Minecraft Game Fever, Is It Safe For Children?

JAKARTA Minecraft is a computer game that many people go by, including children and is now the best-selling computer game in the world.

Children can spend hours playing Minecraft games. On the other hand, many parents are worried that children's interest in Minecraft could turn into an obsession, or even addiction, because they have difficulty breaking the child's attention.

Minecraft's popularity was filled with the screening of an adaptation film from the game entitled A Minecraft Movie, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa.

Several observers tried to explain the psychological reasons why Minecraft's game succeeded in hipnotizing' children.

Psychologists say such games take advantage of the internal instincts of all of us, the instincts that support the success of the entire species, namely the desire to build.

Minecraft is one of the most popular video games of all time. The game was first released in 2009, and has sold more than 300 million copies in 2023.

Along with the continued increase in Minecraft's popularity, parents continue to express their worries. They are worried that this game will not only make children obsessed, but also addiction which can have a negative impact on children's mental health.

However, experts have revealed several reasons why parents don't have to worry too much about Minecraft's game.

If you think about it, the children always like to make something. For example, sand palaces, forts, tree houses, and others. They also enjoy playing wooden blocks, playdough, and Lego pieces.

Minecraft can actually be said to be like the games mentioned above. The difference is that Minecraft is built in a digital space.

Why is the game of building something so interesting for children?

All mammals play when they are young, said Peter Gray, a psychologist who studies how children learn at Boston College, Massachusetts, United States.

He is contogating predatory animals playing to catch something. The preying animals practice avoiding and racing.

"They play with the most important skill for them to develop in order to survive and their main ability to mate," Gray said, citing BBC.

While humans are not like other animals. The survival of human life rests on the ability to build something, from the hut, to equipment for hunting and mixing.

"So it's no surprise that natural selection gives young people a strong urge to play building something," Gray added.

CitingKid Space Rocks, Minecraft is called more than just a game. Minecraft is a great creative machine that invites children to focus deeply and play imaginatively.

"The design of the open world allows children to build, explore and create freely, which fosters self-expression, critical thinking, and confidence," wroteKid Space Rocks.

"What seems like playing time in front of the screen can actually be meaningful learning," he continued.

Experts also call Minecraft like Sandbox, a video game that offers players freedom to explore their creativity without a specific purpose. This type of open game reflects an imaginative game in the real world like Lego or pretends to build something in the backyard.

Research shows this unstructured game triggers creativity. In one experiment, children who play Minecraft without instructions are more creative than those who are given the purpose or watch TV.

"Why? Because Minecraft allows children to explore ideas in their own way, they decide what to make, how to make it, when to start again," said the KID Space Rocks report.

The constuctive game Minecraft offers is not the only attraction. AJ Minotti, the mother of a worker in the marketing field in Ohio, said there was a social side to the game.

When children cannot meet their friends or cousins directly, they can do it online or in Indonesian society known as mabar alias playing together.

"This is a virtual hangout," said Minotti.