Digital Addiction: Systematic Review of Computer Game Addiction Impact on Adolescent Physical Health

Norshakirah Aziz,Muhammad Muhaimin M Salih,Said Jadid Abdulkadir,Md Jan Nordin

doi:10.3390/electronics10090996

Norshakirah Aziz, Muhammad Muhaimin M Salih + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10090996

Copy DOI

Abstract

The advancement of technology has enabled powerful microprocessors to render high-quality graphics for computer gaming. Despite being intended for leisure purposes, several components of the games alongside the gamer’s environmental factors have resulted in digital addiction (DA) towards computer games such as massively multiplayer online games (MMOG). Excessive gaming among adolescents has various negative impacts on an individual. However, only a few researchers have addressed the impact of DA on physical health. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to study the impact of DA on physical health among Malaysian adolescents. This study focuses on Malaysian adolescents of ages 12–18 years old who are addicted to computer games, specifically the MMOG. The methodology used for the study involves focus group discussions (FGD) and extensive literature study. The FGD sessions have involved both medical experts and game experts. The outcome of FGD discussion is recorded and justified with the existing relevant literature from high-impact journals, theses, conferences, books, and reports. This paper provides evidence of five physical health impacts of DA associated with adolescents. The factors of DA, the addiction components existing in MMOG computer games, and the DA health risk assessment are presented in the results section. Based on the study, it is concluded that DA among Malaysian adolescents can cause various impacts on physical health such as obesity, back pain, and neck pain, orthopaedic/joint muscle, eyesight problem, hearing problem, as well as physical inactivity.

Highlights

Digital addiction (DA) can be described as an addiction towards listening, watching, or playing for entertainment purposes using an electronic device
Recent research performed by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with the collaboration of two private universities, which are Heriot-Watt University Malaysia and International Medical University, reported that from 795 respondents, the results showed that 89% of the respondents were diagnosed with Internet addiction
This research provides a comprehensive study of how DA has significantly impacted adolescents’ physical health, in Malaysian adolescents

Summary

Introduction

Digital addiction (DA) can be described as an addiction towards listening, watching, or playing for entertainment purposes using an electronic device. According to Caplan et al [1], DA has become a trend due to significant technological improvements in recent years. The issue of DA is highly concerning, as computer gaming has transformed from colocated experiences into a multiplayer, socially-oriented platform. The evolution of computer games has shown that the tendency of playing computer games has increased year by year. There are three types of DA—the first type is computer game and Internet addiction, the second type is social media addiction, and the third type is smartphone addiction [2]. Researchers have come out with studies to relate DA health problems, such as mental health [3], psychology [4], physical health [5], and anxiety [6]

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion