Internet use has become a part of everyday life for most people in the twenty-first century. Its use has spread across from communicating, reading news, socializing, and carrying out business. The Internet is also used for leisure activities, a good example being internet gaming. Internet gaming is an online activity whereby an individual participates in a game mostly involving role-playing with other characters. Internet gaming has had its benefits to gamers, such as obtaining pleasure, attaining a sense of achievement, and providing an opportunity for social interaction (Ko, 2014). Uncontrolled internet gaming, however, leads to addiction with detrimental consequences to the victims (Wang et al., 2019). Individuals lose interest in most of the real-life activities, and all they want to engage in is gaming. The inability to control one’s gaming tendencies and patterns has led to the classification of the condition as a disorder and has been termed by psychologists as internet gaming disorder (IGD).
Problem Statement and Overview of the Proposed Research
Internet gaming disorder has been mainly associated with males (Ko, 2014). Its prevalence is higher in males than in females. The disorder has also been found to be prevalent among adolescents and teenagers. However, the disorder is also common among the youth and the aging persons too. Several factors have been researched and found to contribute to the likelihood of individuals developing an uncontrolled gaming disorder. Low self-esteem and discontent in life have been found to predispose individuals to the condition (Ko, 2014). Individuals with high impulsiveness are also likely to be addicted to internet gaming (Ko, 2014). Individuals with low self-esteem and discontent in life use online gaming as an escape avenue to everyday life’s distress. This is quite common, especially in teenagers and adolescents.
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Several symptoms have been studied and found to be indicative of internet gaming disorder. Negligence of everyday basic activities in favor of online gaming, withdrawal, and anger due to computer inaccessibility and a high tolerance for more hours of computer use ( González-Bueso et al., 2018) . Development of peculiar habits such as dishonesty, tendency to quarrel, and social isolation have also been cited as some of the symptoms of IGD ( González-Bueso et al., 2018) . Some scholars have named the symptoms of IGD to be primarily three, including conflict, loss of control, and withdrawal.
This study seeks to determine the prevalence of internet gaming disorder among Southern New Hampshire University students. The study hypothesizes that there are more males in the institution with internet gaming disorder than females.
Literature Review
Internet gaming has been defined as the participation in games through online platforms. Internet games involving role playing have been found to be the most addictive since individuals tend to be too immersed in the gaming activity with the other characters involved. Internet gaming is described as advantageous to gamers by offering pleasurable moments, creates a sense of attainment and provides a socialization platform with other gamers (Ko, 2014). Several studies imply that when individuals have engaged internet games, particular pathways in the brain are stimulated in a way analogous to the effects of the consumption of certain drugs by addicts (Wang, Ren, Long and Liu, 2019). Engaging in online gameplay triggers neurological responses that induce a feeling of pleasure and reward ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Internet gaming is, therefore, useful for leisure and stress management.
Excessive and out of control gaming has however been found to be addictive. Addictive gaming poses serious disbenefits to individuals (Wang et al., 2019). Persons addicted to internet gaming lose touch of the everyday life activities. Their disinterest in everyday life activities is in favor of gaming activities. IGD is also associated with health problems including hallucinations, neck and elbow aches, excessive weight gain, and peripheral neuropathy, amongst other conditions ( Paulus, Von Gontard , and Popow, 2018). IGD has been found to contribute to low education achievement and financial problems (Paulus et al., 2018). IGD has also been found to contribute to the disturbance of sleep patterns and is associated with conditions such as insomnia (Paulus et al., 2018). In extreme cases, IGD has also been found to contribute to suicidal thoughts, and in rare scenarios, individuals have committed suicide due to internet gaming (Paulus et al., 2018). The incapacity to restrain one’s gaming patterns raised an alarm on internet gaming. Due to its addictive nature, psychologists termed excessive and uncontrolled online gaming a disorder. The disorder was christened as internet gaming disorder (IGD).
The American Psychiatric Association in 2013 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) cited absence of consensus on the pathological nature of IGD internet gaming disorder as the basis for not classifying it as a psychiatric disorder. The APA however incorporated online gaming disorder in part III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as a problem requiring deeper scholastic research prior to its classification as a psychiatric condition (Wang et al., 2019). Amongst other substance use disorders, nine-point criteria was provided to assist in diagnosis (Wang et al., 2019). The American Psychiatric Association called for comprehensive study into the problem to determine if the same patterns of excess gaming are prevalent. Consequently, several types of research have been undertaken concerning internet gaming disorder. The studies have touched on various topics such as symptoms, predisposing factors, prevalence depending on age and gender, diagnosis methods, and treatment options for the disorder.
Research has found different factors to make individuals prone to getting online gaming disorder. Discontent in life along with a low self-esteem makes individuals withdrawn from real life activities. Such persons are likely to seek an escape route from everyday stressing activities through the use of gaming activities (Ko, 2014). Consequently, such individuals are susceptible to developing IGD. Dissatisfaction in life together with a broken self-esteem is common in children and adolescents, thus explaining why this group of persons are amongst those highly addicted to internet gaming. Different researches have focused on the different factors that make individuals vulnerable to develop unrestrained gaming habits. Persons who exhibit high impulsiveness have been found to be predisposed to online gaming disorder (Ko, 2014). Internet gaming acts as an escape route from stressing scenarios by offering relief and distraction.
Internet gaming disorder presents itself through various symptoms. Disinterest in everyday life bustles and hobbies that previously made an individual happy is document as one of the indicators of IGD ( González-Bueso, et al., 2018) . Tolerance of long computer hours of gaming and becoming angry due to computer inaccessibility are also indicators of IGD ( González-Bueso et al., 2018). Becoming quarrelsome and dishonest has also be found to be indicative of IGD. King, Haagsma, Delfabbro, Gradisar, & Griffiths (20113) described the symptoms of IGD to comprise of withdrawal, conflict and disinterest. The American Psychiatrists Association uses DSM-5 diagnosis criteria, which proposes nine symptoms. The symptoms comprise of preoccupation with gaming activities, gaming withdrawal effects, tolerance of extended gaming times, failure to restrain gaming, disinterest in other life undertakings, unrestrained gaming regardless of its detriments, deceit on durations spent gaming, utilization of gaming as an escape from distress and functional impairment in education, career, and relationships.
Online gaming disorder is often attributed to males (Wang et. al, 2019). Incidences of IGD are more common in males than in females. The commonness ratio of online gaming disorder between males to females has been estimated at 3:1 (Wang et al., 2019). IGD is also common among children and adolescents. According to Hussain, Griffiths, and Baguley (2012), adolescents were engaged in gaming activities more frequently in a week than adults. Adults, on the other hand, played for long durations in a one gaming session. However, IGD is also prevalent among the aging persons too. The Entertainment Software Association estimates the mean age of online gamers to be 30 years (Chen, Oliffe and Kelly , 2018). According to Northrup and Shumway (2014), 68 percent of persons engaged in gaming activities are individuals older than 18 years. A study in China found out that 60.6 percent of persons using the internet were involved in internet games (China Internet Network Information Center, 2018). In China, the prevalence of gaming disorders has been estimated at 3.5%-17% (Wang et al., 2019). In the US, IGD prevalence is approximated at 0.3%-1.0%, while in Germany, the prevalence is at 1.16 percent (Wang et al., 2019). As evident from the different studies, IGD is not only prevalent in males but females too.
The prevalence of IGD among children and teenagers has also been found to be quite high. The immaturity of children’s cognitive control is said to contribute to high prevalence rates of IGD in children ( Sugaya, Shirasaka, Takahashi and Kanda , 2019) . The presence of internet gaming disorder in children affects sleeping patterns, academic performance, and the quality of parent-child relationships. Sugaya et al. (2019), in a review study on the prevalence of IGD, indicated that most of studies using DSM-5 IGD diagnosis criteria had recorded IGD prevalence of between 1.2 to 5.9 percent amongst the teenagers. Also, more boys had IGD than girls. Studies carried out using the Young's Internet Assessment Test diagnostic questionnaire (YDQ) showed that the commonness of problematic game use in adolescents was at 3.6 percent. Another review of the prevalence of IGD in adolescents was carried out by Fam (2018). In the review, the prevalence of IGD is recorded at 4.6 percent. The prevalence was higher for male adolescents at 6.8 percent than female participants at 1.3 percent. The study also found out the prevalence rates were higher for studies carried out in Asian countries.
Different studies have indicated the commonness of online gaming disorder to be greater in males than in females. The percentage of males engaged in gaming is also higher than that of females. Adolescent males utilize about of 1- 1.5 hours each day or about 13 hours per week engaged in gaming activities (Chen et al., 2018). Adult males, on the other hand, spend an average of 4.68 hours each day or 27.76 hours each week (Chen et al., 2018). Chen et al. (2018) cite the design of games by males and for males as the reason for the higher gaming rates in males. Consequently, more males are prone to internet gaming disorder. Lee and Kim (2017), in a study conducted in 5 Korean cities among students, found out that internet game addicts were 3 times more in males than in females. Li and wang (2013), in a study among Chinese teenagers, found similar results. The prevalence of gaming disorder has been estimated to be between 0.7 to 27.5 percent, and the phenomenon is mostly in young men. De Pasquale, Dinaro and Sciacca (2018) , in a study conducted in an Italian university among the students, found out the commonness of internet gaming disorder in males was at 35.5 percent while in females, the prevalence was 1.6 percent. Paulus et al. (2018), in a study review indicated the commonness of IGD in males might be as high as five times more than in females. A US research recorded the commonness of IGD among males to be 11.9 percent, while in females, the prevalence was 2.9 percent (Paulus et al., 2018). Thus, from several studies, it is right to state, males are more vulnerable to acquire online gaming disorder than females.
According to Wang, Zheng, Yuan, Du and Dong (2019), females are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of internet gaming disorder. Wang et al. (2019) carried out the study on 62 internet gaming disorder subjects 29 males and 33 females using structural magnetic resonance imaging. The reasons cited for the difference in the vulnerabilities is the difference in brain cortical thickness and negative correlations of addiction severities. Females had thinner cortical thicknesses than males and thus were more prone to effects of internet gaming disorder.
This research is intended to assess the commonness of IGD amongst the student population in Southern New Hampshire University. The hypothesis for the research is that the IGD is more common in male students than in female students.
References
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