Whether you play video games on a portable unit, a television or the Internet, excessive gaming can affect your personal and professional life. Video game addiction can be as problematic as gambling and affects players as young as 8 years old, notes Keith Baker, director of Smith and Jones Addiction Consultants, in an article for Brigham Young University's NewsNet. Be aware of the effects of a video game compulsion to keep the hobby in check.
Preoccupation
A video game addiction can be harmful if you're unable or unwilling to participate in any interests or extracurricular activities other than gaming. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that it may be a sign of an addiction if you're constantly thinking about your next video game session, devising ways to get back to the game, abandoning former hobbies that don't relate to video games or declining social events with personal interaction because you're spending time discussing video games on the Internet.
Health Problems
If you spend all of your free time playing video games and skip meals or lose sleep because of your excessive game play, a video game addiction can negatively impact your health. The Mayo Clinic notes that children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a television or video games in lieu of participating in physical activity may suffer from childhood obesity. In addition, the University of Texas at Dallas notes that the addiction can lead to such medical issues as backaches, headaches, eyestrain and carpal tunnel syndrome--pain and numbness that you may feel in your wrists, hands, shoulders and elbows.
Suffering Relationships
Relationships with friends and family members may suffer if you're spending more time gaming than you are talking to or going out with loved ones. The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that gaming may be negatively affecting your life if you only want to talk about video games, lie to cover up the amount of time you spend playing, forgo intimacy with your spouse in lieu of gaming or argue with loved ones over your excessive gaming.
Increased Aggression
Video games that feature violent actions and scenarios may lead addicted players to be desensitized to the violence. Richard Gallagher, director of the NYU Child Study Center's Parenting Institute, states that players who become engrossed in first-person shooter-style video games, for example, may adopt a detached view of society or develop aggressive thoughts and tendencies.
Poor Performance
Long hours playing video games can negatively affect your performance in school or at work if you're preoccupied with video games or failing to work at your optimum level because you're exhausted from a late night of video game playing. The Mayo Clinic notes that children who devote more than one or two hours a day to television or video games may have trouble falling asleep, have problems paying attention and have lower test scores than children who don't spend as much time in front of a television or video game console.
References
- NYU Child Study Center: Video Games, Cons and Pros
- Universe of BYU NewsNet: Excessive Gaming Leads to Rehab Centers
- Mayo Clinic: Children and TV, Limiting Your Child's Screen Time
- On-Line Gamers Anonymous: A Screening Tool for Excessive Gamers
- University of Texas at Dallas: Self Help Computer Addiction
