool or go to the local games parlor.
I guess we all are getting brand conscious! All in all, I think thus far there seems to be no problems with what this Industry has to offer us parents and children. It’s free, it may get that industry status and it keeps us entertained. Moderation is the key word…setting limits and boundaries is a very personal thing. Hours spent gaming on the net is better than kids surfing for porn or chatting to strangers!
Image Source Daylife
