Introduction
Childhood is a crucial period in people’s development because toddlers, children, and adolescents have a plethora of important choices and challenges to face. For instance, they have to choose new friends, hobbies, toys, and other activities or objects that will help them develop and socialize in their future lives. Therefore, this paper is to discuss and cover the topic of children’s interests and other things that young people usually have a passion for analyzing and compare them with different hobbies that these individuals might have as adults.
Discussion
Every child has some valuable toy or another object that one cannot give up under any circumstances. Usually, children like specific toys that are extremely interesting to them or something that they have been given as a present from beloved individuals (Smith, Cowie, & Blades, 2015). Moreover, young people do not understand the cost or physical value of different objects because their minds are not obsessed by a desire to show their income or success yet.
A Favourite Hobby
As to me, I was interested in video games when I was a child because this industry was at its beginning and almost every pupil was involved in it. Various computer and console games became very popular among young people due to an opportunity they have been giving to live a life of someone else in virtual reality (Smith et al., 2015). Perhaps, some children from my circles of fellowship were interested in gaming because they had boring lives due to particular financial problems.
Description of the Well-Loved Childhood Game
Although I was playing a plethora of various video games in my childhood, The Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was my favorite. This game was incredibly addicting when it just released because it introduced people to the nether world of murderous and greedy bandits. This game required a player to steal different vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, boats, and even helicopters. Moreover, it contained a wide variety of weapons that were used for killing other characters, exploding automobiles, and fighting the local police.
Discussing Specific Qualities of the GTA Game
The first aspect that I liked about the game mentioned above was the fact that all my peers and friends were spending most of their spare time in front of computer screens because of it. Nevertheless, this game had so many objects or activities that I have never done in my life but strove to experience. The Grand Theft Auto was overwhelmed with mad missions that required killing the main character’s enemies, robbing various facilities, or stealing some valuable properties. These things were very attractive to children, as they did not understand what consequences the aforementioned activities might have in their lives (Smith et al., 2015). Almost every child that had a computer or any other video console was always discussing tricky missions or special achievements that one has gained in the game.
A Suitable Developmental Theory
The GTA video game had a major influence on my childhood and life in general because sometimes I could spend more than twelve hours per day in front of my computer screen to accomplish as many missions as it was possible. According to Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual development, children between the age of six and their puberty gain the most memorable knowledge, memories, and experiences in their lives that will be referred to as nostalgia as they become mature (Newman, & Newman, 2017). This activity had a significant impact on my life and vital philosophy as well. For instance, if I am involved in something new to me, I always want to become the best in a particular activity, and I am always ready to apply myself to various jobs or tasks to the full extent of my energy.
In my opinion, the addiction mentioned above can be explained with the help of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. This notable psychologist says that people need to satisfy their vital needs to feel happy (Maslow, 2014). Moreover, a higher need cannot be achieved if the lower ones are not stable yet. In my opinion, video game addiction refers to the third level of Maslow’s famous pyramid that implies the love and belonging of a person to something material in his or her life (Maslow, 2014). Usually, children do not face any difficulties in satisfying the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy that describe individuals’ physiological factors and people’s safety.
As was discussed above, I do not think that my addiction to video games in childhood has a significant influence on my life as an adult because I am not interested in such activities anymore. Nevertheless, it gave me some vital qualities, habits, and other factors that children gain to form their personal opinions or philosophies (Berger, 2016). However, certain childhood preferences remain a part of me until the present moment. For instance, I was interested in cooking, and I still like to develop new tastes and recipes. I always had to stay at home alone when I was a child because my parents had to work. The absence of their help made me start cooking. When I grew up, I noticed that I like making various experiments and unusual combinations of products.
Conclusion
As children do not have much experience in a plethora of activities in their lives, they always strive to obtain new emotions. Therefore, it is almost effortless to get young people interested and involved in a particular hobby. It is essential to develop and realize children’s desires because they might become professionals in a certain sphere. It is a well-known fact that people who have chosen their occupations in childhood are more successful and are much happier than their peers.
References
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation to the life span (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Worth.
Maslow, A. H. (2014). Toward a psychology of being. Bensenville, IL: Lushena Books.
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2017). Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Sydney, AU: Cengage Learning.
Smith, P. K., Cowie, H., & Blades, M. (2015). Undersatnding Children’s Development (6th ed.). Chichester, UK: Jonh Wiley & Sons Ltd.