Computer game addiction
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Computer game addiction is a behavioral addiction. Affected people play excessively on the computer and neglect their work, other interests and social contacts. If they are prevented from playing, they react nervously and irritably. Male adolescents and young men are particularly at risk. Read here how you can recognize computer game addiction, how it develops and how it can be treated.
Brief overview
- Description: Computer game addiction is a behavioral addiction. Those affected play excessively and neglect tasks, other interests and social activities
- Symptoms: strong desire to play, increased playing time, loss of control, continued playing despite negative consequences, inability to abstain, withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and depression
- Causes or risk factors: including overactivation of the reward center, disturbed emotional regulation, high impulsiveness, weak self-control, low self-esteem, childlike character, genetic factors
- Diagnostics: Increasing playing time over a period of one year, loss of control, loss of interest, ignoring negative consequences
- Therapy: insight into the disease, the will to abstain, cognitive behavioral therapy with cause analysis, triggering the behavior, alternative strategies, avoidance strategies, strengthening the will to abstain
- Prognosis: If there is an understanding of the disease, the willingness to cope and professional help, the prognosis is good.
Computer game addiction: description
Computer game addiction or online game addiction is one of the behavioral addictions - such as shopping addiction or gambling addiction. The “drug” on which those affected are dependent is therefore not a substance such as alcohol, nicotine or cocaine, but playing games on a computer, console, tablet or smartphone.
So-called MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) are the fastest and most addictive. In these role-playing games, several players in the form of self-designed fantasy figures (avatars) in a team solve tasks together in a virtual world.
Addicted computer gamers often play long hours a day. They neglect work and hobbies, friends and family, sometimes even food and sleep or personal hygiene. They continue to play even if massive negative consequences are threatened or have already occurred due to excessive gaming: job loss, drop in performance at school or studying, separation from their partner, loss of friendships in the real world.
Currently, adolescents and young adults are mainly affected, and most of them are boys and young men. Experts assume that more girls and women as well as middle-aged adults will become addicted to computer games in the future.
Computer game addiction: symptoms
Like those affected by substance-related addictions, addicted computer gamers also show the typical signs of an addiction.
Strong demand
Computer game addicts feel an almost irresistible urge to sit down at the computer and play. This can go so far that not only tasks and social contacts, but even basic needs such as sleeping, eating and drinking are neglected.
Loss of control
Once people with addiction to computer games sit in front of their computers, there is no stopping them. Even if you make a firm commitment to play for a limited time only, you cannot stick to it and play hour after hour.
Inability to abstain
If those affected recognize that they have a problem or if there is pressure from their environment, they often try to restrict their gaming. Most of the time they fail or only last for a short time.
Withdrawal symptoms
Computer game addicts do not get physical withdrawal symptoms as in substance addiction. However, they become irritable, anxious, depressed or nervous if they do not have the opportunity to play or if they refrain from playing for reasons of reason.
Tolerance education
Another main criterion for addictive diseases is the so-called tolerance formation: the brain becomes dull over time, so that the dose of the drug has to be increased in order to experience the longed-for “kick” again. Applied to the computer game addiction, this means that more and more games are played for longer, or that the kick is only triggered by reaching a higher game level.
Continuing the behavior despite negative consequences
Computer game addicts cannot restrict or give up their behavior, even if they face massive consequences such as job loss or separation from their partner.
Stealth
Although secrecy is not one of the six official addiction criteria, it is also typical of addictions. Those affected are aware that their behavior is questionable. Therefore, they try to hide the level of their computer game activity from others. Family members, friends or even therapists are deceived about the real amount of time spent at the computer.
Computer game addiction: causes and risk factors
Addictions arise from an interplay of genetic predisposition, psychological and environmental factors. These parameters set neurobiological processes in motion that lead to addiction. This also applies to computer game addiction.
Over-activation of the reward center
Like all addictions, computer game addiction is based on an activation of the reward center in the brain. The reward center actually serves to reinforce behaviors that are good for us or that serve to preserve the species: food and sex, for example, but also praise, affection and success.
Drugs and some activities cause large amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine to be released, which strongly activate the reward center. In the case of computer game addiction, for example, it is the sense of achievement or the recognition by the other players. The player wants to experience the positive feeling that is generated when playing again and again.
In addition, negative feelings such as frustration, fear and grief can be reduced while playing, which the player also experiences as a reward. This creates the so-called addiction memory: Everything that reminds the computer game addict of playing arouses the desire to play again.
Studies show that similar physiological processes take place in the brain of computer game addicts as under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The reward center of a computer game addict reacts to a screenshot of their favorite game in a similar way to an alcoholic's to the sight of their favorite drink.
Disturbed emotional regulation
At the same time, the brain is particularly sensitized to the connection between computer games and rewards. The awareness that other behaviors can also generate positive feelings or reduce negative ones is fading. The player literally forgets that there are other ways for him to regulate his emotions. The player perceives stimuli that are not related to the game increasingly weaker.
Mental Mechanisms
People with certain personality traits are more at risk of developing an addiction disorder. This includes:
- High impulsiveness: Very impulsive people react spontaneously without considering the pros and cons of an action beforehand.
- weak self-control: Affected people find it particularly difficult to resist temptation.
- Neuroticism: People with pronounced neuroticism tend to be emotionally unstable, pessimistic, and anxious. They tend to dramatize problems. When playing computer games, you experience control over the world in which you move me. that gives them a feeling of security.
Low self-esteem
Even people with low self-esteem or fears (especially social phobia) are more prone to computer game addiction, especially to role-playing games in the form of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games):
You can slip into a virtual role that corresponds to your personal ideal and in which you can accomplish heroic deeds. In this way, they can achieve success and gain recognition that they have been denied in the analog world.
Another plus for those affected: if they solve tasks together with other tasks, they feel that they belong to a group. The virtual world appears to them increasingly more attractive than reality.
Escape from reality
This can lead to a vicious circle: Because of excessive gaming, the player gets more and more problems in real life. Then he withdraws even more into the virtual world. To actively deal with one's problems is forgotten.
Problematic socialization
There are indications that early, pronounced media use in childhood favors the development of computer addiction. Anyone who has learned as a child that digital media can protect against boredom, sadness and frustration will also seek refuge later. Poor social integration, i.e. little support from family or friends, also has a reinforcing effect.
Environmental factors
The environment can also contribute to computer game addiction. Stress plays a central role in this. In the virtual world, the player can let off steam and reduce stress. The fantasy world can also help to escape a problematic reality - be it problems at work or in a partnership, bullying, unemployment or other worries.
Genetic factors
Addictions often occur in families. For some addictions, such as alcohol addiction, it has already been shown that genetic factors make people particularly susceptible to addiction. In the case of computer game addiction, this proof is still pending. However, scientists suspect that genetic predisposition also plays a role in behavioral addictions.
Computer game addiction: diagnosis
Not everyone who plays computer games persistently is automatically addicted. Even if the likelihood of computer game addiction increases with the number of hours spent playing games, there is no number of hours that can be used as a diagnostic criterion.
An important indicator, however, is that someone spends more and more time playing computer games - because that speaks in favor of building tolerance. The importance of playing in life is also decisive, i.e. whether someone neglects other areas of life for playing and whether he has lost control of the playing times.
WHO diagnostic criteria
In the current international classification system for diseases, the ICD10, computer game addiction is not yet listed as an independent clinical picture. Strictly speaking, it cannot be diagnosed as a disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has now recognized computer game addiction as an independent disease. The disease is therefore listed in the upcoming ICD11, which is to replace the ICD10 in January 2022.
According to the WHO definition, there is a computer game addiction if someone has ...
- subordinate his other activities to play, e.g. neglecting tasks, social contact and physical needs,
- no longer has control over the frequency and duration of the game,
- continues with his excessive gambling behavior, even though he faces negative consequences.
Comorbidities
People who are addicted to computer games often suffer from other psychological and personality disorders. It is important to recognize these and, if necessary, treat them. Excessive computer gaming can also be a coping strategy for other disease-related symptoms. Often a computer game addiction goes hand in hand with:
- Anxiety disorders
- depressions
- ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
In the case of problematic handling of computer games, it should always be clarified whether it is actually an independent illness, whether the behavior is rooted in another mental disorder that requires treatment or exists parallel to it.
Computer game addiction: therapy
Be it alcohol addiction, drug addiction or nicotine addiction: With addictions, abstinence is usually the only sure way out of addiction. This also applies to addiction to computer games. As with all addictions, the goal of abstinence is initially a nightmare for the addict. A life without the addictive substance seems bleak or even impossible. This is difficult to understand for outsiders such as friends, partners and parents.
Understanding illness is the first step
The first step towards healing is therefore the insight into the illness, the realization "I am sick, I need help". Without professional support, it is usually not possible to get out of the addiction. In the course of therapy and as the cord becomes increasingly detached from the addictive substance, the person concerned increases the experience - I'm better without it.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy specifically geared towards computer game addicts can effectively support the end of addiction. The focus of the therapy is initially to analyze the triggering and sustaining conditions. These can be internal stimuli such as thoughts and feelings, but also external stimuli. The focus is on developing answers to questions such as:
- What triggers the desire for computer games in me? (e.g. stress, fears, the sight of a computer, etc.)
- What needs does computer gaming meet for me? (e.g. reducing stress, driving away boredom, feeling successful, part of a team, etc.)
- Which activities can replace computer games for me? (e.g. relaxation exercises, sports, meeting friends)
- What improvements could a life without computer games bring? (e.g. more time for other activities and friends, better performance in school, training or job, more zest for life).
Therapeutic offers for computer game addicts usually consist of a combination of group and individual therapy. There is the option of outpatient treatment. In severe cases, however, inpatient treatment is usually necessary.
The fact that computer game addiction will be included in the ICD11 catalog from 2020 will improve access to corresponding therapies and the range of such treatments on offer in the future.
Computer Game Addiction: Forecast
There is no cure for addictions. The addiction remains stored in the so-called addiction memory for a lifetime. This also applies to computer games. If you start again, you will soon be completely addicted to it again.
However, with professional help, one can learn to lead a full life without the addictive substance of computer games. Above all, the person concerned learns that a fulfilled life for him / her is only possible without computer games. The prerequisite for this: the person affected recognizes and accepts that he is sick and needs help, and he has the desire to overcome the constant pressure to play.
Some computer game addicts come to this conclusion on their own and seek help on their own. Others only seek treatment under pressure. Of these, however, a large number of them discover their situation in therapy and begin to tackle their addiction problem. Then the chances of getting out of the addiction mill are good.
But there are also those affected who (do not want to) recognize their addictive behavior. Then the chances of getting rid of computer games are very slim.
Computer Game Addiction: Tips for Relatives
Whether parent or partner: When someone close to you spends a lot of time playing computer games, those around you worry. It is important to know that not everyone who plays too much is addicted. However, if your child or friend is playing a lot, you should take the first step.
Rules for playing time:
- Approach the perpetual player, show interest, have the game explained to you and try to understand what needs the game will satisfy for him. Does he play out of boredom or does he flee to a parallel world because he has problems?
- Agree on clear rules for the computer game time together, for example no more than two hours a day.
- Help them find or rediscover activities that are fun in real life.
If computer games are already too important in life, or if the person concerned has slipped into a real addiction, such rules will not work.
Just recognizing that there is a problem at all is a major hurdle for every addict. This also applies to people who are not yet dependent, but for whom the addictive substance is already an important part of life or even a crutch for overcoming problems.
Advice centers help
Relatives who seek a conversation with the person concerned in such a situation should not expect to be welcomed with open arms. Recognizing the problem, the need for change, is painful for those affected and takes time. So you have to keep looking for the conversation anew. Get support from an advice center for relatives in how best to proceed.
The aim is then to encourage those affected to go to a counseling center for computer game addiction themselves. There he meets people who are familiar with his problem, advise him without prejudice and support him on the way to therapy.
Computer game addiction: Further information
There are numerous offers for people with computer game addiction:
The Media Dependency Association is an offer from the Hannover Medical School:
www.fv-medienabhaengigkeit.de
Internet addiction first aid is an offer of the section for addiction medicine and addiction research at the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Tübingen:
https://erstehilfe-internetsucht.de/
Plan B is an initiative that also offers online counseling for addiction problems among young people:
https://www.planb-pf.de/jugend-suchtberatung/online-beratung
