Thread by @psychidiaries

So I had one lady who messaged me a couple of days back and seemed quite worried.
She told me that it was her 12 year old son who she was worried about.
She shared some screenshots from her mobile phone.
Writing this thread after seeking due consent from the lady. Do read.
1/n

She showed me a particular game that her son keeps playing. This was the game. I asked her what it was about.
2/n

She told me it was a fantasy love game where in the player had to "dress up and glam up" a girl who according the game developers was ugly looking/ dark / had bodily hair.
For reference take a look at this girl on the right.
3/n

Now the player has to design her look so that the above guy accepts her as his love.
They are allowed some costumes and make-up kits and I guess it also has options to buy more accessories. 4/n

If you end up choosing a look which "doesn't fit the beauty standards" and the girl fails to grab the attention of the guy, then you fail as a player. 5/n

The guy then goes on to say things like this. 6/n

This game has more than 10 million downloads. Young kids are playing this game and games more dangerous than this.
You can only imagine what impact it will have on a 10 year old who has grown up hooked to playing such games. There are many such games! 7/n

Can we blame the teenager kids for getting hooked to this game? I don't think they are at fault here.
It's our hypocritical standards of beauty that are getting reflected in this game. The game developers are surely very smart and know how to make such addictive games! 8/n

What can be the long term consequences of being exposed to such games at such a tender age when your 🧠 is not even fully mature to understand things?
Anybody can guess and yet nobody knows fully well.
This is like a breeding ground for body shaming and bullying in one place! 9/n

Think about the consequences it can have on the mental health of young girls who might not fit into the "beauty standards" set by such game developers! It does pain my heart to see how some people misuse technology and are poisoning the minds of children for money!
10/n

I seriously don't know how we can tackle this issue. There are a far too many games based on violence, wrong standards of beauty, etc in the market.
Banning games won't solve the issue.
At least as parents everyone needs to be aware of things your children are doing on 📱! 11/n

Don't shout at children.
Don't beat them up.
Talk to them like a wise friend.
Explain things to them.
Make them trust you more than they trust what they see on phone.
Talk about things which you might be hesitating- sex education, love, pornography, drugs, etc. 12/n

Because if you don't talk then the children are anyways going to learn and that too from unauthentic, dangerous sources.
Let this thread be a starting point of discussion so that we can at least brain storm ways to protect the developing brains of a young generation!
13/13

This is the start of the thread.

https://twitter.com/psychidiaries/status/1525372748926550016?t=zdGx4jo4m3Y9h52ZqW8TGQ&s=19

. @D_Roopa_IPS @truptidesai69 @Himalayanmuse @adityajoshipura @vamadalal2 @shubhrata_p @DrRohanKrishna3 @baxirahul @APAPsychiatric @psychgeist52 @PsychToday @timesofindia @RibsGully @ashwinskumar @aditiraval @raval_atri @mananspeaks @thevirdas

If you are a student/parent you would also want to read this thread on Exam related anxiety.
#Exams #Anxiety

https://twitter.com/psychidiaries/status/1519814211269894146?t=PZJfaYKe-P1j90yvzq30JQ&s=19