Description of the Problem
Video gaming disorder (ICD-11) is real and has now been classified as a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since the disorder is common among children, parents have been encouraged to monitor their children’s gaming habits. If the child spends many hours gaming, parents have been urged to talk with their children about how the games may negatively affect them.
Studies have shown that many children tend to be defensive when their guardians take any form against the games (e.g., DeCamp, 2019; Donati et al., 2021; Nielsen & Kardefelt-Winther, 2018). Therefore, stakeholders have been keen to teach parents the best way to communicate the issue. Some commonly suggested techniques include talking with empathy and being willing to compromise for responsible gaming (Rosyati, Purwanto, Gumelar, Yulianti, & Mukharrom, 2020). Many stakeholders also propose that parents should be willing to suggest other hobbies that are just as fun as the games. This research paper looks at video game addiction among children from an applied perspective.
Controversies of Dealing with the Problem
There is a great deal of controversy among different stakeholders on how to address video game addiction in the pediatric population. The first problem arises since many do not agree on whether video game addiction qualifies as a disorder. Many people have accepted the classification of the WHO that video game addiction is a disorder (ICD-11; WHO, 2019). The American Psychological Association (APA) and many people and organizations have not been convinced that addiction meets the threshold. Therefore, the two sides’ approaches to dealing with the issue have been significantly different.
The group that thinks video games are a disorder suggests a more medical approach to dealing with the issue. They propose that children who have an addiction need to see a physician who will guide them on the best possible way to quit or minimize game time. APA and those who are less convinced that children suffer from video game addiction suggest simple mitigation measures, such as having the parents talk with the children (Nielsen & Kardefelt-Winther, 2018).
Another group also does not think excessive gaming has adverse effects, arguing that video games can be an educational tool. They suggest that the games must be made better, more educational, and more challenging. This group believes that making the games difficult can make the children quit playing after a certain number of hours.
Tried Solutions
One solution that has been tried to help children deal with video game addiction is having them go to a professional who will guide them. However, most children whose parents suspect they have the disorder are not diagnosed with the problem. Among the people who play video games, only 0.003 to 1% are diagnosed with video gaming disorder (De Pasquale et al., 2020). Physicians often find other disorders, such as mental health problems and loneliness, in those clinically diagnosed with the gaming problem.
Therefore, physicians prefer to first deal with these primary disorders and then monitor if the patient will continue with the gaming addiction. The APA recommends this approach, arguing that the disorder is just a symptom, not a disease. The other approach is having the guardians talk and suggest other hobbies that could limit time for video games.
Measuring accurately how effective and successful these solutions have been is complicated. In the first case, where the children are assigned a physician and successfully diagnosed as people with an addiction, the children have shown a tendency to reduce the number of hours spent at play. However, since gaming addiction is not a disorder that occurs alone, the condition often recurs if other related problems, such as mental issues, are not addressed. Even worse has been a tendency of the children to quit the games and indulge in other, more dangerous and addictive behaviors, such as drug use or getting into crime. Therefore, the success of this method has been subject to much debate, although physicians show a positive record for the children who attended video game addiction sessions.
As previously discussed, the option of having the children advised by their guardians has been significantly opposed by people with an addiction. Most child addicts have no other hobbies and are often lonely; therefore, denying them a chance to play is often viewed as unfair. Children whose parents have taken away their gaming consoles often opt to play at their friends’ places or look for means of gaining access to other devices. However, the parents who approached the topic with due diligence and convinced the children of how dangerous the games can be, witnessed positive outcomes.
Barriers to Solving the Problem and Available Resources
Video game addictions are not only rare but they are also poorly understood. Many people do not know if a medical condition is associated with video games. Even the experts disagree a lot when it comes to this issue.
Studies on the number of people who are addicted conflict, with some arguing that 1 to 3% of gamers are at risk, while others argue that only 0.5% of gamers face this danger (De Pasquale et al., 2020). The lack of knowledge and consensus has ensured that there is no common standard for dealing with children addicted to video gaming. This is a dangerous barrier that, with time, could make the problem more prevalent.
With the WHO classifying video game addiction as a disorder, many organizations are now striving to make treatment options for those addicted available to all. The most available form of treatment is the guidance and counseling sessions, where people with an addiction and would-be addicts are given tools for dealing with the issue. The professionals have to first decide if a person has an addiction or not.
The experts go around the community and conduct cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) to identify and help solve the problem. One can access these experts by visiting counseling centers, mental clinics, and therapy offices. Those whose condition is found to have worsened are usually asked to join rehab programs available in the community.
Future Approaches to the Problem
The future of video gaming addiction among children is likely to be similar to the current state of gambling when various tools have been implemented to encourage responsible gambling. There will likely be a limit on the number of hours a child can play in a day or the preferred set period. Self-exclusion tools will be more available when a gamer can voluntarily lock their gaming account for a particular duration (Paschke, Austermann, & Thomasius, 2020). The games will be forced to have cool-off periods where the players cannot game continuously for excessive hours.
It will also be mandatory for the games to display pop-up messages notifying the gamer when they have exceeded the health gaming time. The games will also be forced to have accounts that will identify the age of the gamers, so that children can be protected more. These solutions will likely be ineffective since gamers will find ways to circumvent the restrictive measures.
References
DeCamp, W. (2019). Parental influence on youth violent video game use. Social Science Research, 82, 195–203. Web.
De Pasquale, C., Sciacca, F., Martinelli, V., Chiappedi, M., Dinaro, C., & Hichy, Z. (2020). Relationship of internet gaming disorder with psychopathology and social adaptation in Italian young adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8201. Web.
Donati, M. A., Guido, C. A., De Meo, G., Spalice, A., Sanson, F., Beccari, C., & Primi, C. (2021). Gaming among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of parents in time spent on video games and gaming disorder symptoms. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 6642. Web.
Nielsen, R. K. L., & Kardefelt-Winther, D. (2018). Helping parents make sense of video game addiction. Video Game Influences on Aggression, Cognition, and Attention, 59–69. Web.
Paschke, K., Austermann, M. I., & Thomasius, R. (2020). Assessing ICD-11 Gaming disorder in adolescent gamers: Development and validation of the gaming disorder scale for adolescents (GADIS-A). Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(4), 993. Web.
Rosyati, T., Purwanto, M. R., Gumelar, G., Yulianti, R. T., & Mukharrom, T. (2020). Effects of games and how parents overcome addiction to children. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(1), 65-67. Web.
World Health Organization. (2019). International classification of diseases (11th ed.) Geneva: World Health Organization.