Behavioral changes happen to young adults with addiction. The research backs this idea.

Specifically looking at video games, teenagers are going into Dr. Clifford Sussman’s office for their addiction help.

Junior Justin Stanfield met Sussman, a round physiatrist and a psychotherapist, when he did research for a podcast project around this issue.

Stanfield interested in topic of addiction in video games because of a personal interest. He wanted to answer the question of whether they became addictive or not. “I play videogames myself, so I figured I should do something on gaming,” Stanfield said.

Doctor Sussman explains that young adults and teenagers who are addicted to video games show behavior issues. “They show a lot of behavior change that you’ll see in any substance addiction. Things like interference with their life, their school, their career, their relationships and their family,” Sussman said.

Treatment of people with an extreme addiction to video games is somewhat of a specialty for Sussman. “Things like the video games control over your habits to the point where it is causing all this dysfunctioning in their life.”

Addiction in video games is a real thing according to Sussman who defines it as an addiction as something “like the drug [that] controls you rather than you controlling your use of it.”

When playing video games, if a teenager or young adult feels pulled to playing video games for hours, they are addicted.

More and more young adults have come into Doctor Sussman’s office for help.

“I see a lot of age range especially in teenagers,” Sussman said. “That’s what you would expect because that’s the range in which addiction is the most prevalent even with drugs.”

Michael Franklin, a junior, said that he “plays video games every day, 10 to 12 hours if I don’t have to go to school or anything else.”

Franklin has been playing video games for so long that he has no idea when he started.

Sussman does not specify how long it takes to get addicted to a video game. The definition for addiction that Sussman uses is when the drug controls the young adult rather than them controlling their use of it.

Franklin’s experience has differed.

“Students do not want to hurt each other because of video game violence. It has happened before; we have all heard some reports of kids doing harmful causes,” Franklin said. “But, it’s mostly because of mental issues.”

It is not proven by Sussman that mental illness may be the reason for the behavioral changes. Behavioral changes can happen to young adults without mental illness.

Sussman explains the behavior showings, “You’ll see things like lying and stealing just like you might view on the drug addict constant seeking to get your next fix.” Addiction in video games causes young adults to do illegal things. It causes them to do things they normally wouldn’t do.

According to American College of Pediatricians, “Symptoms given by those that define internet addiction, and those who describe themselves as having been addicted, include . . . Spending excessive money on online games, stealing money to spend on games.”

Dropping out of school is one of the many signs a student is addicted to a video game. More young adults are becoming to have overuse problems. Sussman explains even mobile games are becoming addiction warnings because of the more and more apps that are coming out for all ages, even baby games.

In the next generation there could be a huge rise in addiction because of the new apps and games being created. Young teens and adults may not even realise what is happening to them as they continue to play these games.