Internet gaming disorder: What is it and What are its signs?

A Quick Guide

Do you love spending your day playing online games? So much so that hours go by and you are unaware of the time passing by? Do you spend your time looking forward to going online with your virtual friends more than your real-life friends? Have your loved ones complained that you devote more time to playing games than to completing other obligations? Due to this, have you got low-performance reports from your school or work? And Despite your attempts to reduce online gaming, do you experience that you are unable to do so? If your answer is yes to most of these questions, chances are you may be experiencing an internet gaming disorder.

Internet gaming disorder: What is it?

According to DSM 5, people with problematic internet usage to play games may suffer from clinical distress in their personal life. Their daily functioning, academic performance, occupational performance, and relationships may get negatively affected due to this. APA (American Psychological Association) recognizes this as a clinical disorder under the popular names of internet gaming disorder, gaming addiction, internet use disorder or internet addiction.

Signs of internet gaming disorder

Such individuals may exhibit the following signs:

• Preoccupation with playing games online with other players
• Increased tolerance of playing games for longer durations
• Inability to control gaming behavior
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when not playing games e.g. sadness, irritability, anxiety, etc
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities other than gaming.
• Excessively playing games despite being aware of its psychosocial ramifications.
• Using online games to escape from negative feelings or stressors of life.
• Preoccupation with games may lead to loss of job, poor academic or work performance, distress in personal & social life.
• The behavior occurs for atleast one year. Its severity may vary across individuals depending on the number of hours spent gaming and the level of impairment in overall functioning.

A typical presentation of abnormal internet gaming behavior

Nowadays people exhibiting signs of internet gaming behavior play different types of games e.g. The Sims, Minecraft, Fortnite, GTA, Pokemon Go, FIFA etc. Accordingly, such a person’s preferred game may across time depending on which game is trending in the market. However, it is yet to research if the gaming behavior varies across the game type.

It is the sole dominant activity in his/her life. Anyone who stops or disrupts their gaming behavior faces aggression and agitation. Similarly, a person’s daily routine also gets disrupted as he/she does not eat on time, sleep on time, or go to school or work. He/she also ignores social obligations in relationships

Factors that motivate their gaming behavior include:

• Playing in teams
• Avoiding boredom
• Time zone dependence while playing games with online players across the globe.

Who is the most vulnerable to showing problematic internet gaming behavior?

Typically, Asian males between the ages of 12-20 years present with problematic internet behavior but this is not a fixed rule. Similarly, people who have unlimited internet easily accessible on their computers show this behavior the most. Some studies have found that such individuals may suffer from major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Attention Deficit hyperactive disorder along with internet gaming disorder.

We hope the above signs are useful for you in understanding and identifying the symptoms of internet gaming disorder. If you want to learn more about how to manage it, check out the article ‘Coping with internet gaming disorder: 8 ways to deal with it‘