Study Reveals Controversial Truth Behind Internet Gaming Addiction

Unlike what many people believe, Internet addiction has already been declared as a psychological disorder which could cause not only psychological disturbances and social problems but also neurological complications. It has been recognized globally by medical institutions as something that requires special medical care and rehabilitation. What makes this more controversial is that people don't tend to take the matter seriously.

According to a study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the prevalence rates of people with Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD is around 1.5 percent up to 8.2 percent in the U.S. and Europe alone. For the past years, especially since technology has been continuously growing, the number of people suffering from IAD has also increased dramatically.

The symptoms of this disorder are not easy to detect as many users can tend to be reliant upon its impressive power, as explained by a report from Forbes. This kind of disease is a large umbrella of sub-conditions, and each case could be entirely different from another. However, there are certain cases which are more prevalent than others. Let us take internet gaming as an example.

Among the symptoms of this disorder is social withdrawal, which could happen when a person is spending more time in gaming while simultaneously reducing interest in other activities. There are also instances of severe aggression, especially when placed in a frustrating situation such as loss, reduced gaming time, game inaccessibility, and the like.

For many people, this kind of disorder cannot be directly compared with other cases of addiction as it does not entail severe criminal strains. Unlike in gambling addiction where a person can lose millions of dollars in one night, a person suffering from IAD could only "lose time," a concept which is subjective. A report from the New Yorker stated that many people tend to ignore the reality that internet addiction is a real social issue.