Gaming Danger: These games are extremely addictive

Computer addiction is as much a danger as other addictions. How many young people play in Germany at all? Which computer games are addictive and pose a danger? We clarify in this practice.

DAK study on computer game addiction

A DAK study from 2019 deals with gaming addiction and has determined how many children and adolescents in Germany regularly play computer games. The study also records when the addiction potential becomes particularly high.

• Around 3 million young people in Germany between the ages of 12 and 17 play computer games regularly. That is 72.5 percent of all young people.
• According to the study, 15.4 percent of these almost three quarters of all adolescents belong to the risk group, which means that there is a risk of computer game addiction among around 465, 000 minors.
• There are various criteria for computer game addiction, which are recorded, for example, in the diagnostic catalogs ICD and DSM. After all, not every young person who plays regularly is equally addicted or at risk of addiction.
• The criteria include, among other things, that the person concerned loses interest in previous hobbies, neglects obligations such as school and shows typical withdrawal symptoms when he or she cannot play. These include mild irritability to aggressive behavior and poor concentration.
• The free Battle Royale game Fortnite, which is played by the majority of all young people, is very popular. FIFA, Minecraft, Counterstrike and League of Legends are also the most frequently played games.
• Due to the high number of players, these games also pose the greatest risk of addiction. How exactly mechanisms of the game can affect the addiction potential is still being researched. Among other things, in-game purchases seem to play a role.

How is the risk of gaming addiction related to money?

The German Center for Addiction Issues at the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE) conducted research primarily on the topic of "money for games". Slightly more than half of the players in the study said they had spent money on games in the past six months. However, this does not only include the purchase of games - after all, three of the five games mentioned can be played free of charge - but above all, in-game purchases are relevant.

• The respondents stated in the study that they had spent an average of € 110 on games in the past six months.
• The difference values ​​were very high: While some young people had only invested a few euros, others spent top values ​​of up to 1, 000 euros.
• The group of adolescents, who were classified as highly addicted, spent more and more money on average for their hobby.
• In the course of the study, the German Center for Addiction Issues criticized above all in-game purchases that disguise how much money is actually being spent via an in-game currency.
• Also criticized were loot boxes from Fortnite and similar boxes in other games that were similar to gambling. Players can buy a box for money and it contains a random item.
• The point is misleading in the study that players can only get such a random, new game function that they would like to have through gambling. In the examined computer games, however, there are only optical enhancements such as skins for characters or weapons to buy.

Underwater world in Minecraft: Minecraft Aquatic

When teenagers "gamble away" on vacation, they are not immediately addicted to the computer. You can read about the symptoms of a computer game addiction in the next practical tip - but remember that only a doctor can make an actual diagnosis.