New research shows that women are more likely to become addicted to video games than men

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) will officially add video games to the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11 – International Classification of Diseases 11th edition). According to research from Clutch, an Android video sharing app by Utility Team Labs, women are more susceptible to game addiction than men.

The study, titled “Losing Control: A Study of Video Game Addiction,” was published by the Clutch Blog four weeks ago. The study surveyed 1,570 app users in November 2019 using a modified version of the Greenfield Video Game Addiction Test – a tool developed by The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction.

According to the data collected, women spend an average of 19 minutes more in each game, and the probability of playing games every day is 2% higher. They also received an average “Addiction Score” of 36.4, 3 points higher than men. However, this score is still below the “problematic” threshold of 41.2 on a 100-point scale.

Just over 25% of participants exceeded that threshold. According to the study, those who are higher than that score are “at risk of becoming addicted to the game”. Some other information in the report includes: which games are played the most by game addicts (surprisingly, Minecraft is in the lead, ahead of Fortnite, which is sued for being “easy to get addicted to”); unemployment also leads to higher levels of addiction (specifically, those who are looking for work, not working, not looking for work, and disabled); Age groups also differ: Gen Z (from 1995 onward) is higher than Millennials (1985 to 1996) and Gen X (1961 to 1981).

Like all published studies, these results aren’t really telling. In the method section, Clutch said that nearly 90% of the participants were male (only about 7% were female), and that the average age of survey participants was 20. The study also showed complete results. relies on self-collected data, however there are several processing steps to ensure the information is neither exaggerated nor misleading.

And yet, Clutch also warns readers in advance that they are “one of the largest and most interactive gaming communities”, not a medical research organization.

Even so, we can still draw some interesting points about gender: mobile games that are free, have a lot of microtransactions (a trend that is becoming increasingly common in big games) and are more female-oriented can be The reason for the higher rate of game addiction in this group.

This result is similar to the study by Quantic Foundry in 2017. Quantic Foundry then said that women make up 70% of the players of family/farm simulation games and match-3 games.

After WHO decided to include game addiction in ICD-11, the issue of game addiction became more and more discussed globally – specifically about loot boxes. However, research from Clutch states that “only a healthcare professional can accurately diagnose gaming disorder and other health behavioral problems.”

As organizations such as the UK’s National Health Service plan to open game addiction treatment centers, hopefully data like this will be of some help to those who need it.

According to GameRant