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1. Introduction
Video game addiction is defined as impulse control disorder, which does not involve use of an intoxicating drug and is similar to pathological gambling. Also, it is also referred to video game overuse, pathological or compulsive use of computer games and videogames (Greenfield & Young, 2009). Due to excessive use of computer games there is effect in their personal traits like anxiety, sensation seeking, neuroticism, and aggression which are the symptoms that a person is under the development of gaming addiction (Mehroof, M et al. 2010). Brain is also affected in computer addiction; regions of the brain associated with cravings in substance abuse also appear to be activated in gaming addicts when they view images of video games (Ko, C et al. 2010). There are two types of gaming, “excessive gaming” and “addictive gaming” these two types of gaming is different from each other; the difference between “excessive gaming and “addictive gaming” is that two gamers may play for an identical number of hours each day, but their psychological motivation and the meaning that gaming has within their lives can be very different. Gaming addiction should be defined by how much the negatively impacts other areas of life, not by how much time is spent playing (Griffiths, M et al. 2010). In a volunteer sample, 41% of online gamers acknowledged that they use gaming as an escape. In the same sample, 7% were viewed as “dependent”. These gamers possessed several behavioural attributes that are related to more well established forms of addiction (e.g., mood modification, tolerance, & relapse) (Hussain et al. 2009). Most online gamers are male. Among male gamers, more severe online gaming addiction is correlated with older age, lower self-esteem, and lower dissatisfaction with daily life. This relationship did not hold true for female gamers(Ko et al. 2005). Excessive use of technology is relatively rare. Compared to females, males are more likely to develop a gaming addiction. Boys are more likely to play aggressive or violent games while girls are more likely to play platform and puzzle games (Griffiths, 2008). In Germany, 1.5 – 3.5% of teenage internet users show signs of gaming addiction. Gaming addiction is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression, and poorer academic performance (Peukert et al. 2010). Computer gaming addiction is positively correlated with achievement motivation, sensation-seeking, a positive evaluation of one’s intelligence, and a negative evaluation of one’s skills in interpersonal relationship (Zheng et al. 2006). In a sample of German teens, 6.3% of subjects fulfilled the authors’ diagnostic criteria for gaming addiction. These adolescents were mostly male and had low educational backgrounds (Klaus et al. 2008). Gaming addiction is negatively associated with academic achievement (Chiu et al. 2004). So far there are no studies conducted as to the percentage of senior high school students who are hooked to online games, thus, this study would like to find out factors why senior high school students are addicted to online games.
