Tag: gaming addiction

Cyber security expert warns students of detrimental impact of gaming addiction on university experience

As new university students are beginning their first year, the habits of their childhood could have serious impacts on their studies and social life; gaming.

Unhealthy gaming habits are becoming more prevalent in students to the extent that the World Health Organization has classed gaming addiction as a disorder. While playing games can improve hand-eye coordination, excessive gaming, or internet gaming disorder (IGD) can severely affect your physical and mental health and ultimately impact your studies.

With this in mind, cyber security experts at VPNOverview have identified the warning signs, consequences, and the best ways to deal with gaming addiction. Acknowledging the warning signs of gaming addiction early can prevent any physical or mental symptoms from worsening over time.

What is video game addiction?

Video games are designed to be addictive. They immerse the player with realistic graphics, compelling sound effects, engaging storylines, and haptic feedback. The possibility that a person can become addicted to video games has been a debate for many years.

The American Psychiatric Association acknowledges that games trigger specific neurological pathways that stimulate pleasure and reward. In extreme cases, playing video games affects the brain in much the same way as alcohol, drugs, and gambling.

This being said, there is a big difference between excessive gaming and video game addiction. It’s important not to panic that you are becoming addicted to gaming unless particular symptoms develop over a long period.

If you feel as though you have demonstrated these three symptoms for at least 12 months, video game addiction may be present:

  • Impaired control over gaming: The inability to control the urge to play a video game
  • Increased priority is given to gaming: Gaming takes precedence over any other interest or daily activity
  • Continuation or escalation of gaming (despite harmful consequences to academic performance, work, social relationships, or health)

What are the warning signs of video game addiction?

According to The American Psychological Association, video game addiction is built on the need to spend more time gaming games.

Withdrawal symptoms are a warning sign of video game addiction. When depriving yourself suddenly of the possibility of playing video games, even for a short amount of time, sadness, irritability, and anxiety are typical withdrawal symptoms.

In addition to these symptoms, less obvious clues may include:

  • Forgoing basic needs such as eating, sleeping, and taking care of personal hygiene
  • Loss of interest in other activities, social life, hobbies, and friends
  • Performing poorly at university due to an inability to focus
  • Lying to family/housemates about the time spent gaming
  • Ignoring problems caused by video games

What are the consequences of video game addiction?

In 2020, the most extensive study ever conducted on teenage video game addiction, examining trajectories of pathological video game symptoms over six years, found that 10% of the group of adolescents studied showed physical and mental signs that got worse over time because of playing video games.

Physical effects of gaming addiction

Below are the associated physical risks associated with gaming addiction. These can all be worsened by excessive drinking, poor diet, and lack of sleep typical in university students:

  • Lowered immune function due to chronic stress
  • Sedentary lifestyle; lack of physical exercise, weight gain, poor posture, and a higher risk of type two diabetes
  • Seizures from exposure to flickering graphics and lights
  • Migraines
  • Insomnia and chronic fatigue
  • Poor personal hygiene
  • Repetitive stress injuries in wrists or hands, including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Disrupted eating habits
  • Myopia and other eye conditions
  • Disrupted sleep

Mental effects of gaming addiction

Video game addiction does not only affect a person’s emotions but also their nervous system. Increased levels of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, are produced in gamers because of constant overstimulation and hyperarousal. This can cause chronic stress and can lead to the following:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Lack of concentration
  • Difficulty managing impulses
  • Hostility and aggression
  • Lack of social engagement
  • Decreased levels of creativity and passion 

How to deal with video game addiction?

It is important for students to manage their gaming time effectively, as the compulsion to play can overshadow the heavy workloads that many students face. Below is a list of things you can do to manage unhealthy gaming habits:

  • Complete your assignments first – Studies have shown that student gamers spend 30% less time reading and 34% less time on coursework. It is essential that gamers set up a healthy routine that only allows game time once they have completed the necessary work, almost like rewarding yourself.  
  • Get exercise– Exercise is very beneficial when reducing stress and improving sleep quality. Keeping active can come in the form of a sociable team sport that will keep you active whilst allowing you to make new friends.
  • Don’t lose sleep – Studies have shown that 24% of adolescents are gaming past 9 pm. Gaming late into the night has been associated with higher levels of daytime sleepiness and an increase in the time it takes to fall asleep, particularly if games are violent. Sleep deprivation can cause a decline in memory and concentration levels, a big problem for students trying to absorb information, take exams and write essays.
  • Don’t spend too much time alone in your room gaming – Isolating yourself will only inhibit forming relationships and friendships with the people around you. Social interactions and making friends are imperative to the university experience as you are building a support network to help you through stressful times. Keeping your game in a communal space will encourage more socialising and stop you from appearing unapproachable and isolated.

An expert from VPNOverview commented on the study: “While gaming addiction is rare, excessive gaming is widespread and can negatively affect a student’s mental and physical health. Factors such as loneliness, anxiety, and stress worsen unhealthy gaming habits.

“Students who are perhaps shy and less likely to engage in typical university social events are more likely to develop unhealthy gaming habits. Putting yourself out there and being sociable will help you to form relationships and make the university experience more enjoyable. Reducing the amount of time spent gaming will also have a positive impact on university grades.”

VPNOverview.com are a dedicated team of cybersecurity and privacy professionals offering guidance on these topics in the most accessible way possible.

Don’t let a gaming addiction rule your life

by Eugene Farrell, Head of Trauma Support Services for AXA PPP healthcare

When advising on work-life balance, HR professionals commonly discourage employees from working long hours and instead encourage them to try to switch off when they’ve left for the day.

While game-play during short, allocated breaks is a great way to take a breather from concentrated work, overdoing it can lead to work-life imbalance, with all sort of tasks and activities being neglected in favour of gaming. This is addiction territory and may seriously affect employees’ performance and productivity.

As soon as an employee signs an employment contract, you both commit to giving and receiving in return. Therefore, you are within your rights to initiate disciplinary action when employees are wilfully ignoring their work.

However, knowing where the line is – or when employees are nearing or crossing it – can be tricky, especially for HR professionals who don’t necessarily work on the same floor or even the same building as the employee in question.

UK workers already lose between eight and nine days of work every year due to lack of sleep, according to a 2015 poll of 2500 working people conducted by Big Health.

The study showed that poor sleep quality adversely affects concentration (46 per cent), ability to complete work (38 per cent) and stay awake during the day (27 per cent). Given that rare Pokémon creatures come out at night, employees roaming about into the late or small hours could be compromising their shuteye and lead to their turning up for work far from able to give their best.

If employees’ minds are preoccupied with thoughts of the last game and or anticipation of the next ‘fix’, the quality of their work is likely to suffer. Their productivity slump may in turn lead their workload to mount, adding stress to the anxiety they are already feeling. They may even come to resent their job because it stops them from gaming and or feel guilty or inadequate because they know they’re under-performing.

Whatever the case, frustration, irritability and disengagement are scarcely conducive to good employee-employer relations. As with any addiction, withdrawal can significantly lower mood.

In addition to being demotivating for the employee (further hindering productivity), it can also damage employee relations. Staff morale and a strong team ethos are integral to business success. And players who slip into an ‘every man for himself’ mentality may soon become socially isolated, making matters worse.

How you choose to tackle gaming addiction in your office depends on your relationship with your employees. It is of course important to check the extent to which it is affecting your business productivity, for which line mangers are as ever an invaluable source of good intelligence.

Is the office a whole lot emptier come lunchtime? Are employees finding excuses to leave their desks during work? Has there been a change in atmosphere or morale? Are conversations lapsing into app chat? So be smart and watch for the signs of addiction – and be ready to act. It’ll hold you in good stead both for this and for the next gaming craze that comes along. 

Dr Mark Winwood, director of psychological services at AXA PPP healthcare

“There’s no such thing as an ­addictive personality per se. Any substance or activity that has the capacity to be pleasurable can provide the conditions for addiction, so we’re all at risk.

There’s physical addiction – where the body adapts to a presence of an ingested drug, gets used to it and needs more and more of it, which is called tolerance. And then there’s another form of addiction, which is associated with an overreaction of the brain. The brain starts to get excited and rewards us at the thought of certain drugs or behaviour, so it becomes a kind of neurological pleasure circuit.

It’s a reward we start to crave regardless of the consequences. There will always be debates about whether addiction is a disease or a mental illness, but not knowing where it comes from doesn’t mean we can’t stop it or be treated for it. If you’re addicted to certain drugs and substances, such as alcohol, it would be very unwise to recommend anyone stop them without medical supervision.

Otherwise, here he suggests the steps you can take:

  1. Make a plan

When anyone’s trying to change their behaviour, or feels
it has become more than a bad habit, make a plan and prepare a ­contingency. New Year’s resolutions rarely work because we haven’t planned for it so it’s a nebulous idea.

  1. Get goal focused

Make short-, medium- and long-term goals to help you plan. Taking small steps along the way can be really helpful.

  1. Lessen the stress

Addictive behaviour is usually associated with a reaction to stress – we try to make ourselves feel more comfortable and ‘manage’ it.

However, we’re not managing our stress, we’re rewarding ourselves for it and ultimately inviting more stress. It becomes an addictive cycle so try to understand what the stress sources are and then try to reduce them.

  1. Be mindful

Be present and aware of what you’re reacting to rather than just responding on autopilot mode. Put a little sticker on your phone or cigarette pack. It’ll remind you to question what you’re trying to achieve, why you’re doing it and help you re-evaluate your behaviour.

  1. Involve other people

Tell your friends and go to your doctor who can provide information on support groups in your local area. There is a whole variety of therapies to assist people with any sort of addiction.

  1. Don’t give up

Relapse or not, managing to stop or control is not a failure. It’s a way of learning for the next time.”

For more information on addiction, please visit AXA PPP healthcare.