Escaping into the world of video games learned in youth can become a problem in adulthood.
Along with playing, you should remember the importance of a real life. Illustration picture. Yevhen Shkolenko / Alamy Stock Photo
Video gaming can develop into a problem over time, when you learn to escape everyday pressures and stressful life situations into the gaming world.
– When I was feeling bad, I was sad, angry, bored or disappointed, I knew that I could log into the game and my worries would go away, World of Warcraft former top player of the game Raakel Lius tells In the final report of the Restart project.
The way to escape everyday life learned in youth can eventually lead to a vicious circle that is difficult to escape from. The same operating model can continue into adulthood and lead to various problems.
In the Restart project, it was found out what kind of problems related to video gaming Finnish players who applied for support have.
People in their thirties applied for the most support
People aged 26–41, who make up 65 percent of those who applied for support, have applied for support for video gaming problems the most.
Only one in four of the 18–25 age group has applied for support for problem gambling. The average age of the applicants was 29.7 years.
A total of 172 people applied for the Restart project. The applicants said they applied for help for the following reasons:
- My assessment of the game problem
- Gaming interferes with the rest of life
- Time spent playing
- Harms to a relationship or family life
- The amount of money used to play
Most of the applicants were gainfully employed. More than half (53 percent) of those who applied for the project also live in a relationship, either with or without children.
You don’t have to give up completely
During the year, those who applied for help had improved their playing to a level we could tolerate. For example, the amount of problematic gaming among those who participated in Restart decreased from an average of 60 percent to 20 percent during the project.
The report says that you don’t have to give up playing completely, even if you find this problematic. It would be more important to come up with the quality of playing, than its quantity.
– Young people who isolate themselves to play at home should be offered more opportunities to expand their gaming hobby to gaming activities directed outside the home or e-sports, Restart’s project manager Sanni Behm states.
Behm continues that the hobby provides an opportunity to belong to a meaningful community outside of the online game.
In problem gaming, it would be essential to intervene already at a young age in the things that cause the young person to escape into the gaming world. Things that can be ignored include, for example, loneliness, bullying or problems at home.
The report states that if gambling has developed into a problem, the solution was how to become aware of one’s own gambling, increase daily routines and by cutting out so-called unnecessary gambling.
If you or a loved one is concerned about gambling, you can call or discuss the matter With Pelur’s experts. Peluuri also offers support for money and gambling.