Op-ed: Is "gambling disorder" really disturbing?

Players do not like to hear the game over. Believe me – I've been there.

A woman called my colleague a few years ago for advice. His 9-year-old son played video games for 12-14 hours a day. She invested so much in the game that he forgot to eat

She wondered, "Is this something I should be concerned about?"

Last week, the World Health Organization answered this question with a "Yes" resonance, stating that "gambling disorder" was a mental health problem for the first time.

Not surprisingly, the video game industry immediately criticized the decision of the WHO and the evidence was inconclusive. Other "experts" also opposed the decision, citing video games as largely beneficial and calling the designation "moral panic".

First, only a small minority of players are addicted, about 3-10%, depending on the study. For this group, there are significant issues including withdrawal symptoms, video games, conflicts with friends and family, missed training or learning opportunities, and the inability to do so. stop or reduce the time spent playing.

And the research is clear: video game addiction is almost always related to negative outcomes, including depression, anxiety, aggression and loneliness, etc. I have never seen a study of video game addiction

A common question is whether these children are already suffering from mental health problems. In other words, is a video game addiction only a symptom – and not a cause?

When we look at teenagers over time, we find evidence that depressed, anxious, and socially closed adolescents have more problems with video games in the future. But here's the kicker – these teens become more depressed, anxious and socially withdrawn over time, and teens who can break free, who are no longer classified as "addicted," improve all mental health measures.

How are we going to do in Utah? Well, not quite awesome. In a recent sample of about 600 teenagers in the state, about 6.5% of 12-14 year olds have serious gambling problems. There is certainly a significant effect on gender, with only 1.5% of girls, but 12.25% of boys show problems with video games. It could be said that 12% of boys are not so many, but in Utah this represents a considerable number – if we use census data and extend that to adolescence, that could represent 30,000 boys in Utah who are struggling to function in their daily lives, partly because of video games.

Parents can help their children overcome video game addiction by cultivating more self – regulation and healthy coping mechanisms. It also helps to understand what motivates the interest in playing video games – maybe it's a social network or a competitive player. Once parents have identified the need for video games for a child, they might try to channel these motivations into healthier activities.

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comments on this story

It is time to stop pretending that video games have a negative impact on some children. Yes, there may be advantages to playing video games, and the vast majority of people who play video games have no problems. However, for a small group of people, video games can be extremely problematic, interfering with the ability to function in the real world. The evidence suggests that it is time to listen a little more to the World Health Organization on this issue and a little less to the billionaire industry with an incentive to keep kids hooked.

Sarah M. Coyne is an associate professor at the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University.