According to various investigations, addiction to screens, such as video games, the Internet or gambling, has increased dangerously among adults and the younger population in recent years. More than 20% of adolescents develop dependence.
The restrictions and social distancing of recent years have caused much more time to be dedicated to any online activity. More and more groups are concerned about this fact. It seems necessary to review our own habits as adults in order to help and set an example for the youngest. It is necessary to know healthy limits and have alternative leisure options.
From the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa, researchers Marta Shaw and Donald W. Black conclude in their research that dependence on video games is part of a broader addiction. They define it as “excessive or poorly controlled concerns, impulses, or behaviors regarding computer use and Internet access that lead to impairment or distress.” They claim that, as during the pandemic, using this as an escape mechanism is a risk factor for developing addictive behaviors.
Do you spend a lot of time on the Internet? Do you constantly look at your phone and can’t separate yourself from it? Have you stopped doing other things to play? Does your routine revolve around that? Do you get irritated if you can’t dedicate the time you would like to? Do you sleep less than usual? Are you spending more and more money or time on it?
Like any addiction, its impact cannot be stopped, so sooner or later the consequences will be seen in the life of the addicted person.
There are some characteristics in common between this type of addictions with substance addictions:
Characteristics of behavioral addictions
I invite you to observe yourself and really write down the time you dedicate to it, if it interferes with your daily life and if you really have control.
What type of addiction develops with the Internet, video games, cell phones, etc.?
These addictions are included in “behavioral addictions.”, which are characterized because it makes you addicted to a behavior, not a chemical substance. The scientific community is increasingly investigating these types of addictions.
In behavioral addictions, a behavior that is harmless at first, routine, can lead to addiction if its frequency and intensity are too high.
In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health (DSM-V), “Gambling Gambling Disorder” (Pathological Gambling) has been recognized as a behavioral addiction and “Online video game addiction disorder” has been inserted in the part of disorders that require further study.
On the other hand, in the International Classification of Diseases, in its most recent publication, ICD 11, “Video game disorder” has been incorporated into the category of “Disorders due to addictive behaviors.”
Why is it so difficult to detect this type of addictions?
Behavioral addictions They are more subtle and difficult to detect because they are part of common habits and normalized addictions such as cell phones. This seems less harmful, because it is common, and it tends to be justified with comments such as “there is nothing to hide, everyone is in a certain way”, “I don’t do anything bad to anyone” or things like that that are part of the defenses. that will arise if you sense that something with that habit is not right.
Admitting it means assuming that you have to change it, and if you are addicted you will be afraid that this means having to quit.
Keys to not turn a game into an addiction
Have a good body-mind balance and enjoy a wide variety of things in your life It’s fundamental. They are protective habits to have good mental health and not fall into habits such as addictions. Here I summarize four key things you can work on.
1. Regulate the time you dedicate to what you like
It should not be an obligation, nor an obsession, just It should be part of what, among many other things, you do to disconnect and feel good. Be clear that when you develop a dependency, what you like stops being a fun activity and becomes something different and less and less rewarding.
2. Build your balance
Disconnecting and escaping are not the same, when you run away from something you greedily cling to something else, something that makes you feel better or forget even if only for a while. Don’t use it as an escape mechanism, do it because you want to and not because you need to.
3. Get off autopilot
It’s the one that lights up when you fall into a negative cycle instead of working on yourself. To feel differently you first have to act differently. Get involved in how you want to live, spend time doing more of the things you love.
4. Learn from the traps that make you fall
For example, in economic spending, since micropayments on mobile phones or “free to play” games become a potential slot machine. Don’t forget that These types of games are focused on provoking and generating the need to spend.
