WHO defines gaming disorder as “impaired control over games, increased priority of playing games over other activities to the point that games take precedence over other interests and daily activities, and the continuation or increase of gaming activities despite negative consequences.” The consequences of these video-game problems can include sleep deprivation, malnutrition, agoraphobia, depression, irritability, physical aggression, and academic failure. So, when many children around the world are showing worrying signs of addiction to games like Fortnite, what is the right solution?
China Worried About the Rise of Electroshock Therapy
China is seeing a new wave of gaming addiction treatment, but many remain skeptical given the inhumane treatment techniques young clients were subjected to in the past. Famous for boot camp-style rehabilitation, China was shocked when it was revealed in 2009 that a prominent doctor had been treating internet-addicted children with high-level electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
The doctor, Yang Yongxin, has received prestigious government funding and is highly respected among China’s mental health community. He ran an internet addiction treatment clinic for four months that treated more than 3,000 teenagers – until it was discovered that he had been using electric shocks at doses of more than 10 milliamperes without anesthesia or muscle relaxants, and administering psychotropic drugs.
Of course, the official recognition of gaming disorder has left many concerned that the country will see a return to such practices.
A New Wave of Gaming Disorder Treatment
Since the discovery, China’s Ministry of Health has banned the use of ECT to treat screen addiction, considering it unsafe. Various methods are starting to be used, such as a new gaming addiction clinic at Huilongguan psychiatric hospital in Beijing. The clinic takes a gentler approach to reducing screen time, replacing gaming with social hobbies like karaoke and real-life gaming. It also invites parents to stay with their children while they are under the clinic’s care.
But psychologists in the region are still worried. Professor of Psychology at the University of Hong Kong, Celia Cheng, warned that while this move will raise awareness, it will not impact the main players: the gaming and esports industries. Cheng led research on elementary school students in Hong Kong that showed that they spent an average of eight hours per week playing video games, and that one in ten students were at risk of developing a gaming addiction, or were already addicted.
UK Opens First NHS Funded Gaming Addiction Treatment Center
China is not the only country to heed the call. In London, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is also funding a new internet addiction treatment programme, run by the NHS Central and North West London foundation. This was the first government funded clinic.
The center will start by focusing on gaming disorder, which is considered the most pressing need because it keeps young people out of school. Its founder, psychiatrist Henrietta Bowden-Jones, said, “Gaming disorder is finally getting the attention it deserves. The distress and devastating impact this has caused is extreme and I feel a moral obligation on behalf of the NHS to provide the evidence-based care these young people and their families need.”
However, some experts express doubts regarding the proposed efficacy, due to the current lack of tools to measure the severity and outcome of treatment for this relatively new disorder. This center still faces limitations due to budget constraints.
In the US, Gaming Addiction is Rampant As Ever
Gaming addiction treatment centers are also popping up in the United States, where experts say the disorder currently affects up to 8 percent of the population. Kimberly Young, founder of the Center for Internet Addiction, said: “We all experience mild addictions. I think that’s clearly visible in our behavior. This is of course a public health problem, because health is influenced by behavior.” New treatment programs are being designed in Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
In a society rife with depression and anxiety disorders, gaming is often used as a way to self-medicate – much like drug and alcohol abuse. As a result, what starts as just recreational gaming often turns into an addiction, resulting in adverse physical and mental health consequences.
The Edge Offers a New Perspective in Gaming Recovery
On the other hand, another approach to gaming addiction treatment is to undertake residential rehab: programs held in retreat-like settings that detach gamers from virtual reality and immerse them in nature, sports and genuine relationships.
Edge Rehab in Thailand has developed a gamer-centric addiction treatment program for young men, designed in collaboration with Game Quitters, the world’s largest online community of gaming addicts. This program combines many real-world experiential therapies through fitness and wilderness activities. Says counselor Steve Jenkins, “Self-esteem is usually one of the first things to lose when someone experiences (addiction) or whatever the problem is. Here they work together as a team. And there is positive peer pressure – they push each other; they tend to be a very cohesive group.”
He explains the calming effects and therapeutic benefits of intensive exercise: “A side benefit of physical activity is that it makes the young men more manageable because they are all very tired afterward, and helps them become more open to the therapeutic side of the program. – they can then relax and listen to what is happening.”
If your son is struggling with gaming addiction, The Edge can help him overcome it and unlock his full academic and social potential. To learn how we can help your son become a quitter, talk to us today.
Gaming Hub
Game online adalah jenis permainan video yang dimainkan melalui jaringan internet. Game ini memungkinkan pemain untuk berinteraksi dengan pemain lain secara real-time, baik itu dalam bentuk kerja sama, kompetisi, atau eksplorasi dunia virtual bersama-sama.