Govt to study online gaming addiction to prevent impulsive behaviour

Concerned over rising online gaming addiction among youngsters, the government will undertake a research study to better understand the issues, curb impulsive behaviour and promote healthy digital habits.

The study, to be piloted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, will identify the factors resulting in excessive consumption of online content, and prepare a framework to "predict, alert, and intervene with appropriate coping mechanisms".

According to an official statement, the Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore "proposes to undertake a research on the disruptive impulse control behavioural patterns of digital consumption that may cause vulnerabilities."

A meeting was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs. The meeting was attended by Anupam Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Pratima Murthy, Director NIMHANS and Manoj Sharma, Professor of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS.

Singh observed that "online gaming addiction leads to social isolation and neglect of real-life responsibilities". It often involves compulsive gaming behaviour and can have detrimental effects on mental and physical health, he added.

Online gaming can consume significant amounts of time and money, leading to neglect of other important activities and financial strain, Singh said.

Outlining the purpose of the study, he said it is "to build a responsible digital consumption model-based on knowledge, consumption and practices, currently focused on online gaming but which can also be scaled to digital social media or any other online platform subsequently."

Further, the study would identify the underlying factors of excessive consumption of online content and based on the examination of these factors, a framework could be created to predict, alert, and intervene with appropriate coping mechanisms too.

The study will provide guidance to consumers to ensure optimum use of technology and minimise risk both economical and physical.

Murthy, Director of NIMHANS, stressed on the need to collaborate with different organisations/institutions/authorities for the collection of data.

The data needs to be analysed same segment-wise i.e. age groups and socio-economic strata of the consumers, finding out some of the existing interventions and coping mechanisms for mitigating progression to excessive consumption etc.

To formulate some mechanisms to promote healthy digital habits and prevent excessive consumption, Murthy said the project is a necessity of the time.

"The findings of the research, would not only provide policy inputs for framing of the guidelines for protecting the interests of the consumers in online gaming, but also to industry on their behaviour to ensure optimum use of technology to minimise the risk," the statement said.