Video Game Addiction in Adults: Is it a Problem or Will It Correct Itself Over Time?

 
Many of the studies that have been done on video game addiction have been conducted on adolescents.  In an Australian study that looked at adolescents classified as pathological video gamers, 84 percent were still addicted to video games 2 years later.  This and other studies suggest that video game addiction in youth and adolescents can last for several months or even years.  Long term gaming addiction in adolescents has been associated with poor mental health, academic, and social outcomes.  A recent study has suggested that video game addiction is very different in adults and it will correct itself overtime, but some news stories still show dire situations when it comes to adult video gaming addiction.  Should video game addiction be a concern in adults?

In Australia a study was done of adults that identify themselves as playing video games for at least one hour every week for the past three months.  Of those video gamers they were split into two categories.  Gamers who identified themselves as having a video gaming problem and those who did not identify themselves as having a problem.  The group that identified themselves as having a video gaming problem had higher baseline scores on the problematic video gaming test than the group that did not identify as having a problem with video gaming.  In both groups the problematic video gaming seems to recede after 6 months and then again after 18 months.  These results may suggest that there may be a natural recovery among all adult gamers.

Even if people suffering from video game addiction will naturally recover over time, I believe that there is still reason for concern.  More research should be done.  In 2010 an English woman is charged with neglecting her three children and two dogs.  Her excuse was that she was playing an online game called “Small Worlds”.  Her children were found malnourished and her dogs were found dead from starvation in her dining room.  In 2005 a Korean man died after playing “Starcraft” for 50 hours.  He only took breaks to go to the bathroom and for very short periods of sleep.  The authorities believe that he died of heart failure stemming from exhaustion.  You also hear reports of people losing their jobs and people who are unable to maintain their responsibilities because of gaming addictions.  While I do think that these stories may be the extreme cases, I do think that continued research should be done. It seems that there are individuals that either have an underlying condition that may make them more venerable to a gaming addiction or that gaming addiction in itself is a mental health problem.

1.        King, DL, PH Delfabbro, and MD Griffiths. "Trajectories Of Problem Video Gaming Among Adult Regular Gamers: An 18-Month Longitudinal Study." Cyberpsychology Behavior And Social Networking 16.1 (n.d.): 72-76.

2.       Martinez, Edecio. “Mother Obsessed with Computer Game Neglects Kids, Starves Dogs” CBS News.  14 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016322-504083.html

 3.        “South Korean Dies After Gaming Session” BBC News.  10 Aug.  2005. Web.  24 Feb. 2013.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm

 

Internet Junkies...Really?

Who among us believes that the Internet can be addicting?  I do!  I have seen people (including myself) sit for extended periods of time searching different articles on the Net.  The myriad of topics out there in cyberspace fascinates me. 

On a positive note, the Internet (if used productively) can spark ideas and get the creative juices flowing.  Conversely, if one spends hours on end searching the Net or playing mindless electronic games to the detriment of real-life social relationships, it could spell trouble. 

Even though I believe that Internet addiction is real, some experts don’t agree.  Tori DeAngelis, author for the American Psychological Association, writes that just because someone spends too much time doing something doesn’t mean that ‘thing’ should necessarily be classified as an addiction.  She claims that published studies on Internet addiction are scarce.  Further, she states that most studies have taken the form of self-selecting surveys with no control groups.  To substantiate her stance on the issue, Ms. DeAngelis points out that David Greenfield, PhD, founder of Center for Internet Studies, has conducted one of the largest studies in existence.  In 1998, he studied 18,000 Internet users and only 5.7% of the group met the criteria for compulsive Internet use.[1]   

In an opposing view, the American Psychiatric Association says that people with Internet Use Disorder experience preoccupation with the Internet and have shown withdrawal symptoms when the Net is no longer available.  Symptoms include loss of interest in other activities and unsuccessful attempts to stay off the Net.  Some scientific studies have even shown that those who suffer from Internet addiction exhibit abnormal levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain which enables us to experience pleasure and reward. [2] 

The range of opinions regarding chronic use of the Internet, and the potential for addiction, certainly appears to be expansive.

[1] “Is Internet Addiction Real?: American Psychological Association. n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.  

http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr00/addiction.aspx

2 “Internet Addiction: The New Mental Health Disorder?” Forbes. n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-addiction/

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