Excessive online gaming poses threat of addiction, experts say

Many gamers may not realise that they should seek help for excessive playing, doctors say.

Dr Khalid Mahmud of the American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology in Abu Dhabi on August 7, 2014. Christopher Pike / The National

ABU DHABI // Online gaming can be a fun hobby, but many may not realise that excessive playing can have similarities to addiction, psychiatrists say.

“I think lack of awareness is really the major issue that needs to be addressed, said Dr Khalid Mahmud, a psychiatrist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology who specialises in addiction.

Excessive hours spent gaming can lead to withdrawal symptoms, anger, irritability and increased tolerance – the need to play more exciting games or spend more time playing to get the same satisfaction level, he said.

“So you really find the basic elements of addiction are there,” Dr Mahmud said.

He said that his patients who exhibit these symptoms had approached him for other problems, such as insomnia, and the excessive gaming had surfaced in the course of treatment.

While excessive gaming has no physical effects, as a substance would, the way it affects the brain’s reward system is like that of an addiction, he said – something games manufacturers know when making these games.

But some local gamers say that while excessive playing can be harmful, it should not be viewed as an addiction until more research is done.

“There are some people who do find that [gaming] is an outlet of escape,” said Ali Ansari, 24, from Abu Dhabi, who is involved in local gaming events. “Some people just enjoy it.”

Excessive time spent gaming could be a symptom of another problem, such as social anxiety or depression, he said.

Some tournaments for competitive games such as first-person shooters could last 20 hours or up to three days, with breaks in between. Others, such as role-playing games (RPGs), can become a different world for users, he said.

Mr Ansari says gaming’s potential for excess is no greater than other activities people enjoy.

“You wouldn’t hear people saying, ‘Oh, he’s addicted to books, it’s affecting his life,’” he said.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition, or DSM-5 – a common reference for psychiatrists – lists “Internet Gaming Disorder” as a condition warranting more clinical research before it is considered a formal disorder.

“I think it really just depends on how long you spend playing a particular game,” said Nick Rego, an editor at IGN Middle East, a gaming publication.

Mr Rego said he knew someone who would stay up from 11pm to three or four in the morning playing World of Warcraft, a popular RPG. The person found it normal until he had a child and realised its effects, such as the of lack of sleep.

“There are people who spend a lot of time playing,” he said.

“When it comes to that kind of situation, you yourself have to realise that you’re putting yourself in jeopardy and ignoring the real world around you.”

Many adolescents and teenagers in Dubai find online gaming a cheaper and easier option for them in an otherwise expensive city, said Dr Thoraiya Kanafani, a clinical psychologist at the Human Relations Institute & Clinics Dubai who has worked with a support group for people who spend too much time gaming.

Dr Kanafani said that while she did not see a particular lack of awareness about the problem in the UAE, the general trend of more accessible technology and the time spent using it was becoming an increasing problem.

“If you find that on a daily basis, you’re just playing a lot on the net, cruising a lot of the apps and neglecting any social or personal activities that you would have normally done, then that’s when I would say you should start recognising that there’s a problem,” she said.

Younger children should avoid playing for more than half an hour to an hour, while adults should notice a red flag if it started to affect their work, she said.

It is difficult to quantify the number of hours that may be considered excessive and depends on the age group, Dr Kanafani said, but one way of identifying that there is a problem could be if an adult is spending more than four hours on the internet that is not related to work.

Limiting time spent gaming or finding other activities that are rewarding can be ways to prevent oneself from playing excessively, doctors say – or seeking help.

“I’m saying, in a way, that we need maybe to make sure that we educate people and make them aware of this so they can know that, if it’s a problem, they should seek help,” Dr Mahmud said.