Video game addicts is a serious problem, no matter the level of addiction. It is becoming an increasingly difficult issue for the youth today all over the world. It can affect the everyday life and social situations of children. It can hinder a child’s learning skills, cause real-life problem solving to become more difficult, and cause a child to spend far less time with family and friends. If it is not addressed on time, addiction recovery can be too difficult.
If you find your child showing symptoms of video game addiction, it is important that you intervene and address the problem right from that very moment to nip in the bud. If it is left untreated, the problems that come along with this addiction can have long-term detrimental circumstances. This addiction can cause an older person to have the emotional disposition of someone much younger and can also cause someone to skip meals, school, and even work.
We have compiled a list of warning signs that you can look for in your child or loved one to see if they have become gaming addicts or they show the tendency to become soon. There may be other signs that are also important and should be considered if you suspect your child or loved one of being addicted to video games.
These symptoms and warning signs include the following:
- Playing for hours and hours
- Spending less time doing other activities such as playing outdoor sports and doing other activities with friends and family)
- Becoming more anxious or depressed
- Hiding the fact that they are playing games when they are asked
- Talking about games, release dates, and future happenings in the gaming industry all the time and making references to video games
- Lying about doing homework or chores
- Thinking and believing they can solve problems by implementing something seen in a video game.
Some experts say that it is hard to show statistics on video game addiction since American Psychological Association (APA) had not defined video game addiction as a mental health disorder, though it is said that video game addiction has been purposed to the APA for inclusion in their next published edition of DSM at that time.
In fact, China has taken further steps to define the statistics. This all came to light after several stories were published on a 26-year-old man dying after a 50-hour long video game marathon. The stories did not specify what game(s) he was playing and also noted that the man was obese. Though this story failed to explain why the marathon played a role in the man’s death, the Chinese took it very seriously and investigated the associated problems further. Now, APA has defined video game addiction, but it hasn’t stopped organizations from trying to combat the effects of video games on potential addicts. These treatment centers are dedicated to providing help for people in need of addiction recovery treatment. It is always best to catch addiction in its earliest stage. The sooner a problem is addressed, the better the chances are to correct it. This is true with addiction to video games or any other addiction you may find your child or loved one struggling with.
