90 pc of video gamers are less likely to get addicted: Study
May 14, 2020
Washington D.C. [USA], May 14 : Playing video games can be fun for adolescents, but with it comes a growing concern among the elderly, the fear of getting addicted, and the possible negative outcomes.
However, a six-year-long study on video game addiction has put the speculations on hold and revealed that about 90 per cent of gamers do not play in a way that is harmful or causes negative long-term consequences.
Only a significant minority, though, can become truly addicted to video games and as a result can suffer mentally, socially, and behaviorally.
"The aim of this particular study is to look at the longer-term impact of having a particular relationship with video games and what it does to a person over time," said Sarah Coyne, a professor of family life at BYU and lead author of the research.
"To see the impact, we examined the trajectories of pathological video gameplay across six years, from early adolescence to emerging adulthood," added Coyne.
In addition to finding long-term consequences for addicted gamers, this study, published in Developmental Psychology, also breaks down gamer stereotypes and found that pathological gaming is not a one size fits all disorder.
Pathological video gameplay is characterised by excessive time spent playing video games, difficulty disengaging from them, and disruption to healthy functioning due to gaming.
Only about 10 per cent of gamers fall into the pathological video gameplay category. When compared to the non-pathological group, those in the study displayed higher levels of depression, aggression, shyness, problematic cell phone use, and anxiety by emerging adulthood.
This was despite the groups being the same in all these variables at the initial time point, suggesting that video games may have been important in developing these negative outcomes.
To measure predictors and outcomes to video game addiction, Coyne studied 385 adolescents as they transitioned into adulthood.
Everyone completed multiple questionnaires once a year over a six-year period. These questionnaires measured depression, anxiety, aggression, delinquency, empathy, prosocial behaviour, shyness, sensory reactivity, financial stress, and problematic cell phone use.
Two main predictors for video game addiction were found: being male and having low levels of prosocial behaviour. Having higher levels of prosocial behaviour, or voluntary behaviour meant to benefit another person, tended to be a protective factor against the addiction symptoms.
The results suggest that while about 90 per cent of gamers are not playing in a way that is dysfunctional or detrimental to the individual's life, there is still a sizable minority who are truly addicted to video games and suffer addiction symptoms over time.
