I see too many friends of all ages hitting gameplay hard. My worry for these friends and family members and their video game addiction has led me on a quest to learn more about gaming addiction. Here’s a bit about what I’ve learned.
Video game addiction is a real mental health condition affecting millions of people around the world.
The World Health Organization added ‘gaming disorder’ to the 2018 version of its medical reference book, International Classification of Disease. But the American Psychiatry Associations manual still only lists gambling as the only ‘activity’ that is addictive.
Worldwide research reflects that video game addiction is a problem for people of all ages. Support groups are helping children as young as 8 years old and adults as old as 65 years old with gaming disorders.
Here are a few signs you can look for in yourself or someone close to you to better determine addictive behaviors.
· Do you find yourself thinking of gaming all or a lot of the time
· Do you feel bad, sad or left out when you can’t play.
· You feel more time spent gaming will help you feel better.
· Setting goals to play less or quit a specific game but unable to accomplish that goal.
· Not wanting to do other hobbies or activities that you used to enjoy.
· The amount of time you are playing is causing problems at home, school or your work.
· Do you lye to people close to you about the amount of time you are really playing.
· Using game playing as a way to calm your moods or manage your emotions.
Video Game addiction is a compulsive mental health disorder that can cause severe damage to one’s life. It’s common for a video game addict to spend over 10 hours a day gaming, usually well into the night, and many suffer from sleep deprivation.
Many experts agree that not everyone who plays a lot has a problem with gaming and they warn us to be careful about labeling people who might just be enthusiastic about gaming as an addict. The impact of gaming addiction varies based on the research study but it falls somewhere between 3% to 9% of all gamers, adults and kids alike. Research does agree that gaming addiction is more common in boys and men than in girls and women.
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