Video game addiction in adolescents: what it is and what to do

The development of new technologies is noticeable in the most unsuspected areas of life.

Although normally scientific, urban and industrial transformations are the ones that attract the most attention in the media, the The improvement of techniques and tools used by human beings is also clearly reflected in the sector of the leisure. In fact, one of its consequences has been the appearance of video game addiction, a problem that occurs especially in childhood and adolescence.

Along the next few lines We will see what is the addiction to video games in adolescents, what are the implications and effects of this psychological problem when it affects this age group, and what can be done in these cases.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

Video game addictions in adolescence: mechanisms of dependency

In most cases, the developers of the best-selling video games put a lot of effort to extend the hours of playability of its products, that is, the ability to keep players entertaining themselves with the video game throughout many hours.

A short-term title is usually intended to be played for about 5 or 6 hours, while long-term titles can be played for more than 150 hours. If we go to extremes, we find video games that are replayable over and over again, and that can seduce the most young to the point of keeping them glued to the screen for months, and in some cases for years, as is the case with Some games designed for online competition.

This does not mean that video games are themselves addictive; there is nothing in them that allows them to be considered products that necessarily generate dependency, and in fact most of the habitual users of these products do not develop addiction, contrary to what happens with most drugs Chemicals.

However, it is true that due to its characteristics are able to combine with the psychological predispositions of some young people to make it easier for them to "get hooked" on video games.

Next we will see which are the main factors that contribute to developing addiction to video games on the part of adolescents who use them, at first, to entertain themselves.

1. The use of explorable items and environments as reinforcement

The main resources with which video games keep the player with the expectation that are going to receive rewarding experiences are mainly two: the items and the environments explorable.

Items are virtual objects that They either offer new gameplay possibilities (e.g. lifting heavy rocks) or are collectibles. The explorable environments, as the name suggests are new "scenarios" that the player can explore and that contain a set of novel experiences: it is what in the classic video games of the 80s and 90s we call "going from screen".

Most video games feature at least one of these two elements, and from the start they make it clear to players that, If they continue to interact with their virtual world, they will be periodically obtaining these rewards. In this way, players feel more interested in the video game, knowing that if they overcome certain challenges they will obtain new content.

• You may be interested: "The 3 stages of adolescence"

2. The possibility of escaping from the real world

Adolescence is a stage that many young people live in a problematic way, coming to need to "disconnect" in order not to think about their problems.

Video games are a perfect fit for this need, since they provide narratives, virtual environments and concrete goals with which it is easy to connect and let the attention be focused on what is happening on the screen. Even when they are not playing games, adolescents with a video game addiction problem are often fantasizing about the virtual worlds with which they who have become accustomed to interacting, and even socialize with other young people interested in that kind of video game, dream of game sessions, etc.

3. The narratives of some video games

Many video games not only offer worlds to explore and satisfying game mechanics in which a challenge is offered and rewards are given for completing it; what's more, interesting stories are told in them.

The desire to know how these stories develop is capable of enhancing the addictive effect that the games have in some adolescents, especially if they feel identified with any of the characters main.

4. A way to combat boredom

It should also be borne in mind that in adolescence there are many young people with difficulties in making friends, either because they have not yet fully mastered the social skills, because they have few opportunities to meet other adolescents with their interests, due to moving and changing schools, etc.

A) Yes, video games are a way to "fill in" your free time, since other stimulating activities are not proposed to them. In this way, a habit linked to low self-esteem begins to form.

Symptoms

Symptoms of video game addiction during adolescence are, normally, the following:

• State "absent" for a good part of the time in which the game is not being played, since the child recreates "plays" in his or her imagination.
• State of irritability when you have not played a video game in a long time.
• Tendency to loneliness and seclusion in a place where you can play video games.
• Impoverishment of his social life: in general, he can only maintain a more or less solid friendship with other young people who play many hours a day.
• Outbursts of rage if a match is interrupted.

To do?

Fortunately, more and more of us are psychotherapy professionals trained to help adolescents with video game addictionas well as their families.

Through a psychological intervention of several weeks focused on evolving the habits and thought patterns of the young person, it is It is possible to greatly weaken the force of this dependence on electronic entertainment, to the point that it practically disappears and ceases to be a trouble. Of course, to achieve the best results, it is necessary to act as soon as possible so that the problem is not firmly installed in the child's lifestyle.

If you are interested in knowing more about how we work at the Instituto de Psicología Psicode in relation to addictive behaviors, either in Madrid or Alicante, access our contact information by clicking here.

Bibliographic references:

• Marco, C. & Cholis, M. (2010) Pattern of Use and Dependence of Video Games in Children and Adolescents. Annals of Psychology, 27, 418 - 426.
• Miller, Peter (2013). Principles of Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and Disorders, Volume 1. Academic Press. pp. 819 - 825.