Internet Gaming Addiction
Having an internet gaming addiction does not mean playing video games for two hours a day. The real definition of an internet gaming addiction is when playing video games is uncontrolled and it begins to affect other aspects of your personal life outside of the screen. Video game addiction mostly appears in children because the games are directed for them to play. Video Games is not just your Xbox 360 it also includes computer games, arcade machines, and even your cell phone. The games you play on your cell phone could potentially be the most dangerous because unlike console games your phone can go anywhere you go and in most situations you never leave your phone at home.
Some symptoms of internet gaming addiction are as follows:
-Getting upset when you can’t play.
-Needing to spend more time playing video games to feel happy or satisfied.
-Not being able to quit playing or play less
-Not wanting to do things that you used to enjoy doing
-Having problems outside of playing such as a sleep disorder and continuing to play with these problems
-Lying to people who were close to you about how much you are playing
Only between 1% to 9% of gamers are addicted and usually boys and men are more likely to be addicted than girls and women. Despite the small percentage of people who are addicted to video games that is still approximately 2.1 million people just in the United States. A few ways to prevent internet gaming addiction is to decide how long you are going to play and stick to that time limit, leaving devices outside of your room at night to prevent you from wanting to play on them through the night, and exercising or go outside to prevent from staying on your game for long periods of time.