Press Release
One
in Seven Teen Video Game Players is Addicted
Boys
are much more likely to become video game addicts than girls
New study shows adolescent game addicts'
behavior is similar to behavior of other addicts
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2003
Contact:Noah Schuchman,
New School Communications,
651-221-1999
(Tampa, FL)
- A new study on adolescent video game addiction from the National
Institute on Media and the Family suggests that 14 percent of 8th
and 9th graders who play video games are addicted to the games.
The study also found that 82 percent of adolescent video game addicts
are male. According to the study, non-addicted adolescents play
video games an average of 4.5 hours per week while addicted gamers
play the games an average 21.6 hours per week.
Measuring for
time spent playing video games and patterns of addicted behavior,
the study surveyed 607 Midwestern students from urban, suburban,
rural, public and private schools. Based on the results of the survey,
it appears that behavior of video game addicts is similar to behavior
of people addicted to other things, including gambling and drugs.
The study is
being presented by Douglas Gentile, Ph.D., director of research
for the National Institute on Media and the Family, on Thursday,
April 24th, 2003 at the Society for Research in Child Development
(SRCD) biennial meeting in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Gentile, senior author
of the study, conducted the research with Marny R. Hauge of the
Minnesota School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University.
"Video
game addiction is a serious problem because it's more than a lot
of time in front of the screen," Dr. Gentile said. "We
looked at how video games were affecting these kids' lives. Alarmingly,
the worst of classic addict behaviors-including lying, stealing
and being antisocial-showed up in these kids. The one in seven of
adolescent gamers who are addicted have a frightening risk for other
problems. Young men especially are at high risk."
Other findings
include:
- Addicted
adolescents were much more likely to get into physical fights.
- Addicted
adolescents had more arguments with friends and teachers.
- Addicted
adolescents were more hostile overall.
- Addicted
adolescents reported lower academic grades.
The National
Institute on Media and the Family is an independent non-partisan,
non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The Institute's mission is
to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm that mass media have
on children, through research and education. For more information
visit www.mediafamily.org on the Web or call 1-888-672-5437.
The Society
for Research in Child Development is a multidisciplinary, non-profit,
professional association with an international membership of over
5,400 researchers, teachers/professors, clinicians, physicians,
nurses, lawyers, therapists, and policy makers.
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