Video game addiction: symptoms, causes and treatment

Video game addiction has become one of the issues that most worries many parents alarmed at the time their children spend playing this form of leisure. Although it is clear that the degree of dependence that can be generated with this type of entertainment is not comparable to that which appears with drug use, it is true that obsession with this activity can have serious consequences on people's quality of life youths.

In this article we will review the characteristics of video game addiction, which makes you go from habit to a trap from which it is difficult to escape, and the methods used to intervene in this problem and break that vicious circle.

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What is video game addiction?

Throughout the planet, many young people have made video games one of their main hobbies, in the same way in which other cases are soccer or skating which occupy a good part of the time dedicated to the leisure.

In fact, what was once a hobby with bad press and that was not well accepted socially, today has become so normal that there is all

a subculture that openly claims this kind of entertainment, and there are even world tournaments and championships focused on specific video games; this is what is known as eSports).

However, the fact that many people value the daily use of this form of entertainment very positively does not make video game addiction cease to exist.

Video game addiction is what happens when dependence on video game games becomes so intense that it dedicate at least four hours a day to this activity, assuming this neglect of all kinds of obligations and responsibilities.

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Symptoms

Among the symptoms of video game addiction, the following stand out.

1. Social isolation

Video game addiction enhances social isolation, which results in loss of contact with friends and family. In turn, social isolation can be one of the causes that leads to video game addiction, since These can be both solitary entertainment with which to spend time getting pleasure in return, What a medium with which to interact indirectly with other people (in the case of online games).

2. Worsening academic performance

The time spent playing means that time and effort is not invested in studying, which affects academic performance and delays learning of the competencies and skills that are promoted through education.

3. One of the games of video games as compensatory behavior

The use of games can be a resource to channel stress and anxiety derived from other day-to-day problems, such as living in an unstructured family or the suffering of abuse at home or bullying at school.

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4. Loss of track of time

Video game addiction causes you to lose control of time management, so the ability to know the hours that have passed during the games worsens and the fact that this delays other activities is lost sight of.

5. Postural pain and disease

Spending many hours at a time playing video games in front of the television or computer can lead to develop bone, joint, or circulation problems, especially on the back, thighs and hands.

6. Outbursts of anger at limitations to play

When certain situations cause the game to end or be hampered, this generates a level of frustration that can lead to outbursts of anger or even in physical attacks against other people, as well as in blows against parts of the property or objects.

What makes us hooked on the screen?

It is true that most videogames are designed to be used during relatively short games. long, or to offer the possibility of playing several games in a row with very little delay. For example, those that offer immersive experiences, What The elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, it is possible that the game lasts all afternoon, while in others, such as Hotline Miami, each game lasts from several seconds to a few minutes, although between one and the other you have to wait less than a couple of seconds for loading.

On the other hand, the mechanics of most video games focus on giving rewards for progressing and passing tests. For example, beating certain marks or overcoming certain enemies allows us to access new areas to explore or game modes that we had not unlocked. This, added to an ascending difficulty curve (it is increasingly difficult to advance, but at the same time we learn more and more about how to overcome the challenges of the game) makes everything revolve around conditioning operating.

Normally we can disconnect from this habit, but in other cases the desire to receive more rewards lead to wanting to play more and more to the options that these games offer us, without spending time to think about others things.

On the other hand, video game addiction, like many other forms of habit dependency, leads us to fall into a dynamic that traps us and that, over time, worsens the prospects of getting out of that trap. This is so because as we internalize the importance of playing video games, the recurring thoughts related to that activity they become more and more frequent, and everything makes us remember those games or imagine how well we could be having if we were in front of the screen.

Treatment of video game addiction

Beyond the psychological intervention conducted by professionals, which is the recommended option when the addiction to video games is very intense, there are other measures that can help combat this tendency towards the abuse of games of computer or video game consoles. The main ones are the following.

1. Prevent the purchase of more games

The fact of not being able to access more games for an indefinite period it limits the amount of rewards and new stimuli that can be chosen, so that playing the same game all the time is a tedious experience.

2. Invite other hobbies

Occupying time with other activities helps to break the cycle of play, since presents other stimulating routines and thoughts.

3. Limit the time

It is preferable to let play for a limited time rather than cut off the possibility of continuing playing, since the latter produces such hostility that the situation is seen as a direct confrontation in which anything goes as long as you skip the rule.