BRITAIN is in the grip of a gaming addiction which poses as big a health risk
as alcohol and drug abuse, a Sun investigation has revealed.
Our probe showed how more and more lives are being ruined by thrill-seeking
players, with one expert describing the problem as “the scourge of our
generation”.
Just last week, The Sun told how a 45-year-old woman had been jailed after
stealing £1,000 from her disabled mother to fund her Candy Crush Saga habit.
Sally-Anne Turner used the cash to pay for extra lives and levels on the
iPhone game, as her addiction spiralled out of control. Stories like this
are usually associated with drug addiction — but psychologists say it is no
coincidence.
Dr Aric Sigman said: “When you do something like shoot heroin or drink
alcohol, your brain produces dopamine to make you feel good, which you learn
to associate with the activity.
“Video games can do this, too. When young people play them, their brain
produces a notable increase in this addiction chemical. That’s something
that gives you a kick and a chemical buzz. The faster, more violent games
are a more intensive experience, so will produce more dopamine.
“Violent games have also been found to make young people more likely to cheat,
be impulsive and unable to control their emotions.”
Dr Sigman believes that parents need to cap the amount of screen time their
children are getting — which includes the number of hours they spend
watching TV as well as playing video games.
He said: “At the minute, British kids consume three times their recommended
limit of screen time.
“Ideally, young children shouldn’t be playing video games at all and teenagers
should have less than two hours a day of total screen time.” More than seven
in ten households play video games, while three quarters of Brits own a
smartphone and millions more have a tablet.
Candy Crush Saga alone is played by 93million people worldwide every day. Not
surprisingly, many of the gamers are youngsters.
The danger is spelled out by therapist Steven Noel-Hill, who runs The Alchemy
Clinic — an addiction centre for adolescents in London.
He receives 5,000 calls a year from parents seeking help for their child’s
gaming addiction — with many of the children suffering from suicidal
thoughts.
Steven said: “There are no physical signs or symptoms of addiction until it is
too late. The patients I have been treating with suicidal intentions have
mainly been in their 20s but now I am seeing it in even younger teens,
mostly young boys. This is the scourge of our generation.”
Steven’s view is reinforced by coroner John Pollard who earlier this year
linked the shoot ’em up Call Of Duty to “three or four” inquests into teen
deaths.
In May, he said: “The game seems to be figuring in recent activity before
death — it concerns me greatly. It has figured in a number of deaths which
I’m investigating”.
The coroner spoke as he recorded a verdict of suicide on Call Of Duty fan
William Menzies, 16, from Hale in Manchester, who was found suffocated in
his bedroom.
Pollard had previously recorded the death of Call Of Duty gamer Callum Green,
14, who hanged himself after playing the 18-rated game.
A spate of gaming-related deaths have taken place around the world. In 2012, a
Taiwanese man suffered a cardiac arrest after a marathon 23-hour session of
online role-playing game League Of Legends in an internet cafe. Other gamers
were so consumed by their screens that the 23-year-old’s corpse sat UNNOTICED
in his chair for at least nine hours.
An American teenager shot his parents — killing his mother — after they took
away his copy of first-person shooter Halo 3, while a Chinese gamer murdered
a rival in real life for trying to sell a virtual sword he had loaned him on
eBay.
And in 2010, a US mother was jailed for 50 years after shaking her
three-month-old baby to death for interrupting her as she played Facebook
game Farmville.
A year later, another American woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison after
allowing her three-year-old daughter to die of malnutrition as she was too
busy playing World Of Warcraft to look after her.
RESEARCHERS at the Indiana University School of Medicine split 28 men
aged 18 to 29 into a video group who played violent shooting games for one
week, followed by a week’s rest – and a non-video group who did not play at
all.
MRI scans of the video group’s brains – middle image, bottom row – showed
markedly reduced emotional ability after one week.
But their brains were almost back to normal – right-hand image, bottom row –
after a week of not playing. The other group’s brains – top row – stayed the
same.
Hooked on League Of Legends
STUDENT Jordan spends most of his time playing online computer game League Of
Legends.
Jordan, from Driffield, East Yorks, is well aware of the impact it is having
on his life.
He said: “I play games for up to 12 hours a day. I play all evening into the
early hours, then sleep till the afternoon when I start gaming again.
“I’m moving to university this summer and I’m worried that my routine will
continue.
“It’s supposed to be a time where I’m meeting new people and socialising but
there’s a good chance I’ll end up locking myself away, playing games, as
usual.
“Aside from gaming, I don’t do very much at all. I don’t go out and I don’t
eat much, either – only around my gaming.
“I do wish I did more, socially. Gaming ended my last relationship because I
just didn’t have time for my girlfriend.”
Hooked on Candy Crush Saga
SASKIA, from Sheffield, runs an online dog clothing boutique.
She said: “I’ve played every app going, from Candy Crush to Pet Salon and I
also love racing games. I play them religiously.
“If I’m going out with my friends, it’s normally a real battle to leave my
iPad behind – it actually ruined my last relationship.
“My boyfriend got so jealous of my iPad he would constantly nag me about it.
He took me away for a weekend and I just couldn’t stop playing a game I was
doing well at.
“He told me I loved my iPad more than him – and I said, “Yes I do”. So I got
rid.
“I probably spend about £100 a week on apps. I couldn’t live without an iPhone
or iPad – I’d go mental.
“I have three iPhones so I can switch between them when they run out of
battery.
“I don’t know how long this is going to last. I’ll probably still be playing
the apps when I’m at retirement age.”