Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

Watch out for these top symptoms of video game addiction in teens

Signs your teen's video game playing is becoming a problem

By

Gaming addiction is a difficult issue to address, and even more difficult to diagnose. Video games give kids an outlet to play with friends and make new ones, but it can become worrying when they don’t seem to know when to put the controller down. Defining when loving video games crosses into a disorder is tricky, but there are criteria and gaming addiction symptoms to look for.

Screen time increased by nearly 500% during the pandemic, which means you may be naturally concerned about your own teenager’s screen time. How much is too much and what are the concerning behaviors to watch out for besides the number of hours? We’ve looked at the diagnostic criteria and scientific studies so you can figure out what to worry about and what not to worry about, and what you can do if you think your teen has an addiction.

Teen playing video games
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What is gaming addiction?

According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Diseases, “gaming disorder” is defined by three criteria:

  • Impaired control over gaming
  • Increasing priority is given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities
  • Continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences
Recommended Videos

Basically, once gaming feels out of control, it becomes a disorder. The WHO further adds to the definition above by saying that for gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the pattern of behavior “must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.” So, it also needs to negatively impact someone’s life for at least a year to be diagnosed.

Related

You certainly don’t want your teen’s life to be negatively affected for a year before taking action, so let’s look at what symptoms to watch for. These symptoms may develop before the gaming activity becomes diagnosable.

Teens having fun playing video games
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Gaming addiction symptoms

If you are concerned your teen is playing video games too often, these are the signs to look for to see if it could be a video game addiction.

  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they can’t play video games, like irritability
  • Preoccupation with video games to a point that it concerns you
  • The need to spend more and more time gaming over time
  • Losing interest in other activities over time to spend more time gaming
  • Lying to you about the amount of time spent gaming
  • Using gaming to escape negative emotions
  • Inability to stop a gaming session or not to start a gaming session
  • Gaming negatively impacts areas of life like social, sleep, mental health, and academics
  • Inability to see gaming is negatively impacting life
  • Neglecting self-care like hygiene or eating
  • Acting depressed or irritable
  • Missing sleep to game
  • Isolating to game
  • Spending money the teen doesn’t have on games

It’s especially concerning the longer these symptoms go on and the more they increase. Talk to your teen and your teen’s pediatrician right away when you notice these symptoms.

Boys playing video games
Clarissa Leahy / Getty Images

Effects of gaming addiction

Playing video games for too long overstimulates teens’ brains, which can produce too much of the hormone cortisol. This chronic stress can change the brain over time. Addiction to video games can prime the brain for other kinds of addictions, like substance abuse as well.

A six-year study published in 2020 of pathological video game players from age 15 into early adulthood showed “higher levels of depression, aggression, shyness, problematic cell phone use, and anxiety.” There are also physical health issues to the sedentary nature of playing video games.

Some of the top possible effects of excessive video gameplay include:

  • Poor emotion regulation
  • Difficulty paying attention
  • Decreased levels of compassion
  • Decreased levels of creativity
  • Depression
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Increased weight
  • Insomnia
  • Increased risk of ADHD
  • Desensitization to violence
  • Eye strain
  • Neck or back problems
  • Violence
  • Loss of social skills
  • Impulsive actions
Parents having a talk with their teen
Maskot / Adobe Stock

What can I do to help with gaming addiction?

Setting boundaries on gaming time is an important first step to curbing addiction. Teens will resist this and you may need professional help like therapy to help. If teens use gaming as a way to escape negative emotions, they will need to learn new healthy coping strategies, which will take time, effort, and help. Signing your teen up for a sport or another new activity to occupy their time and mind instead of gaming may help. Have patience and compassion as you support your teen on a path to a healthier lifestyle.

Editors’ Recommendations

Sarah Prager
Sarah Prager
Contributor
Sarah is a writer and mom who lives in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National…
Liven up family game night with these crowd-pleasing board games
Grab any of these board games for your next no-screen night
Parents with children playing a board game

Other than everyone staring at their personal screens or staring together at the largest screen in the home, what else are you going to do to get the family together? While cleaning the house might be a tempting answer for the parents, having a collection of family board games on hand is the right answer. Make memories, have a few laughs, and see who will come out on top in a battle of kids versus parents when you have a family board game night.
Classics never go out of style
Let's start with old-school options, which will stick around for the foreseeable future and beyond.

Guess Who?
There is no age limit to Guess Who?, which is great if you have an age range in your family. While only two people can play at a time, you could turn it into a tournament to rotate everyone in. This is a great thinking game, as parents need to break the questions down for a small child to understand but have to work to ask more difficult questions to their older kids.

Read more
What is the average screen time for teens? You might be surprised
Know when to worry about your teen's screen time
A group of kids on their phones.

How much time kids spend in front of a screen is always a hot-button topic for parents. Constantly questioning how much is too much, how young is too young for handing over a tablet, and whether there should there be limits on devices are a few worries a parent has to think of. Although parents can monitor screen time more easily when their children are younger, by the time kids become teenagers, parents feel a lot less in control of limits, and the average screen time for teens could become a battle.

So how much is too much screen time for teens? Parents may be surprised to learn just how long the average teen is spending in front of a screen. There are ways to help manage teen screen time without making kids feel like it's a negative thing, especially if you sit them down and explain some of the effects staring at a screen has on their productivity and development. We'll break down the teen screen time battle to arm parents with the knowledge needed to set boundaries at home.

Read more
These are the college planning tips parents need to know for their teens
When the time arrives, these tips will come in handy
Excited freshman girl

If you're the parent of a high school student, the college years aren't as far away as you may think. When teens are freshmen, most of the focus is on helping kids adjust to the demands of high school. By the end of sophomore year, it's time to start thinking about college.

While it might seem early, it's actually not. Senior year will be here before you know it. As a parent of a teen, it can be difficult to know when to start prepping for the SATs or when to book those college visits. Planning for college is a stressful process for parents and teens. Having college planning tips helps make the undertaking less daunting, especially if this is your first child in high school. College planning also keeps you and your high schooler on track.

Read more