My 16-year-old son is always playing some online war game. It seems like he goes into a trance and he cannot stop playing, at least barely to eat and maybe do some homework. Is he addicted to gaming?
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First, let’s clarify what addiction really means. According to the online mental health organisation ReachOut, addiction happens when someone compulsively engages in behaviour such as drug taking, gambling, drinking or gaming.
Even when bad side effects kick in and people feel like they’re losing control, addicts usually can't stop doing the thing that they’re addicted to without help and support.
Your son is not alone in this pastime. In fact, more than 1.2 billion people are playing games globally.
Of those, about 700 million play online games, which amounts to 44 per cent of the world’s online population according to Netherlands-based Spil Games, which collected research from a variety of sources, leading to a 17-page report.
The report’s data shows that 46 per cent of gamers are women and 54 per cent are men.
Here in Australia, approximately 70 per cent of the population are playing digital games.
Research in the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association’s (IGEA) Digital Australia Report 2018 shows that more than 92 per cent of people play with others. And it’s not just young people.
The study shows that digital games are for the whole family.
Adults aged 65 and older are the fastest-growing group of new players, while parents are also embracing the large number of family-friendly games available to bond with their children.
More than 97 per cent of Australian homes with children have digital games, part of a $2.2 billion industry.
Given the breadth and girth of gaming at this point in our society’s time, the World Health Organisation has listed “gaming disorder” in its International Classification of Diseases for the first time.
According to World Health Organisation guidelines, to be diagnosed with a gaming disorder a person must “experience significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of function”.
The person must also have lived with this for at least one year.
An article in the New York Times states that video game companies work hard to hook players using predictive algorithms and principles of behavioural economics to keep fans engaged.
When new games are reviewed, the most flattering accolade might be “I can’t put it down.”
Dr Petros Levounis, chairman of the psychiatry department at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, said the WHO classification “is going to untie our hands in terms of treatment and make gamers more willing to seek treatment, thereby encouraging more therapists to provide it.”
When dealing with any addiction, be sure to seek professional help if your child or someone you know is displaying a preoccupation with gaming and hiding gaming use; social withdrawal or isolation; disengagement from school/work life; loss of interest in other activities; or signs of defensiveness and anger.