Groups of boys play games together on their phones or laptops during tutorials and lunch is an occurrence that happens all over campus daily.
It’s common to see a “Brawl Stars” gang entering the music building or a “Clash Royale” get-together making its way into the journalism room where all eloquent and wise thoughts seem to be cast aside. Players seem oblivious to the risk that their love of games might be crossing the line into unhealthy addiction.
While gaming can be a fun escape at times, it’s concerning to witness so many teen boys sinking deeper into the virtual world.
Claire Cain Miller and Amy Fan, both writers for The New York Times, recently reported on the reasons teenage boys are spending more time gaming than ever before. According to their story, in the last 15 years, gaming hours for boys between the age of 15 and 24 doubled to nearly 10 hours a week.
Not surprisingly, gaming surged during the pandemic. A late 2020 survey from National Library of Medicine (NLM) reported a 41% increase since the beginning of lockdown in gaming time among boys, and by 2022, the average teenage boy spent 13 hours a week, as opposed to 7.5 hours in 2019.
In addition to an increase in gaming time among boys, based on a survey of 1423 American teens from ages 13 to 17 conducted by Jeffrey Gottfried and Olivia Sidoti of the Pew Research Center, 97% of the boys play video games, and 62% identify themselves as gamers.
Courtesy of The New York Times
While time spent socializing or playing sports remained mostly unchanged, the hours per week that American boys spent on gaming steadily increased.
Courtesy of Pew Research Center
From ages 13 to 17, many teen boys and girls play video games, yet boys are more likely to identify themselves as gamers.
Of course, gaming has its staunch defenders. Many researchers such as Annie Maheux, assistant suggest that studies miss out on the nuance of gaming for teenage boys, failing to capture the social circle gaming might create. Research published by the American Psychological Association cites positives such as how playing video games can enhance attention, help with mood regulation and foster cooperation, to name a few.
Students like junior Richard Chen view gaming as a positive outlet for two reasons: It helps him relax after rigorous studying while also maintaining friendships through shared interests.
“I find playing video games beneficial because it helps me relax in between study sessions, improving my quality of work,” Chen said. “In terms of being a cultural and social necessity among boys, I generalize that most boys, including myself, may play video games to take a break from direct social interactions and feel a surge of competitive, fun energy.”
Based on an academic paper conducted by students in the Department of Applied Psychology at Fuzhou University on gender-related differences in internet addiction, men were found to have higher levels of internet gaming disorder than women. This is primarily because men usually find games’ competitive structures more attractive; they become hooked on feelings of achievement and success. Also, the paper found that men’s naturally aggressive, risk-taking instincts and tendencies make them more drawn to gaming.
But understanding how and why teenage boys love gaming is just one part of the puzzle; then there are the long-term damaging effects of being addicted to gaming.
In basic terms, a Harvard Health publication defines Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a condition in which people experience symptoms such as loss of interest in other activities, damaged relationships, missed educational or career opportunities and gaming as a way to escape or relieve anxiety and guilt.
In addition, one study by researchers by the department of childhood education from University of Johannesburg on the correlation between gaming and academic motivation during early childhood studied 785 boys at ages 7, 8 and 10 out of 1,631 children. Based on daily video game playing time and self-reported measures of academic motivation, the study showed boys at ages 7 and 8 with frequent gaming predicted lower academic motivation at ages 8 and 10, respectively, a critical time of development of academic habits and skills. In other words, the more younger boys played video games, the worse their academic foundations were.
The paper further predicted the same trend will apply for the boys as they age into teenagers. Surprisingly, this association between gaming and academic motivation did not hold true for girls.
The harmful effects of gaming addictions extend into several critical aspects of teenage development. Researchers from the University of Michigan further found that among adolescent (ages 10-19) gamers, time spent on video games negatively drained out time on their academic work as well as real human interaction activities.
Of 1,491 adolescents who played video games, according to the study, a whopping 80% were boys. They also found that for every hour boys spent playing video games, they read two fewer minutes — a significant 30% decrease — as those who don’t play video games average about eight minutes of reading per day. Also, for every hour boys played video games, they spent eight fewer minutes engaged in sports and other leisure activities, a 12% decrease compared to non-gamers.
It’s important to note that gaming not only impacts individuals but also influences their peers and instructors. Gaming was a leeway of persevering social life as schools shut down during the pandemic, and teachers have been concerned that many teenagers’ habits, especially those developed by boys, stuck even after life returned to normal.
Many teachers have seen how gaming disrupted focus and productivity in their performance in class. What started as a coping mechanism for teenage boys eventually progressed into a habit the boys have little ability to control.
Junior Evelyn Phan sees gaming as a mindless escape that prevents high school guys from making authentic connections.
“I think playing video games is a way for guys to bond, even though they aren’t making true connections,” Phan said. “It’s such a brainless activity that creates dead space and doesn’t let your brain truly unwind. Everyone needs to socialize and be human, especially during a stressful school year, because it makes school more fun and enjoyable.”
Video games have been an essential part of the lives of millions of teenage boys, especially following the pandemic.
But it’s increasingly clear that this obsession has gone too far for many, and more restrictions need to be in place — either from their parents or from schools. Although weaning boys from their gaming addiction won’t be easy and may not happen quickly, it is worth the concerted effort to redirect our generation into healthy, happier real-world activities such as reading books, talking with friends face to face and taking walks in nature.
