Professionals warn about the precociousness of video game consumption and the need to establish "clear and well-defined limits"



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## Professionals warn about the precociousness of video game consumption and the need to establish "clear and well-defined limits"

13/09/2021 |
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* [![ adiccio-fortnite 20210907_141545](/com/investigacio/arxiu/noticies/2021/9/adiccio-fortnite/20210907_141545.jpg)](#)

The widespread use of new technologies in everyday life and leisure has brought to light the potential harm of inappropriate use of video games and the need for specialised treatment for those with signs of behavioural addiction, as confirmed by a clinical case study conducted by a research team made up of staff from the Provincial Hospital, the Universitat Jaume I and the Castellón General University Hospital published in the journal *Revista de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil*.

The specialists involved in the study warn of the need to pay attention to the behaviour of minors, among whom its use is widespread, given "the growing precocity of its consumption", especially due to "the lack of maturity in executive and cognitive functions during adolescence". They also recommend transferring this type of cases to the Day Hospital for a more appropriate assessment, as they have observed, in the case of hospitalised patients, a "difficult withdrawal from screens and the need for a prolonged exhaustive follow-up after total withdrawal to overcome the risk of relapse".

According to the conclusions of the research, prevention strategies advise the need for supervision of children's screen use by "setting clear and well-defined limits" and "encouraging the use of other sources of satisfaction". They also advocate the creation of spaces for family interaction to enjoy group activities and the restriction of devices in children's bedrooms.

To address this clinical case, the research team carried out a review of the scientific publications on current behavioural addictions and, specifically, to the video game *Fortnite* in the IBECS, PubMED, PsyNet, PsycArticles and Google Scholar databases. The symptoms that led to the decision to hospitalise the patient, an adolescent with severe behavioural addiction to *Fortnite*, included isolation at home, refusal of social interactions with refusal to attend health services, persistent personal inflexibility, little interest in his environment, very selective in his tastes and restrictive activities. In addition, he presented alterations in the performance of basic activities of daily living, in taking the treatment prescribed in the day hospital and in his sleep rhythm.

The patient was a child with a very high previous academic performance. Since the beginning of the school year, his family had observed increased absenteeism, disruption of rest times and disengagement from the rhythm of the school year coinciding with a change of class. After the assessment, the professionals suggested that the addiction to video games acted as a regulator of the intense discomfort caused by the loss of a family member and by the anxiety derived from the increased level of demands in the educational context.

The treatment has required an intensive multidisciplinary approach, from a cognitive behavioural approach, working with both the patient and his family and, at the same time, the implementation of intervention strategies such as cognitive restructuring, development of personal skills, management of contingencies and establishment of daily guidelines.  This has helped him "to be able to appreciate the repercussions that the use of the video game was having on his daily life", says the research team, and "has allowed him to deal with the grief over the death of his family member and how the use of the game began as a refuge from his emotional distress".

The results have shown a significant decrease in the use of screens (in a first phase after hospitalisation with supervision and only for contact with peers to promote socialisation), as well as an improvement in the patient's personal and social functioning. In the Day Hospital, where he has worked on relapse prevention and the progressive incorporation into his studies, he has continued with training in emotional regulation and the acquisition of communication skills, in a group setting.

Internet addiction was proposed as a "behavioural disorder" in 1995, and in 2010 it was defined as "the loss of control that generates the appearance of adverse behaviours". The WHO also included video game disorder among mental illnesses in 2018. Specialists do not consider video games to be a problem in themselves. On the contrary, their appropriate use can have educational and social benefits and can even be therapeutic for some disorders.

Despite this, professionals consider that there are risk factors that indicate abuse in the consumption of video games, such as social withdrawal, poor academic performance, the existence of psychopathological problems (depression, perfectionist or obsessive personality) and socio-family problems. In the case of *Fortnite*, two aspects of its addictive potential stand out: the imposition of deadlines to achieve each season's challenges and not lose progress, and access to live streaming platforms that show people playing while commenting on their strategies.

**Reference:**

Márquez-Arbués, S., Ramos-Vidal, C., Espinosa-Mata, M., Álvarez-Núñez, T., & Real-López, M. (2021). «Adicción al *Fortnite* con necesidad de desintoxicación hospitalaria». *Revista de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil*, 38(2), 59-65.

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