The Gaming Overload Workbook: A Teen's Guide to Balancing Screen Time, Video Games, and Real Life

by Randy Kulman PhD

Overview

Essential skills and strategies for managing your gameplay and creating a well-balanced life.  

Do you spend hours on end playing video games? Do marathon gaming sessions cause you to lose much-needed sleep? Have your grades suffered as a result of neglecting schoolwork in favor of more game time? Has your physical health declined due to extended periods of inactivity? Have you tried unsuccessfully to limit the time you spend playing? Gaming can be a fun, challenging, and rewarding activity, but when it begins to interfere with other essential aspects of life, it might be time to set some limits.

The Gaming Overload Workbook will help you explore your use of video games in a thoughtful, nonjudgmental way. This isn’t a workbook for giving up on gaming. This is a guide to help you set your own limits on screen time, and apply your interest and enthusiasm for gaming to a wider variety of activities, like connecting with friends and family, excelling in school or sports, and just spending more time outdoors.

If you’re ready for some healthy balance between gaming, school, family, physical activity, and social relationships, this book will provide the key to winning at the game of life!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684035519
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	08/01/2020
Series:	Instant Help for Teens Series
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	622,772
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.35(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Randy Kulman, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist who has worked with kids and families for the past thirty years, and has become a leading expert on the use of digital technologies for improving thinking skills in children. He is founder and president of the technology website, LearningWorks for Kids, an online platform for informing and instructing parents on how to enrich and enhance their kids’ digital playtime. His blog, Screen Play, on www.psychologytoday.com helps kids and parents balance their screen time with other activities. He is author of Train Your Brain for Success and Playing Smarter in a Digital World. Learn more at learningworksforkids.com.

Table of Contents

A Letter to Teens 1

A Letter to Clinicians, Educators, and Parents 3

Activity 1 Playing Video Games 6

Activity 2 Are You Addicted to Video Games? 9

Activity 3 Why You Play Video Games 14

Activity 4 When Play Gets in the Way 20

Activity 5 Bingeing on Your Screen 24

Activity 6 What Your Parents Do with Video Games and Screen Time 29

Activity 7 Screens and Your Sleep 34

Activity 8 Do You Get Distracted by Games and Screens? 38

Activity 9 How Tech Tools Help with Homework and School 42

Activity 10 Is It ADHD or Distractibility? 47

Activity 11 Video Games Are More than Just Fun 50

Activity 12 Family and Video Games 56

Activity 13 Hanging Out with Friends 60

Activity 14 Improving Executive Functions and Problem Solving 65

Activity 15 Promoting Creativity with Games and Apps 69

Activity 16 Stress and Relaxation 74

Activity 17 Developing and Expanding Interests 79

Activity 18 Learning More about the World 84

Activity 19 Can Video Games Make You More Efficient? 88

Activity 20 Exercise and Games 92

Activity 21 Can Competitive Video Games Help Your Future? 95

Activity 22 How Much Time Do You Spend with Screens? 100

Activity 23 A World without Technology 104

Activity 24 When You Can't Stop Looking at Screens 110

Activity 25 Strategies for Distraction 116

Activity 26 Balancing Your Digital Play with a Healthy Play Diet 121

Activity 27 Creativity in a Play Diet 126

Activity 28 Nature, and Unstructured Playtime 131

Activity 29 Can Game Play Inspire Physical Play? 135

Activity 30 Games as Social Play 140

References 145

Interviews

Kulman is based near Providence, RI.

Editorial Reviews

Randy Kulman has developed a practical, accessible resource for teens that honors their positive experiences with screen time while simultaneously engaging them, through interactive exercises, in meaningful reflections about the costs and benefits of excessive use. Informed by current research, this book is just what parents and other adults need to address concerns about technology use in a positive, respectful way.”
—Jon Lasser, PhD, professor of school psychology at Texas State University, and coauthor of Tech Generation

Jon Lasser

The Gaming Overload Workbook will be a treasured resource for teens, their parents, and their teachers. Randy Kulman provides a unique way to help evaluate the impact of screen time and video games on teen behavior, problem-solving, time management, learning, and socialization. Numerous activities contained in the workbook invite teens to engage in self-analysis of their screen-time behavior, and encourage them to draw conclusions about how their video play impacts them. Kulman has written extensively on this topic, and his new workbook gives teens an opportunity to identify the positive and negative impacts that video games and screen time can have. I highly recommend this exceptional and highly practical book.”
—Harvey C. Parker, PhD, clinical psychologist in South Florida; cofounder of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD); author of several books and publications on child development; and recipient of a CHADD Lifetime Achievement Award

Harvey C. Parker

Gaming is a complex world with confusing narratives about games’ supposed ills and considerable benefits. With his new, excellent workbook for youth, The Gaming Overload Workbook, Randy Kulman gives youth a fun and insightful opportunity to look at games through a whole new lens! Highly recommended for kids who love games.”
—Chris Ferguson, PhD, professor of psychology at Stetson University, and longtime researcher on the effects of videogames

Chris Ferguson

Randy Kulman has created an innovative workbook for teens to better understand digital gaming. His unique approach will engage teens on their level to better understand the skills they are learning through gaming, but also to understand the risks of overload. With real case presentations, they will learn how to balance digital play. I am excited to share this book with my patients who struggle with gaming overload.”
—Celeste Corcoran, MD, FAAP, primary care pediatrician with thirty-two years’ experience, faculty at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and diplomate in obesity medicine

Celeste Corcoran

Randy Kulman’s workbook is a critically important resource for adolescents, parents, and clinicians concerned about the impact that gaming may have on teens’ lives. Using a unique blend of science, clinical experience, and recommendations from teenagers, this workbook is an indispensable guide to balancing video game playing, screen use, and important life activities. Teens and their families can use this workbook to develop a healthy and balanced ‘play diet.’”
George J. DuPaul, PhD, professor of school psychology, and associate dean for research at Lehigh University; and author of books and scientific journal articles regarding attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

George J. DuPaul

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