Consultations for video game addiction quadruple in 2022

Video games are fun, motivating, stimulating and entertaining. However, their abuse can become a major disorder. Video game addiction is a clinical reality. In fact, the most recent scientific evidence indicates that approximately 3% of the population is subject to this type of addiction behavioral, with serious consequences in the personal, family, social, work and/or academic sphere.

“The problematic risk of video game use exists in both sexes. Although it has traditionally been associated with the male gender, we are increasingly receiving questions from girls”, explains clinical psychologist Susana Jiménez, head of the Pathological Gambling and Behavioral Addictions Unit at Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB) and researcher at Idibell.

This data is proof of the consequences on mental health in the medium and long term regarding the abusive use of video games during periods of confinement”, as the clinical psychologist points out. “Until patients and their families recognize that their passion for video games is actually an addiction, they will not go to consultations with assistive devices and self-help associations, which can take months”, she adds.

The most addictive

Most studies suggest that massively multiplayer online role-playing video games—known as MMORPGs—are the ones that generate the most overuse problems.

“In the right context and with a healthy pattern of use, Video games can be educational, increase certain skills and abilities, improve self-esteem and social relationships and even practice languages. But at the same time, we must recognize and prevent the negative impact that they can have as a result of abusive use and, as a society, we must jointly assume the responsibility of promoting the healthy use of new technologies”, insists Susana Jiménez.

For all these reasons, the support of other professionals, such as teachers and primary care staff, is essential for the early detection of other warning signs.

The fine line between compulsive gambling and video games

Some video games allow you to buy “loot boxes,” which are virtual items that produce random rewards when you ‘buy’ them, either by playing for hours or by paying a real amount of money. From a psychological point of view,There are similarities between gambling addiction and these types of video games, as they encourage the act of spending money on items that are not actually purchased but rather the product of a computer algorithm,” according to the pathological gambling expert at Bellvitge Hospital.

The uncertainty and excitement of buying these loot boxes makes it easier to repeat the habit of seeking the desired reward. As in gambling, the positive reinforcement of the prize has an intermittent and variable pattern (with an unknown outcome) and more and more money is spent in an attempt to compensate for what was invested. Some authors argue that loot boxes may represent the transition from healthy to problematic video game use, or even the transition to gambling.