Everything Tagged with 'addiction'
Addicted to Video Games?
The Washington Post reports on a newly-published research study on video game addiction from Iowa State:
In what is described as the first nationally representative study in the United States on the subject, researcher Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University found that 8.5 percent of American youths ages 8 to 18 who play video games show multiple signs of behavioral addiction.
The study purports that these youth’s “game addiction” negatively impacts other areas of their lives – such as their performance in school, willingness to do chores, and so on. Other items to note: Boys are four times more likely than girls to be pathologically addicted to video games; kids with addiction lie about the time spent playing, and sometimes steal games or money to play more; and finally – and perhaps here’s the key – the research couldn’t say whether kids play video games because they perform poorly in school (and thus seek out an area where they can establish a feeling of mastery), or whether they perform poorly in school because of playing video games.
It seems like a fairly valid, well-researched study, but here’s my question: if 8.5% of American youth are addicted to video games, what is the percentage of adults in America who are also? I’d wager the number is just as high, if not higher for adults. So why divorce kids from the broader social problem? And, given the ample research which testifies to the benefits that equally accompany video game play for children, are major news outlets such as The Washington Post just fueling more skepticism and fear toward video games by focusing on research studies like this, instead of acknowledging that video games can have a great value for people of all ages when viewed individually and with a more nuanced lens?
There was at least clear voice in the Post’s article speaking on the study, though, who sought to connect the issue with the broader social realities around American children:
“I think kids use this just the way kids watch television, the way kids now use their cellphones,” said Michael Brody, chairman of the media committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “They do it to relieve their anxiety and depression. It’s all a matter of balance.”