You might be looking at the world's youngest gambler

When Niharika Desai turned 13 a few months ago her parents finally allowed her to create a Facebook account One of Niharikarsquos primary reasons to get an account was to play the online games that her peers are addicted to Niharika says that she plays games like Angry Birds and Words with Friends Rashmi Niharikarsquos mother isnrsquot happy that her daughter plays games online but says that she keeps a strict watch on her online activities and the games she plays ldquoNiharika seems to be playing harmless games for now but I am always worried that she may discover and get captivated by games that use virtual money and has gambling undertonesrdquo says Desai Desairsquos fears are not unfounded a recent report in The Daily Mail newspaper UK said that of late there has been a growing voice of alarm against Facebook for lsquocreating a generation of gambling addicts with their plethora of Las Vegas styledcasino gamesrsquo A number of games on the site are slot machine and poker based ones including titles like Jackpotjoy and Double Down Casino In the report Dr Carolyn Downs of the University of Salford said that she woke up to the threat when her 13yearold daughter got upset after losing some virtual money in a game called Fluff Friends Downs said in the report lsquoItrsquos wellestablished that the younger the children start gambling the more likely it is they will become habitual gamblers and also problem gamblershellipItrsquos a longterm lifelong risk What wersquore doing is setting up these kids to be problem gamblers as they go through lifersquo Seema Hingorany clinical psychologist and trauma expert endorses Downsrsquo view and says that there is a strong possibility that children who begin playing young run the risk of becoming habitual gamblers because the thrill of winning and the greed of making money even if it is virtual can extend to becoming a reality ldquoHabitual gamblers have serious addictions once they start they canrsquot stop Also playing games becomes a way of instant gratification which they canrsquot handle later in their liferdquo says Hingorany Start young Facebook states 13 as the minimum age limit for registration and playing games Since there is no way to authenticate the age in reality there are plenty of children out there who are much younger but have registered and are pretending to be older Hingorany feels that at 13 one is way too young to begin gaming or even spending much time online ldquoWhen teens marinate in online gaming too early it can increase antisocial activity gambling and cheap thrills and decrease empathy for others Research also says that such teens have a propensity to be more aggressive and it creates all sorts of emotional disturbances including increased anxiety sleep disruption and nightmaresrdquo Sudipto Majumdar avid gamer who creates amateur games in his leisure hours and was for the longest time associated with one of the biggest players in the Indian gaming industry says that most gaming companies create content for the 12plus age group Majumdar adds that teenagers do not know how to handle money or know its value since they have no idea about earning money ldquoBetting games online are addictive and even if one starts playing with virtual money many will soon graduate to real money and this can be dangerousrdquo Fear factor According to Vijay Mukhi cyber security expert one of the biggest fears associated with online gaming is that most of these games are multiplayer games and children can end up associating with dangerous people online ldquoIt is anonymous one has no idea who one is playing with It has been noticed that the kind of people one associates with online are those one will end up meeting offlinerdquo Games2win is among the top twenty gaming companies in the world Tejas Shah who leads business intelligence and partnerships at Games2Win says that the core audience for their games are teens and tweens which is typically the age group 1018 Shah says there are many genres in the online gaming sphere and a lot of it is fun without any betting elements He states that Games2Win does not produce content that involves betting neither would they want to go that wayu00a0Games2Win however does have games that use virtual currency ldquoThe difference is how it is being used For example if one uses virtual currency to buy something to enhance your game or to continue playing ahead the user gets something back for the money that he has spentrdquo Under lock and key What are the checks one can put in place to steer onersquos child away from games that might have betting undertones Desai says that she allows her daughter to play online games for only twenty minutes a day Mukhi says that in order to steer teenagers from becoming online gaming addicts one of the safeguards one can put in place is a physical lock on the computer when parents are not around or are sleeping ldquoA software lock is not of much use because it can be cracked A physical lock is important because when parents sleep the computer sleeps and children canrsquot misuse itrdquo Dr Pervin Dadachanji adolescent and child psychiatrist says that computers should always be placed either in a common rooms or the parentsrsquo room time and content of programmes need to be monitored and parents need to keep a look out for signs of disappearing money isolation or secrecy ldquoIt is also important to stress on outdoor play and parents need to always stay connected with onersquos childrdquo says Dadachanji Hingorany feels that a growing teen is one who is riding on an emotional roller coaster and it is a phase when they struggle to develop their own identity and as a result become dependent on virtual games ldquoParents need to communicate the pitfalls of being online monitor a childrsquos online activities and not allow any online games that allow virtual moneyrdquo shesays u00a0 Games That Make You A Real Hero Not all online games encourage gambling and violence Game designer Jane McGonagall in her classic TEDTalk pointed out how online games like World of Warcraft inspire people to think like heroes Here are some game changers gtgtWorld Without Oil Created by McGonigal in this game players must get creative to survive the massive global oil shortage The game teaches easy ways to use less oil in the real world gtgtu00a0Way In a world which is becoming smaller the sooner we start embracing different cultures the easier it will be This is an online game where two anonymous players from different locations around the globe learn how to speak to each other as they navigate obstacles gtgtu00a0Evoke Also created by McGonigal along with the World Bank Institute this game is a 10week crash course in social innovation It gives players challenges linked to food security and urban resilience and encourages them to function like think tanks gtgtu00a0Plot Form Giving can be fun and this game shows you how Currently fundraising to build homes for teenagers in Tanzania Plot Form lets players donate and pick out building materials colours and more for parts of the homesu00a0