Gamers show signs of addiction

 

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Posted on 21 Apr 2009 at 15:04

One in 10 gamers shows signs of addictive behaviour that could have a negative impact on their family, friends and education.

Researchers at Iowa State University (ISU) and the National Institute on Media and the Family found that some gamers show at least six symptoms associated with gambling addiction, including lying to family and friends about how much they play games, using the games to escape their problems and becoming restless or irritable when they stop playing.

The researchers claim that compulsive gaming may also cause young gamers to skip homework or do poorly in school because they spend too much time playing video games.

"Both gambling and video games are forms of games. As such, they are initially played as a form of entertainment, because they are stimulating and produce positive, and sometimes negative, emotions," said Dr Douglas Gentile, assistant professor of psychology at ISU.

He said that the study is the first to use a large-scale sample of young people to determine the effects of compulsive gaming. While he acknowledged that the study did not prove that compulsive gaming is an addiction, he said that there was enough evidence to encourage a serious debate about whether psychologists should treat it as one.

Better than sex?

Meanwhile a survey carried out Britain found that 72 per cent of men in relationships would prefer to play a new video game than sleep with their partner. A third of them would even settle for an old game, citing that women are "hard to please".

Gaming price comparison website PS3pricecompare.co.uk polled 1,130 British men and found that, of those who were in relationships, many claimed they'd sacrifice a night of passion for a bout of gaming because being intimate with their partner is ??not as much fun??.

Two out of five men said that if they were given £50, they'd spend it on a game. One in five said they'd buy clothes, while just three per cent said that they'd use it to help pay bills.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota