With news of the Chinese authorities cracking down on under-18 gaming time this week, gambling addiction is the topic of our weekly miracle. We take a look at some gaming statistics from Southeast Asia, find out what the most addicting video game is, and ask, “Is gaming intentionally addictive?”
Note: The above numbers apply to consoles only, not smartphones.
Facts and Figures:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized gambling disorder as a mental illness in 2019. It is defined as: “a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital gambling” or “video game”) characterized by limited control over gaming, increasing priority of gaming over other activities as gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and Continuation or escalation of gambling despite the occurrence of negative consequences. “
- China is the second largest gaming market in the world after the USA.
- A 2017 study from Hong Kong found that 13.9% of male students who responded spent more than 20 hours a week playing video games.
- In South Korea, gaming disorder has been declared a public health crisis as over 600,000 children grapple with video game addiction.
- It is estimated that 10% of children in Singapore are addicted to the internet and games.
- This video explains more about the geographic distribution of video game addiction, although it might surprise you that Iran, according to Dr. Alok Kanojia, the worldwide expert in video game addiction psychiatry, has the highest prevalence of video game addiction in the world.
- But according to Vladimir Poznyak, a WHO researcher who focuses on gaming disorders, geographic location has little to no effect on the likelihood of becoming addicted to gaming.
- It is believed that better access to technology could be responsible for the rise in gambling addiction in parts of Asia, including China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as Europe and the United States.
- According to a 2020 study by the Radio and Media Association for Children and Young People with 3,065 Thais between the ages of 15 and 18, 32.6% of those surveyed spent three to five hours a day playing online on weekends and during holidays.
Which game is the most addicting?
Honor of Kings, one of Tencent’s most popular multiplayer online fighting games in China, has already come under fire from parents who consider the minimum age of 12 to be far too low for its “violent, vulgar content”.
In 2020, HoK had over 100 million daily active users.
Has gaming become addictive on purpose?
Our own Joe Hindy interferes with his thoughts on mobile gaming and addiction:
“I started covering mobile games about eight years ago. Back then, what people thought was a good mobile game was very different from what it is today. We had simple arcade games like Doodle Jump, Flappy Bird, Fruit Ninja, and Angry Birds. Sure, there were occasional more complex games like Bard’s Tale, but in general, people tended to arcade games because of their shorter gaming sessions and their constant success when mastering relatively short levels.
“Today things haven’t changed as much as many think. The most popular mobile games include Genshin Impact, Pokemon Go, PUBG Mobile, Garena Free Fire, and other such games. The graphics, mechanics, and gameplay execution are much better than older mobile games. Great strides have been made in these categories. However, newer mobile games use most of the same addictive triggers to encourage more player engagement.
“Mobile games do an excellent job of stimulating the reward pathways in the brain. Several studies have confirmed this; in fact that The World Health Organization classifies gambling disorder as a real mental disorder Because psychology has shown that games can be so addictive that they impair a person’s ability to function in society.
“There is also evidence that people with depression, social anxiety, and loneliness higher risk of developing gambling addiction. Men tend to be more likely to develop gambling disorders overall, while women tend to have more negative physical side effects. The studies are still ongoing, of course, as this is a recent phenomenon and long-term data are not yet available.
“Early mobile games were addicting, but that was because of the simple but fun game mechanics. Modern mobile games have learned to stack addictive mechanics multiple times for maximum impact. Some mobile games have made practicing an art form, like Pokemon Go, with its almost constant supply of rewards that make you want more, the egg-hatching mechanics that create excitement, and the running aspect of the game that releases addictive exercise endorphins.
“It’s no wonder Pokemon Go still has around 150 million monthly active users – and even though it’s five years old, the numbers are still rising. Compare that to early games like Angry Birds, where the loop was much easier and you can see how far mobile games have come in a relatively short amount of time. “
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