The online entertainment industry has seen rapid development in recent years, offering more and more variations of games and activities. As a result, more and more people get exposed to engaging activities and products, including all kinds of games.
While playing video games or casino games, or making bets on sports is not wrong per se, because this is just some normal pastime, there is actually a risk of addiction when the gaming habits become obsessive. Games of all kinds, and especially games that involve all kinds of motivation and rewards, cause strong engagement and connection.
Many adults easily get addicted to their gaming activities and publishers know this well. They add even more hooks for motivation and rewards to stimulate players to play their games more. If unaware of the dangers of problem gambling or gaming addictions, adults easily get engaged beyond the measure they would probably prefer.
This situation is even more dangerous for teenagers and children. They are even more susceptible to this type of addiction due to being very sensitive to all kinds of stimulation, and video games are extremely stimulating. The worst here is that many parents are not even aware that games created for kids and teens have engaging elements that can cause addiction. However, there are, and again, the publishers are perfectly aware of this. They target younger kids and teenagers and add stimuli to their games to make their target audiences play more often and spend more time playing.
Gaming and gambling addictions are extremely dangerous for mental health (and for physical health, as well, to be honest). And this is exactly why the mental health of gamers and gamblers should be considered carefully. The bad news is that gaming addiction, especially in children, is harder to notice, and therefore it is hard to prevent and manage. This is the reason why parents should take a systematic approach from the very beginning if their kid plays any type of game.
What Is Compulsive Gaming, Exactly?
Addiction to gaming or gambling is also referred to as compulsive gaming. This is an uncontrolled behavior that is caused by chemical reactions in the brain. It is as powerful as any substance addiction, given that the players are literally addicted to the hormones of pleasure produced by their brains when they play a video game or gamble.
Compulsive gamers can spend nights without sleep, playing their favorite games. They tend to ignore the house chores and other activities that are not completely vital. They may choose to ignore or avoid family members, fail at their studies or their jobs, or lose interest in sports and hobbies. While this list of symptoms is not exhaustive and also these symptoms work not only for compulsive gambling, these are the first signs that should definitely be paid attention to.
Causes of Compulsive Gaming in Children
Problem gambling or gaming is a mental health issue but the classification does not make it any easier to cope with. Mental addictions may be even harder to manage because they take longer to recognize, especially in children and teenagers due to their emotional immaturity and other behavioral factors.
Most of the time, there should be a biological predisposition in the first place to trigger the development of gaming addiction. However, there is a bunch of other factors that contribute to the development of this mental health condition.
Psychological Causes of Gaming Addiction
There is a whole set of erroneous beliefs in a person that keeps them gambling or playing video games in a compulsive manner. The key attraction of video games is distraction; this is an easy, affordable space from all the small problems and worries of everyday life, or it is a distraction from a boring life. If the person has no other options to improve their mood and one of these beliefs is their key motivation, this becomes a powerful psychological factor that is hard to ignore and hard to cope with.
When it comes to casino games, the situation is aggravated by the fact that gamblers hope to win some money while playing their favorite games. And while winning money at an online casino is not impossible – for example, if you tend to play at the best Interac casinos and you win something, these sites tend to pay the winnings out in full – the excitement and anticipation of the win make it even harder to cut gambling even when it grows unhealthy.
Environmental Causes of Compulsive Gaming
This works for all age categories and the environment is not some kind of dangerous chemical you can find in our tap water that stimulates gambling addiction. If a person’s environment is not supportive enough and the person keeps seeking distraction from what is happening around them, in gaming, it becomes a powerful factor for developing the mental condition of gambling or gaming addiction.
On the other hand, if the person’s environment supports gambling or gaming as a normal or even desirable activity, the person may continue their destructive behavior only to be accepted in the community. If everyone around an adult plays casino games, they will most likely continue to play even if they cannot afford it. If a teenager’s friends all play video games, they will continue to play even if they are not into it that much.
It is always harder with teenagers due to their deep need for being accepted by the group, to fit in. This is why compulsive gambling and gaming addictions should be taken seriously by parents.
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
