The link below provides a brief summary and overview of some of the latest research on internet gaming disorder and other internet-related addiction problems as well as links to the publications. It poses the question: "Should we be worried about the fact that most of us are constantly connected?" How we work, meet friends, shop, buy groceries, pay bills and even how we seek medical help can be done from the comfort of our couch. What do you think, are you worried about this?
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Fascinating Colleen! Thanks for sharing.
"In their article in Addictive Behaviors, a team from the University of California in the US looked at 27 studies on IGD published between 1998 and 2016, to determine whether the disorder is indeed becoming more prevalent. The average across all years was 4.7%, and the results showed it has not increased significantly in the last two decades."
I have not read the article in Addictive Behaviors yet but that is a surprising finding. It makes me wonder about the screening methods/conceptualization of the problem used in the various studies and whether they captured some of the changes in technology that arguably make modern games more "addictive" (in game currency, games are infinite, etc.).
This is incredible information, Colleen! The impact that gaming can have on implicit learning is quite astonishing. It's interesting to read how research has shown the prevalence of IGD has changed little over 15 years despite huge leaps in technological advancement.
I know that one recommendation to improve research on prevalence is to develop consistent and sound methodological measurement. A starting point may be our own 2015 CAMH Monitor Report.