Prevalence and underlying factors of mobile game addiction among university students in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Nowadays, the youth are more engaging with their more advanced smartphones having high-quality graphics and gaming features. However, existing literature depicts that adolescents suffer from several forms of psychological problems including mental health, depression, loneliness, insomnia and low self-control due to mobile game addiction. Therefore, this study aims to find the prevalence and motivating factors for mobile game addiction among university students of Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out to collect the required information from 1125 students of three universities in Bangladesh. Descriptive statistics, χ2 test and ordinal regression model are employed to meet the objective of this study. Results The findings reveal that male students are more likely to show addictive behaviours than their counterparts in the context of mobile game addiction. The results depict that loneliness, duration of using smartphones and playing mobile games, and source of entertainment are the main cause of mobile addiction. Also, more than half of the respondents (54.3%) are severely addicted to mobile games who were influenced by friends and YouTube gamers to play games. Moreover, students are suffering from several physical problems such as headaches, eye discomfort, blurry vision and ear discomfort. Conclusion Considering the findings of this paper, the authors suggest that the authorities should consider this immediately and arrange a positive entertainment environment to prevent students from mobile games. Furthermore, it is necessary to encourage students to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities that may be helpful to lessen mobile game addiction among students in Bangladesh.

Related research between college students' mobile game addiction, mobile self‐efficacy, and academic performance in Taiwan

“…Only a few studies have been directed regarding MGAs among young people, and there has been no discussion about this type of addiction among college students in Taiwan. Previous studies have further found that males are more likely to become addicted to mobile games due to their interactive, competitive, and collaborative natures (Laconi et al, 2017;Sayeed et al, 2021). Additionally, those who suffer from severe addiction to mobile gaming experience headaches, discomfort in their eyes, blurred vision, and ear discomfort.…”

“…The employment of the Internet, online social networks, and mobile phones is an integral part of numerous students' everyday lives for nonacademic campaigns and academic research, while it can impact lives with all direct features, including learning and academic performance, and yet they are able to be more exposed to the injurious effects and complications of mobile phone utilization (Mohammadi et al, 2018), which can even lead to physical distress, such as headaches, eye ache, blurry vision, and ear discomfort (Sayeed et al, 2021). By reducing the time and opportunities for gamers to practice real-life behaviors, potentially problematic mobile game use can also lead to psychological problems (von der Heiden et al, 2019).…”

“…Most of the studies referred to two principal elements of addiction: fantasy and growth. They play Internet games to prevent, neglect, or evade real‐life anxiety and trouble (Sayeed et al, 2021). Another crux of stimulating is the need for growth which is an attempt to turn into stronger, progress, realize much, gain, and provoke fighting others (Wan & Chiou, 2006).…”

“…According toSayeed et al (2021) andWang et al (2019), a scale of MGA assessment was developed, and created a detailed 11-item scale. Every item was ranked on a Likert 5-point scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree, with absolute scores ranging from 11 to 55.…”

Analysis of Mobile Phone Dependence among Students in Higher Vocational Institutions

“…Smartphones have changed lifestyles [1]. Its intelligence [7], convenience [10], and entertainment [9] bring people endless pleasure. This has boosted smartphone use.…”