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Hong Kong. – A study conducted in Hong Kong warns that the compulsive use of video games is linked to a higher risk of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders in young people, especially in males.
The research, which surveyed 2,592 schoolchildren and adolescents, revealed that 31% of them exhibit compulsive gambling behaviors, defined as sessions of five or more consecutive hours in front of a console or PC.
The report indicates that 30% of respondents admitted to compulsive gambling at least once a month, this behavior being 14.3% more common among boys than among girls.
Specialists warn that this pattern of use can lead to serious mental health problems and recommend that parents and educators monitor the time and frequency of play of minors.
They also reported higher rates of a problematic video game addiction, medically known as "internet gaming disorder (IGD)." You may be interested in: Excessive use of video games and electronic devices changes behavior in children The authors of the study stated: "Compulsive gaming may indicate an initial phase in the progression of IGD and other serious social, physical, and mental health problems." However, they added that other risk factors can lead to the development of the disorder, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. In the UK, the latest government figures show that 91% of children and young people aged between three and 15 play video games. The World Health Organization (WHO) has even classified this disorder as a disease. Neuroscientists stated that 45% of the young people aged 12 to 17 studied, with no history of mental health problems, experienced psychiatric symptoms that required further medical evaluation. The research comes amid a growing mental health crisis in British schools. Data from the National Health Service (NHS) shows that more than a fifth of young people aged 8 to 16 likely had a mental health problem in 2023, representing a 7% increase since 2017.In both sexes, those who compulsively played video games experienced more episodes of depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, lack of sleep, and lower confidence in their educational ability than those who did not play.
