I think this comment is right on the mark. The core question parents should be asking is, how is my child engaging with the game? If it's a few hours of spending time with friends, great. Even if it's many more hours and they are engaging in a competitive manner that can be a rewarding experience. However I suspect that the much more common modality is a mixture of active and passive consumption, which can quickly become passive due to some elements of the current gaming environment. My personal experience with ~3K hours of Dota throughout high school and early college was highly mixed, with periods of intense engagement and many many more of mindless playing or watching twitch (outside of the 3K in-game hours).
I think that there are valid concerns to the high potential for passive time-sinking in these modern games which exist with an entire ecosystem of a competitive scene, streaming personalities, skins, friends, and more. There are healthy ways to engage with each of the elements of these ecosystems, but it is something that should be discussed and monitored.
I think that there are valid concerns to the high potential for passive time-sinking in these modern games which exist with an entire ecosystem of a competitive scene, streaming personalities, skins, friends, and more. There are healthy ways to engage with each of the elements of these ecosystems, but it is something that should be discussed and monitored.