{"id":41693,"date":"2016-11-07T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T02:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=41693"},"modified":"2016-11-07T17:43:06","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T01:43:06","slug":"internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/","title":{"rendered":"Social and Video Internet Gaming Not as Addictive as Gambling, Says Study"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Internet
Internet Gaming Disorder is far less common than problem gambling says a new study, which did not find a clear link between potential addiction and negative effects on health. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Online gaming<\/a> is not as addictive as gambling, according to a new clinical study by Oxford University.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first research study that seeks to examine the phenomenon of \u201cInternet Gaming Disorder,\u201d and the prevalence of gaming addiction among the general population.<\/p>\n

\u201cGaming\u201d here is used to refer to online social and video gaming, as opposed to gambling online.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, these games have often been tarred with the same brush as gambling, with many questioning whether they should be regulated just as strictly due to their apparently addictive properties and in-game purchase options.<\/p>\n

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), first defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2013, describes a condition in which a person\u2019s gaming habits have become so problematic that they interfere with basic life functioning.<\/p>\n

APA described it as a \u201ccondition for further study,\u201d which means that it is not yet an \u201cofficial\u201d disorder. Many commentators, particularly in the video gaming press, have questioned whether it actually exists at all.<\/p>\n

Significant Distress<\/h2>\n

The Oxford University study surveyed 19,000 men and women from the US, UK<\/a>, Canada and Germany. More than 50 percent of respondents said they had engaged in online gaming recently.<\/p>\n

Two to three percent of those said they had at some point experienced five or more feelings defined as symptoms of IGD.<\/p>\n

These include preoccupation with gaming,\u00a0anxiety\u00a0and other withdrawal symptoms when unable to play, increasing amounts of time spent gaming, loss of control, reduced interests, social withdrawal, and losing opportunities as a result of gaming.<\/p>\n

A further 0.5 percent to 1 percent said they felt feelings of \u201csignificant distress\u201d at being unable to stop their play.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lower Prevalence of Addiction<\/h2>\n

Operating on the basis that those who reported five or more symptoms were probable IGD sufferers, the study noted that their prevalence among the general population was lower than that of problem gamblers.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternet games are currently one of the most popular leisure activities, but we can’t leap to conclusions and assume that if 160 million Americans play them, one million of them might be addicted,\u201d said Dr Andrew Przybylski, of the Oxford Internet Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cContrary to what was predicted, the study did not find a clear link between potential addiction and negative effects on health, however, more research grounded in open and robust scientific practices is needed to learn if games are truly as addictive as many fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly, the great majority of gamers, nearly three in four, reported no symptoms at all that we would link with addictive gaming behavior,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online gaming is not as addictive as gambling, according to a new clinical study by Oxford University. It\u2019s the first research study that seeks to examine the phenomenon of \u201cInternet Gaming Disorder,\u201d and the prevalence of gaming addiction among the general population. \u201cGaming\u201d here is used to refer to online social and video gaming, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":41695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSocial and Video Gaming Not as Addictive as Gambling, Says Study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Internet Gaming Disorder affects fewer in general population than problem gambling, says Oxford University.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social and Video Gaming Not as Addictive as Gambling, Says Study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Internet Gaming Disorder affects fewer in general population than problem gambling, says Oxford University.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-08T02:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-08T01:43:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/farmville-computer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/\",\"name\":\"Social and Video Gaming Not as Addictive as Gambling, Says Study\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/farmville-computer.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-08T02:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-08T01:43:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Internet Gaming Disorder affects fewer in general population than problem gambling, says Oxford University.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/internet-gaming-disorder-exists-oxford\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/farmville-computer.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/farmville-computer.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1536,\"caption\":\"Internet Gaming Disorder probably exists but playing Farmville is far less dangerous than gambling, concludes Oxford University Study. 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