Signs of Video Game Addiction

Can children experience video game addiction?

Countries such as China have introduced laws to limit the amount of time individuals can spend playing online games, and Holland and South Korea have opened treatment clinics dedicated solely for gaming addiction.  Is having restrictive laws and opening treatment clinics necessary?  Can excessive gaming lead to addiction and cause psychological damage?  Some evidence does suggest that there are a small percentage of children ages 8-to-18 that do display video game addiction.  A nationally representative study found that the average American 8-to-18 year old plays video games for 13.2 hours per week and that approximately 8% of video game players exhibit pathological or addictive patterns of play.

What are the core characteristics of video game addiction?

Some of the core characteristics defining video game addiction include:

• Salience or importance (the activity dominates the person’s life at the expense of academic and/or occupational functioning and spending time in meaningful relationships with family and friends)
• Euphoria/relief (engaging in gaming provides a relief from unpleasant feelings)
• Tolerance (greater time is needed playing the game to achieve the same relief from unpleasant feelings)
• Withdrawal symptoms (the experience of unpleasant physical effects or negative emotions when unable to engage in gaming)
• Conflict (gaming leads to conflict with others, work, obligations, or self) and relapse and reinstatement (the activity is continued despite attempts to abstain)

What are some signs my child is engaging in pathological video game use?

A behavioral addiction means more than spending a significant amount of time devoted to a particular activity.  Video game playing becomes pathological when gaming causes serious negative life consequences.  Some signs that may indicate your child is engaging in pathological use of video games is skipping household chores to play video games, stating that playing video games is a way to escape from reality, skipping homework to play, and doing poorly on tests because of time devoted to playing.

Conclusion

In sum, for the vast majority of children, concern for video game addiction seems unwarranted.  However, for a small percentage of children, some studies suggest that excessive video game playing is causing damage on multiple levels, such as family, social, school, occupational, and psychological functioning. More research needs to be conducted to understand why some children are more susceptible to video game dependence and how best to resolve this issue.

References

Grusser, S.M., Thalemann, R. & Griffiths, M.D. (2007). Excessive computer game Playing: Evidence for addiction and aggression? Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 10, 280-292.

Wood, R.T.A., Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, A. (2007). Experiences of time loss among videogame players: An empirical study. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 10, 45-56.

www.directionsinpsychiatry.com/addictions.html

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