How real is video game addiction? We often hear of the negative implications for long-term video game use but is it fair to call it an ‘addiction’? Now, a six-year study aims to answer the question regarding video game addiction.
"The aim of this particular study is to look at the longer-term impact of having a particular relationship with video games and what it does to a person over time," said Sarah Coyne, a professor of family life at BYU and lead author of the research. "To see the impact, we examined the trajectories of pathological video gameplay across six years, from early adolescence to emerging adulthood."
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The longest study ever done in this field found that 90% of gamers are not playing in a dangerous way and in no way causing long-term consequences. With that being said, only 10% are involved in pathological video gaming which is primarily characterized as a disruption to healthy functioning as result of gaming.
Findings were published in Developmental Psychology and aims to break down gamer stereotypes.
Source: Science Daily
