Video Game Addiction Statistics from the UK: A Growing Problem

Global Statistics on Video Game Addiction

Of course, addiction to gaming isn’t exclusive to the United Kingdom. This is a problem of global proportions.

1. Video game addiction was first recognized as a disorder by the World Health Organization in 2018.

(WHO)

It wasn’t until 2018 that the World Health Organization decided to recognize video game addiction as an official mental health disorder. The decision came within the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases or ICD-11.

This is an important piece of data when compiling relevant stats on video game addiction. The WHO designation represents a significant leap in the recognition of video game addiction as an actual health problem. Before 2018, this issue was still up for debate.

The WHO defines video game addiction as “gaming behavior characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”

2. Between 0.3% and 1% of the global population may qualify for an internet gaming disorder diagnosis.

(The American Journal of Psychiatry)

There is no exact data on the percentage of the global population (as opposed to gamers exclusively) that suffers from video game addiction. The problem is that available statistics about video game addiction can vary greatly depending on the methodology used and the operative definition of addiction researchers relied on.

One of the latest studies was conducted in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, where researchers found that up to 1% of the general population could potentially qualify for an acute diagnosis of being addicted to video games, as defined by the WHO.

3. Between 1% and 10% of gamers exhibit addictive behavior.

(The Recovery Village)

The data used to compile statistics for video game addiction isn’t always definitive. This is especially evident from the fact that current estimates on the number of people who play games and exhibit addictive behaviour ranges from 1% to 10%.

This, unfortunately, does not provide us with proper insight into how widespread game addiction is.

4. A meta-analysis of available gaming addiction studies shows that the worldwide prevalence of addiction is 3.05%.

(National Library of Medicine)

In order to aggregate data from a huge number of diverging studies, a group of researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 53 different papers on video gaming addiction statistics from 2009 to 2019.

The combined number of respondents surveyed in these studies is 226,247, and they hail from 13 different countries. When this data was put together, the percentage of addicted gamers among the global population stood at 3.05%.

5. Video game addiction stats reveal that 94% of addicted gamers are male.

(The Recovery Village)

Gaming has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. In recent years, female gamers are becoming both increasingly visible and prevalent, but computer game addiction is still more common among men. Available data shows that 94% of addicted gamers are male, while only 6% are female.

6. Men have different neural responses to video games compared to women.

(Oxford Academic)

Neuroscientific research into how men and women respond to online gaming provides valuable insight that gives context to gender statistics on video games. A 2018 paper published in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal shows that male subjects demonstrated greater activations in the medial frontal gyrus and bilateral middle temporal gyri. In simpler terms, men have shown more craving-related cues after and during gaming, which could be one of the explanations for why men tend to game more and get addicted to gaming more often than women.

7. Gamers spend an average of seven hours and seven minutes playing per week.

(Limelight)

Video game addiction facts published in LimeLight’s The State of Online Gaming 2019 report give us valuable insight into how much time gamers spend playing per week. According to their data, the average weekly time spent on games is just over seven hours, marking a 19.3% increase from the year before.

8. The majority of US gamers fall in the 18 to 34 age group.

(Statista)

One of the more common stereotypes about gamers is that they all belong to younger generations. However, available video game addiction statistics tell us that the majority of gamers (38%) fall into the 18-34 age bracket. They’re followed by those under 18 (20%) and gamers between the ages of 35 and 44 (14%).

9. 20% of all gamers worldwide fall into the 21-35 age group.

(Statista)

When we look at global data, the biggest percentage of gamers fall into the 21-35 age group, accounting for 20% of all male gamers and 15% of females. The 36-50 age group is close behind, with 15% of men and 13% of women gamers falling into that category.

10. 45% of gamers are women.

(Athena40)

Statistics on video gamers show that the gender gap is narrowing. The latest data tells us that women make up 45% of all gamers, meaning there’s only a 5% difference in representation between the two gender groups.

Video Game Addiction Statistics UK

11. There are 44.32 million gamers in the UK.

(Statista)

Before we delve into video games addiction in the UK, we should first assess the popularity of gaming in the country. Data from 2021 shows that there are currently 44.32 million UK gamers. The popularity of gaming on the British Isles has been steadily rising over the years and is expected to maintain this upward trajectory. Estimates predict there will be 51.88 million Britons playing games by 2025.

12. Referrals to a UK gaming addiction clinic tripled in 2020.

(The Guardian)

Gaming addiction statistics published by the Guardian reveal that referrals to a British gaming addiction clinic tripled during the lockdown year. The majority of those referred to the clinic were children, which points to two important conclusions. The first one is that while games helped many people get through the lockdown, they still had negative effects on some gamers. Secondly, young children seem to be the most vulnerable to becoming addicted to video games.

13. 30% of British gamers skipped a meal or shower to play video games during the pandemic lockdown.

(DJS Research)

Another worrying bit of gaming addiction stats from the UK is also related to the pandemic-induced lockdown. According to a survey conducted by DJS Research, a third of the respondents admitted to skipping a meal or a shower in order to continue playing games. While this does not necessarily mean these gamers are addicted, it could be a sign of a worrying trend.

14. 93% of children in the UK play video games.

(Children’s Commissioner)

We’ve already touched on the alarming indications that children seem to be most at risk of falling prey to online gaming addiction. As such, the fact that the vast majority of children in the UK play video games might be cause for concern.

15. Fortnite was cited as the reason for 5% of UK divorces in 2020.

(Divorce Online)

Gaming addiction stats published by Divorce Online, a UK-based divorce site, show that Fornite was cited as a reason for roughly 5% of divorces filed in 2020. Out of 4,665 petitions filed that year, Fortnite was mentioned in 200 of them. Addictions of all kinds, including gambling, pornography, and gaming, often lead to divorce. However, it’s rare to see one particular game being named as the culprit.

16. During 2020, 62% of UK adults played video games.

(Ofcom)

We already saw from statistics on video gaming that there are more than 44 million gamers in the UK and that 93% of British children play video games. As such, it’s no surprise that adults are enthusiastic gamers too. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2021 report reveals that 62% of UK adults played video games during 2020’s national lockdown.

17. UK children between the ages of seven and 16 spend almost four hours gaming per day.

(Ofcom)

The Online Nation 2021 report also gave us valuable data for assessing gaming addiction in the UK. It shows that children aged between seven and 16 spent half of a full workday gaming. The older the children, the more time they spent gaming. This verges on the threshold of unhealthy gaming habits.

However, there isn’t necessarily a connection between video games and addiction here, as 59% of parents said that they believe their children have a good life-gaming balance.

Most Addictive Video Games Statistics

18. 44% of World of Warcraft players describe themselves as being addicted.

(International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction)

MMORPGs were often identified as the main culprit behind video games addiction and even video game deaths. One of the reasons for this is that MMOs are both incredibly immersive and require a significant time investment from players if they want to reach the highest power levels. World of Warcraft is still the biggest MMO around, even with recent dips in popularity.

This is one of the most notable ingredients for addicting people to video games. According to a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 44% of WoW players described themselves as addicted.

19. Some researchers believe Fortnite to be as addictive as heroin.

(Kron4)

Fortnite is one of the most popular video games in existence, with around 4.8 million players and more than $5 billion in yearly revenue. While MMORPGs took the brunt of criticism for being addictive in the past, public anger is increasingly being directed at Fortnite, often dubbed as the world’s most addictive game. This is due to their inclusion of addictive components like loot boxes, battle passes, and skins.

According to health researchers, Fortnite can be as addictive to children as heroin. It activates the brain’s dopamine systems, releasing ‘happy chemicals’ and getting kids hooked on the experience. In some cases, this can even interfere with normal brain development.

20. Out of 93% of children gamers in the UK, 40% open loot boxes.

(BBC)

Loot boxes are one of the most prevalent and controversial features in modern video games and are regularly talked about in the context of video game addiction statistics. Loot boxes represent a ‘mystery box’ either paid for with real money or earned by playing the game. Before a player opens the box, they have no idea what’s inside - it could be an ultra-rare in-game item or something useless they already have or don’t need.

Studies show that of the 93% of children gamers in the UK, 40% open loot boxes. Researchers argue that opening loot boxes is akin to gambling. Additionally, 12 out of 13 studies conducted established an “unambiguous” connection between problem gambling and loot boxes.

21. 30% of Candy Crush players admitted they were addicted to it.

(Observer)

Another highly popular and addictive mobile game is Candy Crush. This game puts most others to shame with a jaw-dropping 250-million-strong player base. A video game addiction statistic from 2013 shows that 30% of Candy Crush players admitted they were addicted. Additionally, 32% ignored friends or family to play, 28 % played during work, and 10% got into arguments with partners over their play time.

Conclusion

While there’s a definitive connection between addiction and video games, the jury is still out on whether games are the cause of addiction or if playing for long periods of time is a symptom of other mental health issues. Whatever the answer, it’s clear that the inclusion of loot boxes, gacha mechanics, and other addictive and gambling-like features in games does not make the situation better.