Electronic games apps do have many benefits – it’s a reality we need to live with and in fact encourage children to play because of their many benefits.

To develop skills such as speed of intuition, strengthen focus, plan strategically to take risks and experience victory, to form teams and distribute tasks in team play. To recognize and deal with colleagues’ strengths and weaknesses. All the while, engage in the undoubted fun if playing and unloading negative energy.

However, as has been said and known, it comes with problems and challenges… for everyone. Unfortunately, there are groups whose primary concern is to produce games and immerse in them ways that corrupts morals, customs, etiquette, or even plain common sense.

It is all the worse when you know these games target children, with inappropriate scenes tucked into the game scenario. Parents can’t find them easily as it’s always hidden. This scenario exists in dozens of apps, some of them – unfortunately – produced by giant gaming companies that have always set benchmarks with their high-end productions.

Gaming classifications are still in their early stages. They need tremendous effort and awareness as the issue is complex and requires personnel dedicated to this to follow up on the content and classification. I recommend that parents use parental control apps that even run on Windows and Mac and which can send them daily and weekly reports in detail. The length of playing time can be reduced to not exceed four to five continuous hours through these apps.

It’s worth mentioning that games need to be played in the living room where everyone can pass by and oversee the situation. Many games now involve voice conversations with unknown people, which could lead to future disasters.

It is about time to have local official tournaments, teams and clubs to compete in electronic games production just like football teams. Perhaps, one or two football clubs’ budget is sufficient for these…

– Ahmed Al Zarouni is a Dubai-based tech specialist.