Internet gaming disorder affects one in ten boys

Do your kids play a lot of computer games? Some may end up gaming a little too obsessively. Researchers have identified the most important warning signs.

Is there a lot of playing Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft in your home too? You’re not alone. Many children and adolescents play a lot, and often with both known and unknown online players. This can be a great way to socialize with friends and acquaintances. But it can get completely out of hand for some.

An international research group investigated how symptoms of computer game addiction develop, and how stable these symptoms are from childhood to late adolescence. Some of the numbers can be troubling.

Boys are much more likely to get hooked on gaming

Two factors were repeated across age and gender among those who were diagnosed with IGD: Strong involvement (a lot of gaming) and negative consequences (harmful consequences).

“Around one in ten boys met the diagnostic criteria for computer game addiction called ‘Internet gaming disorder (IGD)’ at least once between the ages of 10 and 18,” says Wichstrøm.

Boys are most easily hooked on gaming. Just 1 to 2 per cent of girls develop this kind of problem. An average incidence overall of between 5 and 6 per cent thus hides large gender differences.

Boys are simply more competitive, Wichstrøm says.

“We don’t really know why more boys become addicted, but boys have always been more interested in gaming than girls, whether it’s computer games, Ludo or chess,” he said.

When boys and men do things together, it is often centred around an activity, such as football, carpentry or playing. Girls don’t need this type of structure as much.

The fact that boys are simply gaming much more than girls also makes them more vulnerable to becoming addicted.

Also about rewards

“The brain releases dopamine in the its reward center when we do activities we enjoy, like gaming. This release increases when we expect a positive experience and when the expectation is actually met,” says Beate W. Hygen, a senior researcher at NTNU Social Research AS.

Hygen has extensive experience in studying the conditions surrounding computer games.

“Research has shown that dopamine is released during gaming, mostly when you are doing well and especially in competition with others. Boys play competitive games more often, which can result in more frequent dopamine releases. Perhaps this is also part of the explanation for why boys are more often hooked on gaming,” says Hygen.

Numbers from a long-term study

The research group has obtained the figures from a group of young people in Trondheim. The Trondheim Early Secure Study is a long-term birth cohort study. Eight hundred and twelve participants from the 2003/2004 cohorts were followed up five times from 10 to 18 years of age, with participants roughly equal divided between genders.

The measurements were largely comparable across ages.

“We see that the proportion who are heavily involved in gaming increases from the age of 10 to the age of 16. But then this clearly falls when they are 18 years old,” says Wichstrøm.

Despite the fact that gaming decreased for the 18-year-olds, the negative consequences remained stable. This may indicate that many people are quitting or reducing their gaming. But a smaller group continues to game, with negative consequences for some.

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