The Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions, an organisation dedicated to the study and dissemination of information on this subject, has produced a special report this year on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on addictions. With regard to behavioural disorders, it analyses how the virus may have affected people due to possible excessive time spent playing video games during these months. Below, we explain how behavioural addictions based on video game use disorder have evolved in relation to the 2020 home confinement.
The new context of behavioural addictions
In its report COVID-19, psychoactive substance use and addictions in Spain, the Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions has analysed the impact of addictions and addictive disorders in relation to Covid-19 from the start of the pandemic until July 2020. The aim is to find out how the virus and the new lifestyle adopted by the population during these months may have affected their physical and psychological health. In this way, an overall picture can be drawn so that both sector organisations and professionals can understand the context and take action accordingly.
The report, which analyses the main toxic substances and abusive behaviours that may lead to addiction, presents behavioural addictions from different scenarios. One of these is video games. An activity that was very common during this period and which, due to the significant increase this year in the amount of time spent on it, is among the most widely adopted by Spanish users.
Video game use during the pandemic
Playing video games was a recurring activity during the months of home confinement. Affecting especially young people and minors, this activity served as a remedy to fill free time and avoid day-to-day boredom. As a result, a large number of cases of excessive use occurred which, where there was insufficient parental control or responsibility, developed into psychological dependence.
According to the study mentioned, 53% of participants had played video games previously and/or during the 2020 home confinement. While the time devoted to this activity before the pandemic averaged between 1 and 3 days a month, during confinement it was more common to play between 5 and 7 days a week (37.8% of respondents). At a lower level, there were other users who played an average of between 1 and 4 days a week, representing 24.6% of the total. Approximately the same proportion as before the arrival of Covid-19 (24.5%).
On the other hand, of the total video game users who took the survey, 46.4% acknowledge having maintained the frequency of play time during the period of confinement. 39.5% of them, however, increased it, 14% decreased it, and 10.4% decided to stop playing. Although it affected both men and women in the same way, among women the reduction in time spent was greater. In terms of age, excessive video game use has a stronger impact among students, who account for 42.7% of the people who took part in the study.
The survey conducted to prepare the report included specific questions to detect a possible gaming disorder. And, based on the score obtained, it is estimated that 7.2% of players participating in the study could suffer from behavioural addictions related to video games. This likelihood of having a video game use disorder is higher in men (10.7% of participants) than in women (3.8% of respondents).
The likelihood of cases of behavioural addictions of this type is also higher among students (9.5% of participants) than among workers (5.5% of participants). And by age, it is estimated to affect 9% of young people aged 14 to 17 and 6.9% of adults (6.9%) who took part.
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