Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Handbook of Research on Perspectives on Society and Technology Addiction, Nazlı Rengim Sine, Sarı Gülşah, Editör, Pennsylvania State University Press, Philadelphia (PA), USA , Pennsylvania, ss.283-298, 2023
Gaming behavior is a form of behavior that has existed since the formation of humanity. The game is defined as “an entertaining activity performed especially by children\sports or equipment used for this purpose” and “an activity performed by a person for fun or pleasure”. With the developments in technology and the widespread use of computers and the Internet, the concept of digital gaming has taken place in everyday life. With the concept of digital gaming, the amount of time individuals spend playing games with technological devices has increased. For this reason, the occurrence of physical, mental and social problems in people has made it mandatory to define “gaming addiction” as a diagnosis. Behaviors threaten human health when they reach the dimension of addiction. ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) defines addiction as follows: “it is characterized by dysfunction in the circuits of the brain related to reward, motivation and memory. It leads to biological, social and psychological effects. It is a primary chronic disease of the relevant circuits of the brain, in which an individual performs different pathological behaviors for the purpose of relaxation”. According to the DSM-5(The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), internet gaming addiction is defined as the use of the Internet for 12 months continuously- repeatedly and in a way that meets certain criterias, usually to play games with other players.
There are many studies involving the frequency of internet gaming addiction in the world. Studies have shown that the frequency of internet gaming addiction varies between 1-15% in the world. There are some demographic factors, psychosocial factors and game-related factors in the etiology of gaming addiction. In demographic factors, male gender, adolescent age group (especially 16-21 age range, adolescent period), separation of parents, high income and being a student are seen as risks. Psychosocial factors include; low social cohesion, aggressive behavior, anxiety or depression, low academic performance, attention problems, low life satisfaction, problems in family / friend relationship and low self-esteem shows. Game-related factors, online games, especially MMORPGs(Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), the age of starting to play games and identifying oneself as a “gamer” are defined as risk factors.
Internet gaming addiction has many health effects, physiological, psychological and social problems. Physiologically: hand-shoulder-spine problems, unhealthy weight loss or gain, constant fatigue, headaches, vision problems; psychologically: increased anxiety levels, anti-social behavior development, negative impact on their personality, changes in emotions and feelings; from a social point of view: lying, deterioration of interpersonal relationships, decadence in school achievement, failure to perform the tasks that should be performed due to playing games.
Along with revealing the diagnostic criteria for gaming addiction, there is a need for studies that will guide protection and intervention studies and determine the prevalence and etiology of internet gaming addiction, especially in young people who are at risk. As a result of these studies, effective and efficient public health intervention programs should be developed.
Keywords: Internet Gaming addiction, health effects, prevention, intervention