Assessment of Digital Game Addiction among Students of Kabul City, Afghanistan

Abstract

Background: Nowadays technology is an integral part of everything we do in our daily lives. However, in addition to its advantages, the overuse of digital devices have posed new challenges such as digital game addiction, especially in adolescent and adult populations. Although it is increasingly, common worldwide, little research has been done on digital game addiction in Afghanistan. We aimed to determine the degree of digital game addiction among students in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 246 students in Kabul from Oct to Dec 2023. The information was collected by means of a structured survey composed of 15 standardized items (derived from established questionnaires) and demographic inquiries. Addiction of the participants was mild, moderate, or severe according to predetermined score standards.

Results: From 246 participants, 161 (65.4%) reported playing video games and 85 (34.6%) reported not playing video games. Regarding the degree of addiction among players, 144 (89.4%) were intermediate addicted, 15 (9.3%) were severely addicted and only 2 (1.2%) had mild addiction. One interesting result was the high relationship between addictiveness and the competitive element of games.

Conclusion: Moderate levels of addiction to digital games were the most prevalent among Kabul students and a significant number also suffered from severe addiction. The findings highlight the necessity for focused interventions on part of educators, parents, and policymakers to address digital game addiction in Afghanistan.