Lecture 39- Gaming Addiction — Transcript

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1. 0:17Namaskar friends. This is lecture 4 of
2. 0:20module 8 of the stress management
3. 0:23course. I am Shubraasha your course
4. 0:27instructor and I welcome you back to the
5. 0:32learning of internet addiction and its
6. 0:36various forms.
7. 0:38In this series, we are back with a
8. 0:42discussion on gaming addiction. A form
9. 0:45of internet addiction which is quite
10. 0:48prevalent in our youth.
11. 0:52It quickly engages children both young
12. 0:56and old adolesccents
13. 0:59and young adults in its attraction
14. 1:04consuming much of their time creating a
15. 1:08lot of difficulties in their lives.
16. 1:11So in this section we are going to have
17. 1:14an exclusive discussion of gaming
18. 1:17addiction its definition and symptoms
19. 1:20causes consequences and its effective
20. 1:24management.
21. 1:26Let us begin with the idea of gaming
22. 1:29addiction.
23. 1:30As I was talking earlier also an
24. 1:33excessive and compulsive consumption of
25. 1:36video games refers to as gaming
26. 1:40addiction or gaming disorder. This can
27. 1:44have several negative impacts on
28. 1:46individuals leading to impairments which
29. 1:50are from mild to moderate and sometimes
30. 1:54severe in nature.
31. 1:58This excessive gaming can result in
32. 2:01neglect of important responsibilities,
33. 2:05strained relationships and impaired
34. 2:08performances in various areas of life.
35. 2:14The uncontrolled behavior
36. 2:17where the person the user finds it
37. 2:20difficult to regulate gaming habit
38. 2:24despite of experiencing its negative
39. 2:27effect is common.
40. 2:30Withdrawal symptoms are seen. The person
41. 2:33get irritated, restless and anxious
42. 2:37whenever they are restricted from
43. 2:41playing video games.
44. 2:44Tolerance is also found in this case.
45. 2:47Means in order to derive the same level
46. 2:51of happiness and satisfaction, one has
47. 2:54to spend more time playing video games
48. 2:58than what he or she used to do earlier.
49. 3:03So the a tolerance is gradually being
50. 3:06built up.
51. 3:09Looking at the causes of gaming
52. 3:11addiction, we find that dopamine release
53. 3:15is a primary cause because the person
54. 3:18playing the game feels happy, feels
55. 3:22engaged, feels stimulated as a result of
56. 3:26playing such games.
57. 3:29It happens to release of dopamine. It
58. 3:34causes the release of dopamine in the
59. 3:36nervous system.
60. 3:39one can find relief from the negative
61. 3:42emotions of real life. So it serves as a
62. 3:46temporary escape from the hardships of
63. 3:49real life, from the challenges and
64. 3:51demands which are being posed on the
65. 3:53individual in real life. However, this
66. 3:58is simply a temporary escape
67. 4:01worsening the real life situation even
68. 4:04more.
69. 4:07Then it also gives a feeling of
70. 4:10connectedness with others. There are
71. 4:13games which are played with co-players
72. 4:17or which are played in teams. So it
73. 4:21gives you a feel of being connected to
74. 4:24others and having playmates which a
75. 4:28person may lack in real life. So it is
76. 4:32like fulfilling the desires of having
77. 4:35playmates belonging to a group of people
78. 4:38through the virtual world. If all these
79. 4:42things are not available to us in
80. 4:45reality
81. 4:47then the gaming design itself is a cause
82. 4:51of addicting oneself to such behavior.
83. 4:56The designs are captivating. They are so
84. 4:59engaging that with every increasing
85. 5:03level of challenge the user gets
86. 5:06submerged with such games. As the system
87. 5:10progresses, the challenges grow. More
88. 5:14and more rewards are available and there
89. 5:18is a kind of social competition which is
90. 5:21introduced.
91. 5:23All of us might have noticed that while
92. 5:25playing such online games, such video
93. 5:28games,
94. 5:29after completing a level or two, there
95. 5:33start appearing certain names of some
96. 5:36fious individuals and the system it
97. 5:40starts showing that you are performing
98. 5:43better than all those individuals who
99. 5:46also play this game. So this instantly
100. 5:49gives you a feeling of achievement. And
101. 5:52sometimes this feeling is so intense, it
102. 5:56is so uh captivating that one starts one
103. 6:02becomes ready to do anything in order to
104. 6:04crack a particular level.
105. 6:08We all remember how some teenagers
106. 6:13committed suicide just to fulfill the
107. 6:17challenge given by a video game.
108. 6:21The video game was so engaging and it
109. 6:24was so addictive that later on the
110. 6:28government has to ban that particular
111. 6:31game. So this was the power of the
112. 6:34design of these games which are being
113. 6:37played by our youth.
114. 6:40Here are certain consequences of gaming
115. 6:43addiction. For example, the user can get
116. 6:47preoccupied with it. Means when we are
117. 6:50actually not playing the game, we keep
118. 6:53on thinking about the game and the next
119. 6:57levels and the way challenges can be uh
120. 7:00successfully met. So practically we are
121. 7:04preoccupied with the game itself
122. 7:07throughout the day. Then comes
123. 7:09withdrawal symptoms. If we are not
124. 7:12allowed to play the game, if we are not
125. 7:15allowed to access to the mobile phone,
126. 7:19we start feeling anxious, restless,
127. 7:22irritated as if something important
128. 7:27is being taken away from our lives.
129. 7:31Another important symptom is tolerance.
130. 7:35that is increasing activity, increasing
131. 7:39time is required to provide the same
132. 7:42level of uh satisfaction to the user.
133. 7:47Because of our extreme engagement in
134. 7:50online gaming, we can find a loss of
135. 7:54interest in other activities that are
136. 7:57physical gaming, studies, uh job related
137. 8:01task, home related responsibilities
138. 8:04and social interactions.
139. 8:07Then there is a poor or impaired
140. 8:10control. Even if we want to stop, we
141. 8:13cannot stop gaming on our own.
142. 8:20Even if we find clear negative
143. 8:23consequences of continuing with the
144. 8:26game, we can't keep ourselves from
145. 8:28playing. So this is another important
146. 8:31drawback of
147. 8:34gaming addiction.
148. 8:36People start deception.
149. 8:39They start using deception. They start
150. 8:41lying to their family members and
151. 8:44friends about the time spent on online
152. 8:47gaming.
153. 8:49They can use games as an escape from
154. 8:52their guilt, from their negative
155. 8:55emotions like hopelessness, like
156. 8:58worthlessness or anxiety.
157. 9:01Or it may also arise out of social
158. 9:06anxiety that is an anxiety to interact
159. 9:09with people in social situations. So we
160. 9:13try to be with online uh participants
161. 9:17with online colleagues with online
162. 9:19friends which are not present in our
163. 9:22real life and we find much less anxious
164. 9:26interacting with them because we have a
165. 9:28certain level of control over these
166. 9:31interactions.
167. 9:32Similarly,
168. 9:34the person the user who is extremely
169. 9:37engaged in online gaming can quickly
170. 9:40develop depression possibly due to
171. 9:43social isolation, excessive escapism or
172. 9:47disrupted sleep patterns.
173. 9:50Sleep disturbances are common. Then
174. 9:53aggression increases in people who are
175. 9:55addicted to online games. These
176. 9:58aggressions can be expressed through
177. 10:02thoughts, words or behaviors.
178. 10:06Emotional difficulties are also common.
179. 10:10Distress and difficulty in analyzing and
180. 10:14managing complex emotion is a
181. 10:16characteristic of gaming addiction
182. 10:20people.
183. 10:21Loneliness and isolation are inevitable
184. 10:24as we start prioritizing virtual world
185. 10:28over real world many times leading to
186. 10:31low self-esteem due to negative
187. 10:33feedbacks or unexpected comments that we
188. 10:36receive from others for our performance.
189. 10:41However, there are certain steps that
190. 10:44can be taken in order to manage gaming
191. 10:47addiction as it is also a part of
192. 10:51internet addiction. So, certain
193. 10:53management skills would be common. For
194. 10:57example, use of cognitive behavioral
195. 10:59therapy is again effective and important
196. 11:03in controlling gaming addiction also as
197. 11:05it is in case of internet addiction.
198. 11:09Other forms of internet addictions.
199. 11:12We can connect with support networks
200. 11:14either digitally or physically. Uh here
201. 11:18are certain uh support networks which
202. 11:21are available. For example, online
203. 11:23gamers anonymous and gaming addicts
204. 11:26anonymous are the two peer support
205. 11:29networks and they operate on uh a 12step
206. 11:34model which is similar uh to those used
207. 11:38for people who are addicted to some sort
208. 11:42of drugs or who are suffering from any
209. 11:44other kind of substance addiction. So
210. 11:47these 12step models they offer a space
211. 11:51to individuals to share their
212. 11:54experiences and to support each other in
213. 11:58recovery process.
214. 12:00Similarly, internet and technology
215. 12:03addicts anonymous is a broader support
216. 12:06group addressing various forms of
217. 12:09technology addiction including gaming.
218. 12:14There are residential rehabilitation
219. 12:16programs also that can be taken up in
220. 12:20severe cases where individuals who
221. 12:24struggle to manage their gaming habits
222. 12:26in their daily environment
223. 12:30can be put in inpatient treatment
224. 12:33centers. These centers offer a
225. 12:37structured game-free environment with
226. 12:40intensive therapy and support.
227. 12:44So when such programs provide a period
228. 12:47of separation from gaming,
229. 12:51it helps in establishing a better
230. 12:54healthier routines for the edicts.
231. 12:59Self-help strategies can be incorporated
232. 13:03and long-term lifestyle changes must be
233. 13:06done. For example, setting limits for
234. 13:09screen time and boundaries to track how
235. 13:13much uh time can be spent over online
236. 13:17gaming or other internet activities
237. 13:20daily.
238. 13:22We can also find effective alternative
239. 13:25activities. For example, if we are not
240. 13:29playing online games, what can be done
241. 13:31in this time which is freely available
242. 13:34to us? So if we do not want to study to
243. 13:38fill this gap, I can try gardening or I
244. 13:41can try some sort of sports or arts or
245. 13:44music or dance anything whatever I like
246. 13:47or I can simply talk to others or read
247. 13:50an interesting book of course physically
248. 13:53not on the laptop or mobile because that
249. 13:56may uh increase the risk of getting into
250. 14:01internet activities again. We can
251. 14:04prioritize the real world relationships
252. 14:07by spending good quality time with
253. 14:10people and in this way we can also
254. 14:13combat the social isolation part of the
255. 14:17gaming addiction. We should work on
256. 14:21improving the sleep hygiene that is
257. 14:24maintaining a regular sleep schedule and
258. 14:27avoiding gaming just before we are
259. 14:31supposed to enter into the bed.
260. 14:35We should also keep an eye over the
261. 14:37triggers. Triggers here means the
262. 14:40emotions or the situations in which we
263. 14:44find compelled to play video games or to
264. 14:49get indulged in online activities.
265. 14:53Such triggers must be identified and
266. 14:56they must be either avoided or managed
267. 15:01carefully so that they cannot push us to
268. 15:05online gaming behavior.
269. 15:08Practicing self-care is also a good
270. 15:11idea.
271. 15:13This will help promoting our well-being.
272. 15:16And these behaviors can include
273. 15:20behaviors like exercise,
274. 15:22healthy eating and relaxation
275. 15:25techniques, meditation, mindfulness and
276. 15:28progressive muscle relaxation along with
277. 15:31deep breathing exercises which we
278. 15:33commonly know pranayam.
279. 15:36So creating a structured routine is also
280. 15:39of help. We can plan our day in advance,
281. 15:44fix up our priorities, block time for
282. 15:47those prioritized tasks, thereby leaving
283. 15:51less time available for such kind of
284. 15:55activities like online gaming. Then
285. 15:59digital detox also works. Taking
286. 16:02temporary breaks from all digital
287. 16:05devices including video games can reset
288. 16:10our schedule and help us to gain another
289. 16:14perspective, alternate perspective
290. 16:17rather than using internet addiction or
291. 16:20gaming addiction as an escape from
292. 16:23negative emotions.
293. 16:26So here is a quick recap of what we
294. 16:29studied in this lecture.
295. 16:31Gaming addiction is when is happens when
296. 16:34someone can't control their gaming
297. 16:37habits.
298. 16:38Uh prioritizing gaming over other part
299. 16:41of their life and keep gaming even when
300. 16:44it causes problems. It has several
301. 16:48significant and negative effects for
302. 16:51mental health and physical health of the
303. 16:53person.
304. 16:55It also results in social isolation and
305. 16:59withdrawal symptom whenever the person
306. 17:01is not allowed an access to mobile phone
307. 17:05or internet so that they cannot play
308. 17:08games on it.
309. 17:11We can manage gaming addiction with the
310. 17:14help of cognitive behavior therapy,
311. 17:18getting connected with support networks,
312. 17:21establishing boundaries and seeking
313. 17:24professional help whenever necessary.
314. 17:29These are the references that you can go
315. 17:32through to enhance your knowledge.
316. 17:35Few more references are there.
317. 17:40And you can refer to these books also.
318. 17:43They will also help you to understand
319. 17:46the topic better.
320. 17:50Thank you very much for your kind
321. 17:52attention.