The addictive effects of electronic games on adolescents: PUBG game as a model

Abstract

The current study aims to examine the addictive effects of electronic games - the PUBG game as a model - on a sample of adolescents who used to play it. It also aims to investigate addiction differences in respect to gender and game- playing duration. The researcher relied on the descriptive method in studying the subject. A questionnaire about, "the addictive effects of electronic games, "PUBG Game'', is applied by the researcher, consisting of five main areas: Disengagement, lack of control, excessive use, obsession, over-enthusiasm and impulsive use. After verifying its psychometric properties, the questionnaire targeted a sample of Eighty respondents, forty-eight males and Thirty-two females among about 700 players belonging to a Facebook group designed for PUBG players. They were randomly selected using simple random sampling method. The sample was chosen in this way due to the easy access to a specific sample that has certain characteristics, namely (playing the game continuously and for more than one playing season). The research found that:

• There is high addiction to the game among adolescents, in all five areas of questionnaire (Disengagement, lack of control, excessive use, obsession, over-enthusiasm and impulsive use).
• There are no significant gender differences in addicting to the game, in all five areas of the study.
• There are no significant differences between professionals and beginners in addicting to the game in all five areas of the study.