INTERNET AND VIDEO-GAME ADDICTION
2008; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/b978-012373625-3.50010-3
Autores Tópico(s)Child Development and Digital Technology
ResumoPublisher Summary Research into video game and Internet addiction is a relatively little studied phenomenon, although there is more research regarding adolescent video-game addiction than there is on adolescent Internet addiction. Video games have a more pronounced addictive effect in young children, but less of an effect once they have reached their adult years. It appears that excessive video game playing can have potentially damaging effects upon a minority of individuals who display compulsive and addictive behavior, and who will do anything possible to “feed their addiction.” Using these individuals in research would help to identify the roots and causes of addictive playing and the impact of such behavior on family and school life. This would help to determine the variables that are salient in the acquisition, development and maintenance of video-game addiction. It may be that video-game addiction is age-related, like other more obviously “deviant” adolescent behaviors. With respect to excessive Internet use, the labels Internet Addiction Disorder, and Compulsive Internet Use have all been used to describe the concept that an individual is so involved in their online use as to neglect other areas of his or her life. There is clearly a need to distinguish between addictions to the Internet and addictions on the Internet. Gambling addicts who choose to engage in online gambling, as well as a computer game addicts who play online, are not Internet addicts; the Internet is just the place where they conduct their chosen addictive behavior. Internet addiction affects only a relatively small percentage of the online population and there is very little evidence that it is problematic among adolescents.
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