

Continuing to play video games despite the negative consequences of the behavior on relationships, academic performance, and/or work.The feeling that gaming is more important than any other activity.An inability to control the urge to play video games.The WHO lists three main criteria for the diagnosis of gaming disorder:

Consequently, this disorder is included in the 11th edition of WHO’s International Classification of Diseases Manual. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the severity of teenage video game addiction by classifying gaming disorder as a diagnosable mental health condition. Therefore, kids addicted to video games feel an uncontrollable urge to continue playing. This creates a craving for the behavior and a compulsion to continue it. They activate the brain’s reward center, releasing the “feel-good” chemical dopamine.

Process addictions involve behaviors-such as shopping, using social media, or exercising-that have the same effect on the brain as alcohol or drugs. Teenage video game addiction works the same way as other so-called process addictions or behavioral addictions. That will mean even more children addicted to video games like Fortnite, Minecraft, Fall Guys, and Animal Crossing, which are among the most popular video games for teens. Worldwide, gaming industry revenue is expected to reach $180 billion in 2021, with an estimated 2.5 billion people playing around the globe. In the United States, spending on video games grew by 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020, to a record $11.6 billion. And those numbers are likely to increase as the industry gains even more ground. A 2021 study in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that among 3,000 students, more than 19 percent of males and 7.8 percent of females were classified as having gaming disorder.

Video Game Addiction StatisticsĪccording to video game addiction statistics, a growing number of teens are addicted to gaming. When parents complain, “My son is addicted to video games,” they may be dealing with an actual mental health disorder. Boys make up the large majority of gamers, with an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes of video gaming daily.īoth teen boys and teen girls suffer from video game addiction, which is officially known as internet gaming disorder. However, boys are almost twice as likely to experience this type of addiction. A Common Sense Media study released in March 2022 found that teens spent an average of one hour and 46 minutes gaming in 2021, on either a computer, mobile device, or console. Rates of teenage video gaming-and video game addiction-are steadily increasing.
