Causes and Effects of Gaming Addiction in Australia

This research outline explores the causes and effects of gaming addiction in Australia. It discusses the mental and physical repercussions of gaming addiction and emphasizes the need for proper measures to tackle this issue. The outline also suggests solutions such as playing in moderation, limiting expenditure on new games, and seeking help from a counselor.

Research outline
Topic: Gaming addiction is increasingly being viewed as an issue in
Australia. What are the causes and effects of this problem?
Thesis: Gaming addiction needs to be tackled in order to ensure that the mental and physical
health of the Australian citizens are properly maintained. In order to eradicate this grave
obstacle, proper measures must be embraced.
Introduction:
Gaming addiction is a serious and growing issue in Australia in the present times.
There are several mental and physical repercussions due to this grave issue (Lam, 2014).
Video gaming addiction is defined as an impulse control disorder and may be compared
to pathological gambling. The hours of gaming lead to severe mental and physical health
problems. However, if this addiction is treated in a systematic manner, then an individual
may enjoy the gaming process thoroughly.
Thesis
Gaming addiction needs to be tackled in order to ensure that the mental and
physical health of the Australian citizens are properly maintained. In order to eradicate
this grave obstacle, proper measures must be embraced. If these issues are not solved in a

swift and proper manner, it may lead to complications in the future.
Situation (What information is necessary for the situation section?)
Gaming addiction may be defined as a tendency to play video games to the
extent that it hampers the daily activities of an individual’s life. It is seen that is an
increase in video game addiction over the past several years (Hyun, 2015).
 There is an increase in individuals who are getting addicted to video games.
 Gaming for a few hours is leading to an individual getting addicted to these
video games for a prolonged period of time.
 If the situation is not brought under control, then the healthy lives of these
individuals may suffer in the long run.
Causes:
 An individual may face a need to divert their attention from the challenges of
everyday life.
 A gamer who is addicted may find the challenges in the game as motivation to
keep playing the video game.
 Many games satisfy the psychological needs of the addicted gamer. Thus, they
keep playing the games in order to fulfil these cravings.

Problem/s (What information is necessary for the problem/s section?)
 Gaming addiction leads to mental health issues and problems. Mental issues
may also lead to depression if one is unable to play (Karapetsas et al., 2014).
 Lack of sleep is also an effect of gaming addiction.
 Many individuals claim to have problems in school at work because they are
preoccupied with thoughts of gaming.
 Rather than utilizing other healthier methods of coping, individuals use gaming
to ease their mood and chaotic emotions.
Solution/s (What information is necessary for the solution/s section?)
 An individual must attempt to play in moderation rather than playing at all times
(Wong, 2016).
- If one attempts to stop all at once then it may lead to a relapse, thus, it is
better to try and play the game in moderation to have a better chance of
overcoming the gaming addiction.
 A gaming addict should try and limit their expenditure on new video games by
diverging their addiction.
- Buying new games would fuel the need of the gamer to continue this
addiction. If they focus on the
 An individual should reach out to a counsellor to help solve this grave issue.
- Speaking about the issues and seeking help would enable the individual to

discover ways in which the problem may be annihilated.
Evaluation (What information is included in the evaluation section?)
 Curbing the expenditure ensure that video games are not fuelling their addiction.
 Not buying new games would discourage them to play video games for long
hours.
 Reducing time that one spends on video games aids them to enjoy their gaming
time while indulging in everyday activities.

Conclusion (What information is included in the conclusion?)
Hence, it may be concluded that video gaming addiction is a menace that is
growing in today’s society. If it is not eradicated then it
 Extreme gaming leads to depression in individuals.
 Robbing people of their everyday healthy lifestyles.
 Individuals use gaming to relieve their issues.
 Best solution: reaching out to counsellors in order to speak and eradicate the issue.

References
Hyun, G. J., Han, D. H., Lee, Y. S., Kang, K. D., Yoo, S. K., Chung, U. S., & Renshaw, P. F.
(2015). Risk factors associated with online game addiction: a hierarchical
model. Computers in human behavior, 48, 706-713.
Karapetsas, A. V., Karapetsas, V. A., Zygouris, N. X., & Fotis, A. I. (2014). Internet gaming
addiction. Reasons, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Encephalos, 51, 10-14.
Lam, L. T. (2014). Internet gaming addiction, problematic use of the internet, and sleep
problems: a systematic review. Current psychiatry reports, 16(4), 444.
Wong, U., & Hodgins, D. C. (2014). Development of the game addiction inventory for adults
(GAIA). Addiction Research & Theory, 22(3), 195-209.