March 5, 2019, 12:03 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Video games are part of youth culture. But how unhealthy can they become for children? Some experts see the issue quite differently from the gaming industry.
According to estimates, around 465,000 children and adolescents in Germany exhibit noticeable behavior up to and including addiction when dealing with video games. This is according to the study “Money for Games.”
For the study by the German Center for Addiction Issues (Hamburg) and the health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit*, which has now been presented, one thousand 12- to 17-year-olds were surveyed about their gaming behavior. The addiction experts see signs of risky behavior in about 12 percent of participants and signs of pathological gaming behavior in about 3 percent.
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Noticeable Gaming Behavior
Criteria were queried that a U.S. diagnostic manual lists as significant for the condition of video game addiction. These include loss of interest in previous hobbies, constant thinking about gaming, withdrawal symptoms, lying about the extent of gaming behavior, loss of control over gaming duration, and endangerment of one’s own career path. In the group of 465,000 children and adolescents, researchers see more spending on video games, more frequent absences from school, and more emotional problems than in non-noticeable gamers.
“If more than 450,000 young people in Germany are at risk of losing control over their own gaming, then something is seriously wrong,” said Marlene Mortler (CSU), the federal government’s drug commissioner. It is particularly annoying when young people are “ripped off” in some games. Game manufacturers install “dubious mechanisms” to take money from young people, including so-called loot boxes. These are surprise boxes with virtual content that players receive as rewards for achieving game goals or for payment. Mortler classifies this as gambling, which should not be offered to young people in Germany. “The regulatory authorities simply have to step in,” she added.
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Industry Association Sees Fewer Risks
The industry association Game sees games as a fixed part of youth culture and assumes that less than one percent of all players develop unhealthy usage behavior. The association continues to reject a ban on loot boxes, said managing director Felix Falk. Crucial differences from gambling are overlooked in the debate. These boxes always contain a previously stated range of virtual items and additional content; only the exact contents are unknown. “Just like with Panini collectible stickers or Kinder Surprise eggs,” said Falk. The player always receives a value in the form of virtual content. Therefore, the industry believes that a loss of the money spent is excluded.
The results of the study showed that the gaming industry cleverly captivates the attention of young people and increasingly extracts pocket money from them for supposedly free games, explained DAK CEO Andreas Storm. He called for a ban on loot boxes. Warnings for playtime and spending are also necessary.
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How Parents Can Recognize Gaming Addiction
Video games can be addictive–even for children and adolescents. There are several characteristics of addiction, explains the website Klicksafe.de. This includes, for example, when children only think about the game or use it to suppress negative experiences such as stress or bad grades. Other typical symptoms include withdrawal symptoms, loss of control, and relapses.
It becomes problematic when three of these characteristics persist over a longer period. To check their child’s behavior, there are checklists and self-tests on the internet, for example, on the pages of the Gaming Addiction Clinic of the University Medical Center Mainz.
However, not every excessive gaming session is immediately a path to addiction–it might just be enthusiasm for a new game, explains the initiative “Schau hin! What your media does.” And if enthusiasm really turns into addiction, there is usually more behind it: children then seek in the game world what they do not find elsewhere, such as friends or recognition.
In principle, modern games are often designed to promote addictive behavior because they reward daily play, for example. Younger people often find it difficult to break away from such mechanisms. To prevent children and adolescents from falling into these traps, parents should take an interest in the hobby, advises “Schau hin”–and ideally play along.
The idea behind it: Accompaniment with clear time and content limits works better than prohibitions. Because children often do not adhere to them anyway–and then find no measure in gaming.
*DAK-Gesundheit is FITBOOK’s health partner.