Characterization of Internet Gaming Addiction among School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Targeting the younger generation and growing appeal among older users, video games have become an important and timely source of amusement for teenagers and preteens. The study aims to assess the relationship between Jordanian schoolchildren's academic success and online gaming addiction.

A sample of 458 children, whose ages were 9 to 17, were randomly chosen from five private schools to participate in this cross-sectional survey, which was carried out in Jordan between May and July 2024. Pre-teens (9–12 years old) and adolescents (13–17 years old) were the two groups of participants. The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) in Arabic was used to measure the severity of gaming. Self-reported academic achievement, gaming habits, and sociodemographic information were all covered via a standardized questionnaire. The t-test and chi-square test were used to analyse group differences; p < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.

The findings indicated that adolescents' excessive gaming was more severe than that of preteens. Teens reported a poor correlation with their academic performance, were more likely to use gaming apps during class, and had trouble focusing. Teens, who made up 63.5% of the participants, reported a higher perceived negative impact of gaming applications on their overall GPA that did not reach statistical significance. The overall effect of gaming on meeting deadlines and exam preparation did not differ significantly between age groups. Internet gaming scores were high among teenagers (p < 0.05). Furthermore, compared to pre-teens, teenagers reported using the internet for gaming more frequently in class (p= 0.049). Teens also claimed that using gaming applications negatively affected their ability to focus in class (p<0.05).

The findings showed that excessive usage of gaming apps in class has a more detrimental effect on students' ability to concentrate, but it has no discernible effect on missing deadlines or preparing for exams. These findings highlight the significance of keeping an eye on gaming behaviour in order to reduce the negative effects of IGD on concentration in the classroom.

Video game disorder is quite prevalent among Jordanian private school students. These results underscore the need for more long-term studies using objective academic indicators and larger samples to elucidate the educational implications of internet gaming in this population. They also show that attention during class and difficulty focusing during lessons are regarded as potential areas of concern in the context of intensive gaming.