Written task., I decided to write a magazine article about the availability and effects of online gambling on children.

by 010tavibgmailcom (student)

Written task based on the internet

Online gambling is a real problem for our children

Gambling is everywhere, it’s on tv, it’s on our phones, it’s on our computer, it is even there during a soccer match as an advertisement. There is no escaping the persuasion of gambling. Now, a new section of gambling, online gambling, has risen. With even more bombardments of persuasive advertisements. But the now online gambling has also started targeting our kids.

Internet gambling is too accessible for children because children do not need age verification in order to enter a gambling site. Apart from online Gambling research has shown that in the UK in 2018 55,000 11- to 16-year-olds are classified as problem gamblers and another 70,000 are considered at risk. This already is a big problem but the number of online gambling offers is only growing and so is the group of underaged children interested in this.

Online gambling comes in many forms. In particular games, for example, you can buy loot boxes/crates which gives you an item or character in that game. In, for instance, Fifa 19, you can buy these Fifa Packs with, so-called, Fifa Coins that can be purchased with real money. These Fifa Packs then give you the chance to win a high skilled player but you also risk to get a lower-skilled one. Many consider this not as a form of gambling but looking at the concept it is a form of gambling.

Another form of gambling that is involved in games is “skin gambling”. This form of gambling appears among in other games in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The same concept as the previous online gambling form also appears in this game but it goes one step further. These skins are not only used in-game but also sold and traded to make real money of.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Next to online gambling in gaming, there are also gambling sites and apps out there persuading children and teens. These sites and apps start by giving rewards for free and winning “money” by, for instance, spinning a wheel or scratching a virtual lottery ticket, but after that, you will have to put in your own money in order to receive the other rewards. By this stage, the game will make you lose all your money but it will keep letting you win in practice so that you keep thinking that it is possible to really win.

All these persuasion methods have huge impacts on children. As children are more vulnerable because they know less and don’t see the scam behind all these persuasions. Making all these children addicted to online gambling.

Now, what are the effects and consequences of these addictions? If children find specific activities, in this case, online gambling, fun to do they will set this as their priorities causing them to make less or no homework at all, affecting their physical conditions and reducing their social interactions. In some extreme cases, the online gambling can also cause violence.

What can you as a parent do to control or stop this addiction? The first step would always be to confront them with it. After that, you can block certain sites or apps that you don’t want your child to enter or put a time limit on them. Another effective method is to suggest other possible games or activities. And to increase their social interactions you can suggest or force him into playing in groups.

We can conclude that online Gambling can do real harm to your children and that it should not be accessible for them. While gambling companies do not stop but rather encourage your kids to gamble you can also take action yourself and intervene in your child’s online gambling addictions.

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Thesis Statement:

Internet gambling is too accessible for children because children do not need age verification in order to enter a gambling site and research has shown that that 55,000 11- to 16-year-olds are classified as problem gamblers and another 70,000 are considered at risk.

Text type: Magazine article

Rationale:

For this task, I decided to write a magazine article about the availability and effects of online gambling on children. The article is written for adults who think that their child may be addicted to gambling. I chose for this text type because the article is directed to a specific group and I wanted to make an easy to read article without too deep in-depth research. The language used in this article is not too easy but also not too difficult language because the target audience are not children but also not the most intelligent adults. I also used this type of language because it is used frequently in Magazine articles. The perspective it is written from is from a journalist who wants to share information on a certain topic for a certain audience.

Sources:

* https://parentzone.org.uk/article/can-children-become-addicted-online-gaming

* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/22/gambling-children-hooked-public-health

* https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/behaviour/behaviour-questions-issues/gambling

* https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/44736452