Are Video Games Addictive?

“I can’t wait to go to college,” my ten 10-year-old announced one afternoon on our way to soccer practice.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because then I won’t have screentime. I’ll play video games as long as I want.”

My heart sank. It was not the answer I wanted to hear. At the time, my husband and I allowed our kids thirty minutes of screen time in the morning when chores were done and an hour while I prepared for dinner. Screen time had crept in when they were young and fussy in the late afternoon and stayed as a permanent fixture in our day.

Now my son couldn’t wait to be free from our parent-imposed boundaries.

When a friend referred me to the Screenstrong Families podcast and I heard the story of Melanie Hempe’s son, Adam, I began to fear for my son’s future. Melanie’s son was a straight ‘A’ student in high school who went off to college, binged on World of Warcraft, and ultimately failed all of his classes and dropped out. When she picked him up at the end of his freshman year she thought he was on drugs. Unwashed clothes covered his dorm room floor. His skin was sallow and his hair greasy. He was undernourished and looked out at her from hollow eyes. He claimed the game had done something to him and he couldn’t stop playing.

Would my son be able to stop gaming if I wasn’t there to impose limits? I wasn’t sure.

I wondered if video games could be addictive for kids.

What Economic Studies Reveal About Kids and Leisure Computer Use

It turns out my fears were not overblown.

In a study by economist Mark Aguiar and others titled ‘Leisure Luxuries and the Labor Supply of Young Men’ they noted that there was a marked decline in the number of hours worked by young men between 2000 and 2015.

“Younger men, ages 21 to 30, exhibited a larger decline in work hours over the last fifteen years than older men or women. Since 2004, time-use data show that younger men distinctly shifted their leisure to video gaming and other recreational computer activities.”

Was this just a lack of available jobs? Nope. Because older men and women worked more hours in similar jobs. The jobs were there.

Researchers also noticed that a growing number of young men didn’t work at all, not even in part-time jobs.

“Not only have hours fallen, but there is a large and growing segment of this population that appears detached from the labor market: 15 percent of younger men, excluding full-time students, worked zero weeks over the prior year as of 2016. The comparable number in 2000 was only 8 percent.”

And what are the numbers now, as we come out of pandemic lockdowns when so many of us turned to screens to stay connected?

This is a troubling trend. And, as the mother of boys, one that concerns me. In the study researchers asked if innovations in leisure technology, specifically recreational computing and gaming, reduced the labor supply of young men and they concluded it does.

“Researchers found that recreational computer time for males ages 21 to 30 between 2004 and 2017 increased by 60 percent. After analyzing data from the ATUS, they estimated that nearly three-quarters of the decline in hours worked by men in the 21- to 30-year-old age group, relative to older men, can be explained by the technological improvements in video games and computer-based leisure.”

Happily ensconced in their parents’ basements some young men are spending their working hours gaming.

Conclusions from this study may go some way to explain the recent rise in ‘failure to launch syndrome’, the phenomenon of adult children not making the transition to adulthood. Researchers documented “that 67 percent of non-employed younger men lived with a parent or close relative in 2015, compared to 46 percent in 2000.”

These numbers come from before the pandemic. I realize many jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry disappeared during lockdown, but now they are back. And companies are desperate for workers. So where are they?

Could it be that many young people got so hooked on their online leisure activities that they’re having a hard time re-entering the real world?

Why Entertainment Technology Is Addictive

Entertainment technology stimulates the brain to produce dopamine in high levels, video games because of the nature of intermittent rewards they offer and the euphoria gamers feel when they level up or defeat a boss. Gamers also experience hits of dopamine when they game with others online and engage in shared experiences.

This is what keeps our kids hooked, but it can quickly result in overuse if we’re not careful. And, as we have seen in the study cited above, it may have serious repercussions for the future of our kids.

Experts are sounding the alarm on the addictive potential of video games, especially the new highly immersive games designed to keep people online and engaged as long as possible. Although scientific studies take time, they are slowly catching up to the reality parents of avid gamers face at home.

As older gamers realize their games are keeping them from their goals, many try to quit, but find it’s not so easy.

If you hop onto gamequitters.com, you’ll find pages of stories from formerly addicted gamers themselves who explain how they felt in the midst of their addiction.

“As I became a teenager, I started to isolate myself more and more from my peers and family. Video games became the only thing I enjoyed doing. Things like reading, family vacations, spending time with friends, was boring for me. I could only think about the next video game I wanted to play. I would stay up for hours gaming and then be extremely tired the next day.”

Or, the experiences of young men struggling to quit.

Things were at their worst when I moved in with him (my brother) to save money while starting my first engineering job out of college. His entire life is gaming, and suddenly mine was as well. One night, I realized how far I’d fallen back into my addiction, and I had what I can only describe as a panic attack. I was so afraid that video games would be all I ever did with my life that I intentionally water damaged our Xbox 360 to stop myself from playing it.

Research is important, but so are the stories of people struggling with gaming addiction.

What Health Experts Say About Gaming Addiction

In 2019, the World Health Organization added gaming disorder as a behavioral addiction. The description defines a person with a ‘gaming disorder’ as “someone with an inability to stop playing even though it interferes with other areas of one’s life, such as family relationships, school, work, and sleep. And, these problems would typically continue for at least one year.”

What about in the United States?

In 2013, the DSM5 listed Internet Gaming Disorder as an area for further research.

“The DSM5, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is the product of more than 10 years of effort by hundreds of international experts in all aspects of mental health…an authoritative volume that defines and classifies mental disorders in order to improve diagnoses, treatment, and research.”

Experts in the United States are still debating this issue, but many doctors and psychiatrists working with gamers are chiming in with their concerns. Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist in Portland, who “specializes in treating those who’ve spent years living as warlocks, ogres, or spaceship commanders believes that psychiatry needs to do a lot of catching up in order to understand why people get stuck in games like Warcraft.”

In some countries, like China and South Korea, video gaming has been recognized as a disorder and treatment centers have been set up.

In fact, China, is so concerned about the economic impacts of gaming that they just took drastic measures to curb use for minors. Chinese children and teens aren’t allowed to game at all on school days and are limited to one hour a day on weekends and holidays.

“Chinese parents complained that children constantly found new ways to sneak past the limits on gaming hours, said a report issued in August by the government-funded Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center. Many parents, the report stated, “reported that their children had big changes in their temper and personality after becoming addicted to games, even as if they had become another person.”

China has put the onus on gaming companies to enforce their policies. Online gaming companies must ensure they have real name verification systems in place for minors and their titles will eventually be connected to an online anti-addiction system. “In July, Tencent rolled out a facial recognition function dubbed ‘midnight patrol’ that parents can switch on to prevent children from using adult logins to get around the government curfew.”

While I certainly don’t advocate adopting the one-size-fits-all approach China has, I do believe American parents need to be more informed about video games’ potential for addiction.

How Do Scientists Measure Addiction?

Scientists measure how addictive a substance is by how much dopamine it produces. “Addictive drugs are inherently rewarding. They highjack the brain’s dopamine system to increase dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, a key focal point for reward neurocircuitry in the brain.”

Entertainment technology triggers the release of a lot of dopamine and it’s designed to keep us engaged as long as possible. ​​Dr. Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine points out that “dopamine surges in the brain’s reward system each time we so much as glance at a smartphone or laptop screen and rewarding notifications and media pop up unpredictably whenever we go online. People grow addicted to devices, just as they do to drugs.”

Dr. Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, says there are four fundamental properties that make anything addictive:

• Access
• Quantity
• Potency
• Novelty

With smartphones in our pockets and devices scattered around our houses, instant access to immersive online games or online social connections has never been easier. In fact, Dr. Lembke likens the smartphone to a “modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine for a wired generation.”

The sheer quantity of dopamine-inducing content (endless, immersive experiences, suggested videos and games perfectly tailored to a user’s interests) are all available at the swipe of a finger.

The potency of combining offerings that trigger dopamine is a recipe for overindulgence. We’re offered immersive worlds to escape in, social connection, exciting weapons, and the ability to defeat bosses making us the hero of our own journey. Or, the potential for a huge dopamine hit from a long sought reward. This cocktail of engaging media is potentially addictive, especially for children and teens with brains that are still developing.

The novelty offered by each click of a button is enough to keep us coming back for more.

Video games are designed to be potent and readily available. Combine that with the developing brains of children, tweens, and teens, and you have a strong potential for overuse.

Takeaways

So, what are parents to do when little Johnny comes home and says everyone is playing Roblox and he wants to join them? Or, when our kids walk into a party store and see all video-game themed birthday decorations? What about when they watch TV and their favorite cartoon character talks about his video games all the time?

It’s not easy.

Thinking about the ‘Problematic Media Use Measure’ is a good start. Consider the following statements when evaluating your screen policies at home. Developed by Dr. Sarah E. Domoff and a team of researchers from Central Michigan University, the ‘Problematic Media Use Measure’ assesses the potential problematic screen use (or addiction):

• It is increasingly difficult to pull my child away from screen media.
• My child is always thinking about using screen media
• My child gets upset when he/she cannot use screen media.
• Problems occur for our family when my child cannot use screen media.
• The first thing my child asks to do when he/she comes home from school is to use screen media.
• ​​It is hard for my child to stop using screen media
• When my child has had a bad day, screen media seems to be the only thing that helps him/her feel better
• My child’s screen media use causes problems for the family.
• The amount of time my child wants to use screen media keeps increasing.
• My child sneaks using screen media

If many of these behaviors are present, consider a screen reset, a period of abstinence from gaming or any other problematic use of screen media.

It’s important to realize that online gaming has the potential for addiction. If you decide to allow it, introduce it slowly and keep limits strict. Make sure children understand playing is a privilege and not a right. As a privilege, the ability to play can be revoked any time.

Only allow entertainment technology when schoolwork, chores, outside time, real life social connection, exercise and all the other activities associated with healthy brain development are already happening. If gaming replaces any one of these important activities, then gaming privilege must be reevaluated.

Conclusion

As you make decisions around gaming in the home, remember that video games are potentially addictive. Stay informed on the latest research and establish healthy limits. If your child is able to turn them off without drama and keep a balance with activities that promote healthy development, then your present course may be fine. If not, consider resetting his/her relationship with gaming.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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