Problem Video Gaming Resources
The line between video gaming and gambling is becoming increasingly blurred, with many video games now incorporating gambling-like features such as loot boxes, skins betting, and chance-based rewards. These mechanics can introduce players—especially youth—to the same risk factors that drive gambling addiction, including impulsivity, reward-seeking, and chasing losses. The Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado provides education and resources for video gaming addiction because we recognize that early exposure to these behaviors can increase the likelihood of developing a gambling problem later in life. By raising awareness, offering prevention tools, and connecting individuals and families with support, we aim to reduce harm and promote healthy, balanced video gaming habits.
If you are looking for more specific tools or support, or if you would like to request training or a public speaking engagement on these important issues, please contact us.
Video Resources
HealthyGamerGG YouTube Channel
Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado YouTube Channel
PGCC is committed to raising awareness, educating communities, and supporting those affected by problem gambling. Our goal is to promote responsible gambling, provide resources for recovery, and reduce gambling-related harm. Our YouTube channel features:
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Educational Videos
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Personal Stories
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Expert Insights
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Community Outreach
Podcast Resources
HealthyGamerGG
The Podcast form of HealthyGamerGG! Tune in for weekly updates from the channel to learn more about mental health, wellness, and how to become a Healthy Gamer!
The Gaming Persona
Welcome to The Gaming Persona, a unique podcast that traverses the exciting crossroads of gaming and mental health. With your host, Dr. Gameology, peel back the layers of the gaming world to discover its profound impact on our cognitive and emotional health. You’ll understand how video games, far from being mere entertainment, can act as powerful tools for personal growth, stress relief, and mental resilience. Join fellow gamers and enthusiasts in thought-provoking discussions, unraveling the intricacies of game design, the psychology of gaming, and the surprising ways in which these elements influence our well-being.
Mindful Gaming
Video gaming can be one of the very worst activities for a person to do, or it can be one of the best. When a person plays video games intentionally or mindfully, they can strengthen mental health, provide physical exercise, and build relationships and communities. Without that mindfulness, however, video games can suck the life out of grades, drive parents and children apart, and become a source of toxicity and stress in a young person’s life.
Book Recommendations
Taming Gaming: Guide Your Child to Video Game Health by Andy Robertson
Taming Gaming is a must-read for parents concerned about the impact of video games on their children’s lives. Robertson offers expert advice on how to manage video game habits, identify age-appropriate games, and foster a healthy gaming culture within the family. This book not only helps parents understand the benefits and potential pitfalls of gaming but also provides a roadmap for establishing a balanced relationship with video games.
How to Raise a Healthy Gamer: End Power Struggles, Break Bad Screen Habits, and Transform Your Relationship with Your Kids by Dr. Alok Kanojia
A former Harvard Medical School instructor and one of the foremost experts on video game psychology, Dr. Alok Kanojia—known as “Dr. K” to his millions of followers—has firsthand knowledge of this modern issue: He needed professional help to break his own gaming habits in college, an experience that fueled his interest in learning how to help others. Drawing on Dr. K’s professional specialization in working with people of all ages and varying degrees of addiction, and the most recent research from neuroscience and psychology, How to Raise a Healthy Gamer teaches parents a new skill set for negotiating gaming culture and offers solutions rooted in the science of treating addiction.
Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their IMpact on the People who Play Them by Jamie Madigan
Video games are big business. They can be addicting. They are available almost anywhere you go and are appealing to people of all ages. They can eat up our time, cost us money, even kill our relationships. But it’s not all bad! This book will show that rather than being a waste of time, video games can help us develop skills, make friends, succeed at work, form good habits, and be happy. Taking the time to learn what’s happening in our heads as we play and shop allows us to approach games and gaming communities on our own terms and get more out of them.
iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood–and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Dr. Jean M. Twenge
iGen explores the unique characteristics of the generation born between 1995 and 2012, who have grown up with smartphones and social media as an integral part of their lives. Twenge dives into the complex relationship between mental health and technology, shedding light on the challenges faced by today’s youth.
Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World by Devorah Heitner
As a digital parenting expert, Heitner shares her insights on how to guide children in developing healthy digital habits. Screenwise offers practical advice for parents, including setting boundaries, modeling responsible screen use, and fostering open communication with children about their online experiences.
How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price
In this book, you’ll discover how phones and apps are designed to be addictive, and learn how the time we spend on them damages our abilities to focus, think deeply, and form new memories. You’ll then make customized changes to your settings, apps, environment, and mindset that will ultimately enable you to take back control of your life.
The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life by Anya Kamenetz
This brief but powerful dictum forms the backbone of a philosophy that will help parents moderate technology in their children’s lives, curb their own anxiety, and create room for a happy, healthy family life with and without screens.
The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen
The Distracted Mind explores why our brains aren’t built for media multitasking, and how we can learn to live with technology in a more balanced way. This book offers practical strategies, backed by science, to fight distraction. We can change our brains with meditation, video games, and physical exercise; we can change our behavior by planning our accessibility and recognizing our anxiety about being out of touch even briefly. The authors don’t suggest that we give up our devices, but that we use them in a more balanced way.
Apps
Online Resources
American Academy of Pediatrics Screen Time Guidelines
A wonderful collection of resources put together by the American Academy of Pediatrics on helpful screen time guidelines.
American Academy of Pediatrics Family Media Plan
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a fantastic tool for families to create a media plan that incorporates a list of media priorities to choose from, practical tips to help make the plan work, and the ability to print and share your plan when you finish.
Common Sense Media
Since 2003, Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Every day, millions of parents and educators trust Common Sense reviews and advice to help them navigate the digital world with their kids. Together with policymakers, industry leaders, and global media partners, we’re building a digital world that works better for all kids, their families, and their communities.
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